Jennifer Lewis, of Jonesville in Hillsdale County, is the District 2 director on the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) board of directors, representing Farm Bureau members in Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Jackson and Lenawee counties. Lewis previously served on the board as a director at-large and promotion and education representative.
Lewis operates a third-generation dairy and cash crop farm, Pleasant View Dairy, with her husband Bruce. They milk 600 head of cattle and farm 1,100 acres of corn, 650 acres of soybeans, 125 acres of wheat and 400 acres of hay. The couple also operates a small U-Pick and ready-picked blueberry patch.
An active Farm Bureau member, Lewis served on the MFB Promotion and Education Committee for six years. At the local level, she served four years as chairperson of the county Farm Bureau's Promotion and Education Committee and another four years as co-chair of the Membership Committee. She is also a member of the county Farm Bureau's Community Action Group.
The mother of three is just as involved outside of Farm Bureau. She's a Jonesville United Methodist Church member, Dairy Communicator for the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), treasurer of the Hillsdale County Dairy Promoters, and a member of the Hillsdale County 4-H Council. She's also a past officer with the Jonesville Jaycees and has been a 4-H leader for 16 years.
Her many other achievements include being named the Hillsdale County Farm Bureau Volunteer of the Year in 2001. As well, she and her husband were named MMPA Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperator winners in local, district and state competitions in 2005.
A year later, Lewis earned the Hillsdale County Dairy Herd Improvement Association's Community Service Award. Also in 2006, she and her husband co-served as secretary on the Young Cooperator Advisory Council of the National Milk Producers Federation.
See Lewis in action in a short video profile that showcases how her family cares for their cows and the environment.