Jim Orr, President (SE 1/4 Section)
Jim Orr is currently serving as the Eaton County Farm Bureau President. He has been active on the board for eight years, serving on the Executive Committee for the past six years as both the 3rd Member and then the Vice President. Jim is active on both the local and state level, serving on the State Policy Development and State Young Farmer Committees. He has worked with the Farm Bureau Petting Barn at the Eaton County Fair and is also active with Ag in the Classroom. Outside of Farm Bureau, Jim's farm produces corn, soybeans, wheat, food grain soybeans and canola. He is also a tax preparer during the "off season." Jim is active with the community, serving as a township trustee and enjoys spending time with his wife, Carrie and their two children Peter and Keith.

Steve Tennes, Vice-President (NE 1/4 Section)
Steve Tennes owns and operates a 120-acre fruit and vegetable farm offering "family fun" to the over 50,000 customers who visit the Country Mill farm market each year. Apples and pumpkins are the major crops in his operation and he is hoping to have 20 acres of apples certified as organic in the coming year. Steve is very conscientious about the economical and environmental challenges he faces as a Michigan farmer, and has worked very hard to achieve MAEAP certification. Currently, Steve is working with the MSU Extension on a pilot project to introduce winter canola as a rotation crop to his farm and hopes to make his farm energy independent using the canola to power diesel engines and heat farm buildings. He has played a major role in the development and implementation of our county goals and objectives. He has led the discussions and asked the hard questions to help fellow board members achieve excellence. His experience promoting his own business has helped the Promotion & Education Committee achieve new lengths over the past year, including a very successful Frontier Days Parade promotion and Farm Bureau Day at the Fair.

Ben Tirrell, Third Member (SW 1/4 Section)
Ben Tirrell is currently serving his second year on the Eaton County Farm Bureau Board of Directors. He has been active on the local and state level, serving on the Policy Development Committee and Local Issues Committee. Ben also attending the Lansing Legislative and is serving on the Legislative Breakfast Committee. Outside of Farm Bureau, Ben's farm produces sheep, cattle and cash crops. In this spare time he is active with the Michigan Sheep Breeder's Association and enjoys cheese making.

Chris Densmore, Bellevue-Walton Townships
Chris Densmore has been active on the board for eleven years. He is active on the local Farm Bureau level working with the Building Use Committee and the County Annual. Outside of Farm Bureau, Chris's farm produces corn, beans, wheat, hay and cattle. He is also active in the community, serving on his church's board. Chris also enjoys camping and spending time with his two daughters in his free time.

Deb Granger, Brookfield-Hamlin Townships
Deb Grainger retired from the City of Charlotte after 26 years, where she held the position of City Clerk. She currently owns a 92-acre dairy, beef and poultry farm in Brookfield Township. She has served as a member of the Eaton County fair board for the past 10 years and currently serves as Treasurer. Deb has been the Community Emergency Response Team Secretary for the past two years and assists the Brookfield Township Clerk with elections. In her spare time, Deb and her husband, Ron, have two children, Jeffrey and Katie (Steve) Miller, and two grandchildren. She would like to become more involved with Eaton County Farm Bureau and feels her experience in government and fair activities may be an asset to the board.

Ryan Hall, Junior Board Member
Coming Soon...

Fred Marquardt, Delta-Oneida Townships
Fred Marquardt is currently ending his sixth term on the Eaton County Farm Bureau Board of Directors. He has a 450-acre operation in Delta Township, growing corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa hay. He has been a member of Farm Bureau since 1956 and enjoys the meetings and discussions generated regarding hot topics in the agriculture industry. He currently serves on his church's finance committee and has served on the Eaton County Planning Commission, Delta Township Planning Commission, and the Tri-County Planning Commission. Fred and his wife, Jean, have five adult children and eight grandchildren.

