To remind farmers that their lives are more valuable than any crop, and that Farm Bureau will always stand beside them – not just as advocates, but as neighbors and friends – Ashtabula County (Ohio) Farm Bureau launched a harvest-time outreach initiative.

Ashtabula County Farm Bureau was intentionally inclusive in its planning for “Feed a Farmer: Harvest of Hope,” bringing in businesses and youth, along with Farm Bureau leaders, to ensure it was a community effort. Partners included ag loan institutions, two grocery stores, area cooperatives and FFA.

Eight volunteers, alongside county staff, set out to deliver 185 snack bags directly to farmers. They also distributed bags at four cooperative grain sites, ultimately reaching farmers from three counties and even a neighboring state.

The snack bags, packed by FFA members, included protein-packed snacks and water; a flyer thanking farmers and encouraging self-care with a QR code for farm stress resources; mental health resource cards with crisis hotline numbers, signs of stress to watch for and a link to peer support networks; and farm-themed stress toys for lighthearted relief. For the FFA members, volunteering was about more than just packing the snack bags, it was about gaining an understanding of the stressors farmers face and the mental health challenges that come with the way of life.

By meeting farmers where they were at – in their fields at harvest time, Ashtabula County Farm Bureau made it easy for farmers to open up, with some just happy for a quick break from the isolation of harvest and many others clearly wanting to talk, a strong sign that human connection mattered as much as the snacks.

County Activities of Excellence
Ashtabula County Farm Bureau’s “Feed a Farmer: Harvest of Hope” earned the organization a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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Editor's note: This article was written by Katie Wiese, a member of AFBF's YF&R Committee.

Chris Chinn of Missouri exemplifies what it means to turn involvement into impact. Currently serving as Missouri’s Director of Agriculture, Chris is a proud alumna of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, serving on the committee from 2006–2008, including a term as the second female chair.

Chris and her husband, Kevin, farm in Northeast Missouri, where their diversified farming operation includes farrow-to-finish hogs, a feed mill, hay, cattle and row crops, including corn and soybeans.

Chris and Kevin were content focusing on farming – until they found themselves in a difficult situation. Up against a proposed county health ordinance that would require a permit to raise livestock, Chris and Kevin realized how important it was to get involved in Farm Bureau and advocate on policies that affect their farm. Chris has been a part of many aspects of Farm Bureau beyond the AFBF YF&R Committee, including her state YF&R Committee, the Partners in Advocacy Leadership (PAL) Program and the Missouri Farm Bureau Board of Directors. 

While serving on the AFBF YF&R Committee, Chris remembers the leaders around her telling her to never give up. They reminded her that if you have something you want to accomplish, do not stop until you get it, and look for opportunities to take steps in accomplishing your goals.

When taking on the role of AFBF YF&R chair she knew it would be an adjustment for her family. With passion, time management, courage and thinking outside of the box, she was able to accomplish her goals as chair.

As a leader and advocate, Chris stresses the importance of confidence, especially for women in agriculture. Gender should never determine opportunity, and negative assumptions can be transformed into positive motivation.

Today, Chris is living the next step of her leadership journey as Missouri’s Director of Agriculture. She was appointed by the governor to lead Missouri’s Department of Agriculture in 2017. Chris’ passion for agriculture and advocacy remains strong, and she continues to make a difference through her leadership. She encourages those serving on YF&R committees to make the most of their time and learn from fellow members, leaders and experiences along the way.

Katie Wiese serves on AFBF's YF&R Committee, along with her husband, Dustin. Together they raise beef cattle in Minnesota. Katie also works off the farm for an oil and gas company out of North Dakota.

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Editor’s Note: This article was written by Emmy Powell, Texas Farm Bureau communications specialist, and was originally published on the Texas Farm Bureau website.

Hale County Farm Bureau and Swisher County Farm Bureau (Texas) teamed up to host a series of leadership and networking events designed to connect young farmers and ranchers with other members across the counties, as well as promote Farm Bureau programs and strengthen involvement among the next generation of agricultural leaders.

Nearly 60 young farmers and ranchers attended the leadership development meetings that featured speakers and opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.

“Our goal was to help develop leadership among these young producers and also make them aware of the Farm Bureau resources out there,” Barry Evans, Swisher County Farm Bureau president, said. “We hosted lunch and dinner options to help reach more people. Many young farmers and ranchers aren’t aware of the assets that are available to them.”

The events focused on leadership, advocacy and the value of local Farm Bureau involvement.

