I’ll go to my grave insisting county fairs are prime opportunities for county Farm Bureaus to step into the spotlight and connect the dots for a captive audience: connect the sights and sounds of farm-at-the-fair with agricultural realities out past the city limits.
My conviction alone hasn’t much moved that needle, but I still love seeing counties embrace the stage fairs provide. So when Oakland County’s new CAM, Megan Isbell, suggested I come check out their July 13 member appreciation picnic, she heard a quick ‘yes’ from me.
Turns out Oakland’s needle didn’t need moving, because their Day at the Fair for county Farm Bureau members is a well-oiled machine with roots deeper than a dandelion’s. I could’ve written “deeper than the Scramlin family’s” because that clan of Oakland County royalty is as synonymous with local agriculture as the Putneys in Benzie-Manistee, the Pridgeons in Branch or the Rubinghs in Antrim.
Among the many Scramlins pulling levers behind the scenes is Matt Scramlin, a past president of the Oakland County Farm Bureau (still a board member) and a former MFB Regional Manager.
“Oakland County Farm Bureau has always been a big sponsor of the fair,” he started, “and a way to bring the two together was to use Farm Bureau promotional money for giving back to the members.”
He means all members, by the way, which in Oakland County totals about 500 farming (“regular”) members and more than — sitting down? — more than 21,000 associate members! That’s by far the most of any Michigan county. (Kent is a distant second with 16,000 associates.)
“They all get free admission into the fair, free parking, then all our insurance agents are here serving up a good barbecue luncheon.
“This is our way to give back to members who aren’t directly connected to agriculture — who have our insurance — to show them we’re different: We can do things they can’t do and give a personal touch they can’t get anywhere else.”
Oakland members also take advantage of discounted armbands for cut-rate midway rides and free admission into the rodeo in the main event arena.
“It’s been a great relationship for both the fair and the Farm Bureau,” Scramlin said. “Bringing folks together, getting some agriculture on-site for our associates who maybe don’t know it very well, and to just interact with agents in a friendlier context than discussing a bill or talking through some accident.
“That’s important in a more urban county like Oakland, to get that touch with people,” he said. “Here they can interact on a personal level, which is why we’ve had such great success with the insurance agents being a part of this.”
Estimated to number up to 2,500, this year’s crowd marked a return to form after the pandemic took every puff of wind from the event’s sales.
“Covid kind of messed things up,” explained Gordon McKay, another member of Oakland’s board. “Before Covid we were averaging between 1,200 and 1,500 people a year. Then the pandemic hit and obviously our numbers really dropped. Last year I think we hit over 1,000, and this year we got 2,500 registered.
“It’s a big, big expense for our county, sure, sure, but Oakland’s a little different,” he demurred, referring to the worst-kept secret among Michigan’s county 65 county Farm Bureaus: Oakland’s lopsided regular-to-associate ratio (approximately 1:42) endows it with a budget so ample it’s not above granting funds to counties down on their luck or caught in a shortfall.
“It’s been a good project for all of us — very good,” McKay continued. “The agents have always been very helpful. They actually look forward to it, and we love to see that. Interaction with agents is always good.”
And that, gentle reader, is a pro tip for county Farm Bureaus rich and poor alike: Involve your FBI agents! Farm Bureaus who include their local agents as members of the family enjoy better relations within the organization, across their communities and throughout their memberships.
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