Jeremy McKay, Benton-Windsor Townships
Jeremy McKay owns 56-acres and raises corn, soybeans and alfalfa. He also has 1,000 raspberry plants and a small hog finish operation. He is a Journeyman electrician and has previously served on the Eaton County Farm Bureau Board of Directors as the Young Farmer Chair. Jeremy and his wife, Jenny, have two sons and reside in Eaton Rapids.

Anne Pease, Kalamo-Carmel Townships
Anne Pease is currently serving her first year on the Board of Directors. She and her husband, Carl, live in Kalamo Township on a sheep and beef cattle farm. The farm has been in Carl's family for over 100 years. They have three children, Caleb, 21, a junior at Western Michigan University and Lucas, 19, a sophomore at Lake Superior State University, and Emily, 15, a sophomore at Bellevue High School. Ann has worked at the Eaton County MSU Extension office for 22 years previously as the 4-H program assistant and currently as the office manager. She is looking forward to working with the board and meeting new people.

Derik Rickerd, Young Farmer Chair
Derik Rickerd is a 30 yr old lifetime resident of Eaton County. He grew up on a very small family farm in Chester Township, raising beef cattle, and alfalfa hay. He holds an Associates Degree of Applied Science from Owens Technical College in Toledo, Ohio specializing in diesel technology and business management. He has been employed Janson Equipment Company for the past 9 years where he has served as the Service Department Manager, and as an equipment salesman. He also holds a Michigan Contractors License and a Real Estate Brokers License. He and his wife own and operate Lake State Property Management a residential real estate management company in the greater Charlotte area. His highest priority is his family. He is married to Erika (Manning) Rickerd, and has 3 children; Kaylee, Abigail and Adam.

Brett Roberts, Eaton-Eaton Rapids Townships
Brett Roberts has been serving on the Farm Bureau board for 1 year as the appointed representative for the Eaton-Eaton Rapids area. He farms with his dad, Dave Roberts. They farm about 900 acres, raising corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. Brett also sells corn, soybean and alfalfa seed for Golden Harvest and has been doing so for three years. He tries to involve himself with the farming community as much as possible and was vice president of a non profit group called Citizens United. With the group, he helped organize the city and rural communities and fought the relocation of the Charlotte airport into the farm community and the take over of 1200 acres of farm land by the eminent domain process. In his short time on the board he has joined the Farmer's Care Action Team, which he believes will be very influential in protecting animal agriculture in Michigan.

Holly Schaeffer, Promotion & Education Chair
Holly Schaeffer has served as the Promotion & Education Chair for the past two years. She is science teacher at the Calhoun Area Career Center and has been active in Farm Bureau for the past two years. Outside of Farm Bureau, Holly's hobbies include Beekeeping and working with the Red Cross Disaster Relief teams. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband, Ken Poff.

Duane Smuts, Vermontville-Chester Townships
Duane Smuts is currently as the 3rd Member on the Eaton County Farm Bureau Board of Directors. He has been active with the Lansing Legislative and the Membership Committee, including the 2008 Membership Kick-Off. Outside of Farm Bureau, Duane's farm produces corn, soybeans and wheat. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife, Maria, and their two kids Jadyn and Ethan. Duane also enjoys golfing when time permits.

Lynn Stanke, NW 1/4 Section
Lynn Stanke lives in Chester Township with Cindy, his wife of 33 years. They have three children and 2 grandchildren. He farms with his brother and oldest son raising alfalfa, corn, soybeans and wheat. In addition Lynn has a beef cow/calf to finish operation. With the help of the kids and their spouses the family also produces maple syrup on the farm his grandfather bought in 1921. Most of the syrup is sold at the Oakland County Farmers Market where Grandpa started selling over 50 years ago, making the family the second oldest producer at the market. Lynn is a life member of the FFA Alumni and is active with the Charlotte FFA. He has been active in the Eaton County Farm Bureau for over 20 years serving as Promotion & Education chairman for many years and acting as the chairman of the by-laws committee. Currently he is the Vice President and chairman of the Policy and Development committee.

Claire White, Junior Board Member
Coming Soon...