“The counties chose to work together as a team to drive more interest in Young Farmer & Rancher events,” Justin Stoerner, Hale County board member, said. “When people see others getting involved, it becomes contagious. Sharing a meal gave everyone a chance to network and learn about the opportunities Farm Bureau offers.”

The collaboration expanded outreach in a sparsely populated region, drawing participation from neighboring Castro and Floyd counties.

“We’re in a very rural part of the state, and the populations of the communities as a whole are declining,” Stoerner said. “It’s becoming more and more vital to work together and to encourage involvement from these young farmers and ranchers.”

Evans agreed, noting that community connections are critical in agriculture.

“Farming is hard. Ranching is hard. But it helps to know there are others facing the same challenges,” Evans said. “It builds a stronger community and makes stronger individuals knowing others in their shoes.”

County Activities of Excellence
Hale County Farm Bureau and Swisher County Farm Bureau’s young farmer and rancher engagement efforts earned the organizations a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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Cherokee County (Oklahoma) Farm Bureau’s Hay Wrap Take Back, a five-month friendly competition among several county schools, resulted in the collection of more than 13,500 pounds of hay wrap, less wrap-clogged county equipment and visibly cleaner roadsides and farmland.

Launched by Cherokee County Farm Bureau, the program brought together schools, county officials, farmers and community members to address the lack of recycling options for discarded hay net wrap and twine. Providing $500 and securing a matching $500 from the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s county grant program, Cherokee County Farm Bureau offered a $1,000 prize to the school that collected the largest amount by weight of hay wrap from October through March. Tama USA , which manufactures John Deere net wrap, also donated $2,000 to the overall cash prizes in the first two years of the program.

The county provided the bins, which they delivered to participating schools. County crews then picked up the bins when the competition closed at the end of March, transported them and weighed the collected materials.

With a focus on both the environmental benefits of recycling the hay wrap and the $1,000 prize, Cherokee County Farm Bureau promoted the contest in schools and through local communication channels, including Facebook.

The results were announced at the Cherokee County Livestock Show. Along with recognizing the school with the greatest total weight, Farm Bureau also highlighted other schools’ creative contributions, such as the largest “ball” of wrap.

County Activities of Excellence
Cherokee County Farm Bureau’s Hay Wrap Take Back earned the organization a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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“I Love Strawberries,” a Feeding Minds Press book written by children’s book author Shannon Anderson, was recently chosen as an Arkansas Diamond Book Award Winner for 2024-2025. Published in 2022, this popular and beautifully illustrated book chronicles the journey of a young girl determined to grow her own strawberries.

The Arkansas Diamond Book Award for children’s literature is presented annually to an author whose book has been selected through a vote taken by Arkansas school children in grades K-3. The purpose of the award is to promote better reading for children statewide. The Arkansas Diamond Book Award is under the sponsorship of the Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Arkansas State Library and the Arkansas Literacy Association, with support from other cooperating organizations.

The award will be formally presented during a luncheon at the Arkansas Literacy Association’s Celebrate Literacy event on July 13, on the campus of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Other publishing honors previously presented to “I Love Strawberries” are listed below.

• American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture Book of the Year Award

• 2022 Good Housekeeping Best Kids Books inaugural award

• 2023 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Picture Book

• 2023 Growing Good Kids Book Award from the Jr. Master Gardener Program

• Bronze Foreword, Indie’s Best Award

• 2023 Hindi’s Best Females in Fiction Award

• 2023 Penelope’s Prize Children’s Book Award Judge’s Selection

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Geneva County (Alabama) Farmers Federation’s Farm-City Youth Council was created to establish a pipeline of future Farm Bureau leaders and supporters from diverse backgrounds.

Beyond shaping leaders and agricultural advocates and equipping them to serve the community, Geneva County Farmers Federation saw several additional opportunities with the council, including giving council members an important role in helping shape an agriculturally literate community and raising the federation’s profile throughout the county.

Leading the charge was the county’s Farm-City Committee, which already had strong relationships with county schools – including committee members who worked at the schools. The committee shared their youth council plans with educators, especially teachers who served as advisors for career tech service organizations, student government associations, FFA, Future Business Leaders of America, SkillsUSA, HOSA (future health professionals) and others.

Once the teachers made their recommendations, the Geneva County Farmers Federation Farm-City Committee chairman formally invited the recommended students to serve on the youth council.

