Oakland County Farm Bureau took a different approach to its 2025 Annual Meeting, convening at members Glen and Candy Mitchell’s sesquicentennial farm in Holly Sept. 16 for an open-house-style gathering.
An informal meal included homemade ice cream made by one of Oakland’s newest members! Members also enjoyed an evening hayride and roamed the 187-year-old farm for hours, visiting, discussing policy, meeting current board members and getting acquainted with new board candidates.
Much of the policy discussion centered around vigorous support for passing a comprehensive federal farm bill, emphasizing the benefits to the economy by ensuring predictable farm income, stabilizing food prices and supporting local businesses. Members also reaffirmed their commitment to local food banks through support for partnership with processors to donate deer.
Committee chairs and volunteers manned stations to share what their programs accomplished throughout the year, taking in new ideas and volunteer sign-ups.
Member feedback made it clear the new format was a success:
- “We loved being able to have time to discuss policy directly, in an informal setting.”
- “Great evening! More like the ‘old time’ Farm Bureau!”
- “The hayride was a lot of fun!”
- “It was good to be able to talk with board candidates rather than just read about them.”
Host Candy Mitchell summed it up perfectly: “It was a great night of getting to know each other and our farming interests better, enjoying the Oakland County Farm Bureau family and learning about the value of Farm Bureau membership.”
To qualify for a door prize, attendees had to visit all the stations and submit a completed ballot for the board election. Oakland County Farm Bureau welcomes two new members to its board:
- Jessica Lynn is an agriscience educator at Bloomfield Hills High School and the FFA Advisor at Bowers School Farm.
- William Long is part of the sixth generation at Long Family Orchard & Farm in Commerce Township.
Returning board members are cattleman Gordon McKay and Cathy Genovese from Candy Cane Christmas Tree Farm in Oxford.
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