When I think about my time with Farm Bureau, I couldn’t have pictured 10 years ago how my path would lead through the Young Farmer program. Being a Young Farmer member in this organization means many different things to many different people.
For me it means opportunities. It means having a voice. It means being a part of a community on many different levels.
Michigan agriculture is incredibly diverse and with that same diversity is echoed in our membership. It’s part of what makes us unique as the largest member-led farm organization in the state.
It doesn’t matter if you serve as a county board member; on a county Young Farmer committee; a state-level committee with Young Farmers, Promotion & Education, Policy Development; or if you’re on the MFB Board of Directors, leading the organization: We’re all in the same boat at the end of the day.
Opportunities for Young Farmer members are everywhere, from networking at our Leaders Conference to polishing your skills at a district-level discussion meet and having an opportunity to move on to compete at the state level. Or maybe you’re filling out a Young Farmer award application, showcasing your story in agriculture and how you got where you are today.
Maybe you’re interested in policy development, so you serve on your county’s PD committee, creating policy and moving it up the ladder to the state level, defending it on the delegate floor at our State Annual Meeting before it’s voted into our policy book.
All these things give you the chance to have your voice heard, and it all starts at the grassroots level: the basic, fundamental principle our organization was founded on.
Being a Young Farmer member brings you into a community that, 10 years ago, I couldn’t have dreamed of. I’ve been fortunate enough to make connections all over the state — and far beyond it — that I know I’ll have for a lifetime. It’s a community I know and understand, no matter what we’re doing.
Whatever’s going on in our world, we can reach out to one another. We can discuss it, related to agriculture or not.
That community helps keep me centered. I know that no matter what’s going on, in our homes or on our farms or in our communities, that my Farm Bureau family is always there.
The opportunity to serve this organization in various ways has reminded me of that, time and time again, for more than 10 years. This year, the honor of chairing the State Young Farmer Committee has once again opened doors and opportunities I don’t believe I would’ve otherwise experienced had I not accepted that empty board seat on my county Farm Bureau 10 years ago.
The friendships I’ve made, the opportunities I’ve had, the voice I’ve been given because of Farm Bureau… I truly cannot put into words how grateful I am. All these things combined make me excited for the future of this organization, and excited for the next round of opportunities for me personally, whatever those may be, going forward.
You didn’t ask for my advice but here it is anyway: Don’t be afraid to step outside your box. I promise: You will surprise yourself the moment you do. The things you are capable of with this community surrounding you — embracing you — really are endless.
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