The council was launched at a welcome dinner, with several events for the council to participate in following. Among those events were city council and county commission proclamation signings, the Farm-City Banquet and the regional fair, where the council members created and staffed an agricultural education booth.

Integral to the development of the council members was training them to lead younger students through demonstrations and lessons about sustainability in agriculture. Council members led several programs, including those that taught kindergarten and first grade students about soil; a county-wide fourth grade workshop highlighting the water cycle and how to promote clean water; a county-wide agriculture day for sixth grade students; building raised beds for a preschool; and reading accurate agriculture books to second grade students.

At all of the events, council members wore Farm-City Youth Council-branded t-shirts. The t-shirts also bore the logo of the partner agency that sponsored the council. In addition, council members assisted the agency with agricultural education projects during the school year.

County Activities of Excellence

Geneva County Farmers Federation’s Farm-City Youth Council earned the organization a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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A partnership with a local camp allowed Franklin County (Kansas) Farm Bureau to engage 80 children ages 5 to 11 in weekly agriculture education sessions that included farm tours, field trips and interactive demos for the campers.

The sessions, which lasted at least 90 minutes each, were incorporated weekly over 10 weeks of camp and focused on structured, hands-on learning about agriculture. The lessons addressed water usage, bee pollination, floriculture and much more. There were corn variety and pedal pull demonstrations, as well as a session during which the campers created corn germination necklaces.

Field trip destinations included a local co-op, popcorn farm, equipment dealership, hoop house farm, pumpkin farm and livestock barns at the county fair.

Each session ended with a short summary and informal quiz.

The camp provided the audience, transportation and staff to assist with the campers. Franklin County Farm Bureau recruited the local farmers and agribusiness owners to host tours and lead demonstrations. County Farm Bureau board members and Ag Ambassadors, along with FFA and 4-H members, helped as tour guides and liaisons between Farm Bureau and the farmers and ranchers involved.

The Summer Ag Education Series met several objectives for the Franklin County Farm Bureau. Along with fostering curiosity, appreciation and understanding of agriculture in several dozen elementary school-aged campers, hosting the sessions throughout the summer extended the students’ exposure to agriculture, which is often confined to the classroom ag lessons during the school year.

In addition, the summer series helped Franklin County Farm Bureau develop stronger connections with farmers and agribusiness owners in the county, as well as community businesses, like the camp. It also put the organization front and center with campers and their parents, some of whom became members. By sharing photos of the farm visits and other field trips on Facebook, Franklin County Farm Bureau gained more than 100 new followers.

The camp session event boosted participation in the county pedal pull event by 40% after campers were introduced to it. Many of the campers went on to compete at the state fair.

County Activities of Excellence

Franklin County Farm Bureau’s Summer Ag Education Series earned the organization a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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What was started as a small indoor educational garden by Franklin County (Virginia) Farm Bureau blossomed into a year-round outdoor program that not only supports ag education but shows Benjamin Franklin Middle School students how to grow a variety of food sources and helps address local food insecurity.

The project started as a small indoor hydroponics garden and expanded in 2025 into a larger outdoor learning space with multiple raised beds.

Working with math teacher Jennifer Hatch and a school administrator, Franklin County Farm Bureau helped create a planting timeline with a focus on plants that can create student-friendly meals and can produce throughout the school year and in the summer. Hatch leads the lessons and works with the students in the garden, while Farm Bureau provides expertise and secures volunteers and resources, like seeds, plants, fertilizer and soil, when needed.

Each stage of the garden is an opportunity for an agriculture lesson – from composting, cleaning out the raised beds, prepping the soil and applying fertilizer to planting seeds, maintaining the beds and weeding. Harvesting and food preparation are also part of the lesson plan.

On the STEM side, working in the garden exposes students to real-world applications of math, nutrition and science through planting, measuring growth, testing soil, managing compost and learning about garden management.

It’s not only the garden that’s growing, so are the students’ teamwork skills and their understanding of responsibility, problem-solving and long-term project planning.

“It’s full circle,” said Monica Bowman, Franklin County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee member. “Students plant the garden, nurture the plants and learn how to cook and prepare their harvest.”

The students enjoy making pesto from garden-grown basil and fresh salads with leafy greens, tomatoes and sprouts.

The garden also helps address food insecurity in the community, which affects 16.2% of the county’s children.

“Students were asking if they could take some produce home and it became apparent there was a need for food,” Bowman shared. “So, this year we started a backpack harvest” where students bring produce from the garden home to their families.

Bowman estimates over 500 students have been directly involved, with even more learning from the garden as teachers incorporate it into their lessons.

“It just snowballed,” Bowman said. “Students tell other students about it and then they want to participate too.”

County Activities of Excellence

Franklin County Farm Bureau’s year-round middle school garden earned the organization a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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Last Mother’s Day weekend, Hancock County (Ohio) Farm Bureau took one thing off moms’ long to-do list by providing a complimentary field meal.

To launch the event, Hancock County Farm Bureau distributed postcards to every member, inviting them to sign up to pick up a complimentary meal on Saturday, May 10, the day before Mother’s Day. Partnering with a Farm Bureau member who runs a catering business, Hancock County Farm Bureau offered members a selection of wraps including ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, and club. The meals also included fruit cups, pasta salad, chips and a freshly baked good. The postcards directed members to choose their wraps and specify quantities via a QR code or a phone call to the Farm Bureau office.

Members who registered for meals picked them up at the county fairgrounds, in front of the mural the Hancock County Farm Bureau board of directors donated to the fair in 2024. People could enjoy their meals at the nearby picnic tables or bring them back to the farm.

Along with the 177 meals they distributed, the county Farm Bureau also provided informative materials, such as details about member benefits and upcoming events.

Beyond simply providing a meal to member families on Mother’s Day weekend during the very busy planting season, the initiative promoted the well-being of farmers and their families and showed farmers how much Hancock County Farm Bureau appreciates their members and all those involved in farming in the county.

The meals also fostered community connections, strengthening relationships between Farm Bureau volunteers and members – and garnered six new registrations for the upcoming Women’s Conference.

County Activities of Excellence

Hancock County Farm Bureau’s Meals for Mom earned the organization a County Activities of Excellence Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. They were among 25 counties invited to display their activity at the 2026 AFBF Convention trade show in January in Anaheim, California.

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Michigan Farm Bureau’s Connecting Communities grant program helped 59 county Farm Bureaus reach more than 107,000 youth and adults, strengthening trust in farming and food production, expanding community partnerships and elevating agriculture’s visibility across the state.

Funding Consumer Engagement

Launched in 2024 as a strategic initiative by the Michigan Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee, Connecting Communities supported consumer engagement by directly funding county Farm Bureau initiatives.

The program provided any interested county Farm Bureau with a $1,000 non-competitive grant, as well as media kits, support in securing media streaming campaigns, career exploration materials, templates and other resources, to engage directly with consumers.

There were two application categories: connect and celebrate, which was focused on building relationships through social events, and explore and learn, which highlighted agriculture’s role in careers and community life. Counties could apply individually, partner with other counties or collaborate at the district level.

State Support for a Local Focus

The 59 counties that participated executed more than 30 events that ran the gamut from ag career fairs and food preservation workshops to live media broadcasts, road safety campaigns and farm-to-fork dinners.

“The state-provided resources maintained message consistency and brand visibility while the funding allowed counties to customize activities and events to meet their local needs and capture local opportunities,” said Tonia Ritter, manager of the Promotion & Education Department at Michigan Farm Bureau.

Through events like Copper County Farm Bureau’s farm “date night” dinner, Livingston County’s partnership with special needs programs to prepare young adults for ag careers and Wayne County’s urban farming educational event, participating county Farm Bureaus reached 45,949 adults and 61,451 youth in a single year. In addition, county Farm Bureau streaming ad impressions totaled 25,273.

The grants provided a big boost to member volunteer engagement with more than 489 members gaining practical experience as community ambassadors. In addition, county Farm Bureaus partnered with 286 organizations including schools, radio stations, chambers of commerce, Rotary Clubs, agribusinesses and local governments, expanding Farm Bureau’s influence well beyond traditional circles.

A Long-Term Payoff

While the grant was a one-time offering in 2024, the many high-quality resources developed in tandem with the grant program remain available to county Farm Bureaus. And some of the county Farm Bureaus even budgeted to continue the activity or event in 2025.

For Michigan Farm Bureau, the return on investment was high. The $1,000 grants catalyzed more than $66,000 in outreach investment, multiplying impact through local contributions and in-kind support by an additional 35%.

“Equally important is the confidence the participating county Farm Bureaus gained with their successful engagement, which provided proof that consumer outreach is possible, impactful and rewarding,” Ritter said.

New Horizon Award

Michigan Farm Bureau’s Connecting Communities earned the organization a 2026 New Horizon Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation. The award, which honors state Farm Bureaus with the most innovative new programs, is presented annually at the AFBF Convention.

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