Thank you, Farm Gate contributors

Again, my role as Farm Gate’s chief cook and bottle washer puts my name prominently all over this publication — I’m proud of that — but it’s a team effort, and here comes a year-end smorgasbord of gratitude, because I sure can’t do it alone.

Review Squad

There’s an inner circle here at the Home Office who I lean on for brainstorming and idea-bouncing, but their biggest role as Farm Gate’s “Review Squad” is combing through every stitch of every issue before we hit ‘send.’ 

Different sets of eyes find different kinds of things that need fixing. They read every article, click every link, and second-guess every questionable decision I make about the relative prominence of this article vs. that one.

In other words, they’re indispensable: Farm Gate co-creator Jenna Mignano, Nicole Sevrey, Megan Sprague, Becca Gulliver and my new boss Tim Dilts. Simply put, the Review Squad does a ton of quality-control work to help ensure every Farm Gate is as error-free as possible.

Home Office staff

Outside the inner circle just named above, there are few others at Home Office who don’t contribute to Farm Gate. 

The diverse brain trust you employ at 7373 West Saginaw Highway on the west side of Lansing is a deep well of knowledge and experience, from the machinations of policy development and candidate evaluation to environmental regulations and knowing what kind of sheep that is. 

Everyone here is just one answer away from pitching in. They take my random questions in person, over the phone and online, and in true Farm Bureau fashion, if they don’t know the answer themselves, they direct me toward whoever does. That’s your network — your family — in action, and underperforming is not in their blood.

Regional Managers

This stable of a dozen muscly workhorses is as indispensable as your staff gets. Our Regional Managers are the eyes and ears, the boots on the ground, the doers and implementers, the coaches and tutors. 

And Farm Gate leans heavily on their expertise — especially their knowledge of you, the membership — to know not only what’s going on, but who to contact for all the nitty gritty. They’re the most crucial, essential bridges connecting Home Office with the county Farm Bureaus.

In short, not much happens without our Regional Managers knowing their members, their counties, their regions. A publication like Farm Gate would be impossible without them.

CAMs

It’s one of the first organizational acronyms we learn — County Administrative Manager — and for good reason. These unsung heroes stiffen the backbone of your county Farm Bureau, serving all members and staff in more ways than can be counted.

Some I’ve worked with for decades; others are so new I haven’t even met them yet. Some are in regular contact; others I rarely hear from. Some CAMs contribute articles and photos all on their own, but every last one of them is at the ready with a baffling diversity of information we all need to make Farm Bureau work — and in my case, to make Farm Gate work.

Bottom line: CAMs are absolutely essential to making this organization work. So if you haven’t hugged your CAM lately, drop everything!

Interns 

Also providing a lot of great Farm Gate content this year were some of the interns who survived tours of duty here at Farm Bureau Center. This year’s standouts are Cassie Bosworth, Sophee Garcia, Callie Loew, Allie Richardson and Lilianne Trinkle. 

Best of luck to all these talented young women as they continue their education and, eventually, put their skills to work for the benefit of Michigan agriculture.

Farm Bureau members

Some wrote full articles, some met me halfway with a rough draft and horizontal photos. Some just contributed quotes by picking up the phone or returning a text message. Some merely offered words of encouragement.

Regardless, everyone named below helped make Farm Gate a practical, useful, informative publication that’s truly representative of its own audience. Thank you all:

• Rob & Tom Alway, Mason; Lisa & Carl Bednarski, Tuscola; Carmen Beemer, Oceana; Matt Bernia, Muskegon; Nathan Beyerlein, Tuscola; Katie Blashill, St. Clair; Katrina Bontekoe, Osceola; Beth & Drew Bordner, Mecosta; John Bowsky, Sanilac; Riley Brazo, St. Joseph; Kristen Brown, Monroe; Joe Bryant, Isabella; Ben Butcher, Shiawassee; Pat Butler, Calhoun; Katie Courtade, Muskegon; Adam Dietrich, Ottawa; Erica Drake, Washtenaw.
• Lyndsay Earl, Mason; Marc Erffmeyer, Allegan; Jess Erler, Osceola; Andrew Fahrner, Huron; Candi & Mark Fentress, Wayne; Chad Geoit, Kalamazoo; Matt Gibson, Kalamazoo; Kim Graham, Wayne; Sarah Hollon, Clare; Tiffany Howell, Lapeer; Carol Johnson, Menominee
• Jeremy Karsten, Presque Isle; Kristi Keilen, Clinton; Katelyn Kelley, Eaton; Angela King, St. Joseph; Loren King, Lenawee; Gary Kirsh, Macomb; Pete Kleiman, Menominee; LaRea Kremhelmer, Oakland; Emily Kropf, Kent; Betty Jo Krosnicki, St. Clair; Kelsie Letts, Calhoun; Darcy Lipskey, Sanilac; Charles Loveland, Jackson
• Chris Machiela, Allegan; Jenn Marfio, Mecosta; Susan Mattila, Copper Country; Ed McBroom, Iron Range; Cathy McCune, Isabella; Dennis Meyer, Monroe; Candy Mitchell, Oakland; Brennan Mudd, Midland; Martha Munsell, Livingston; Joyce Neyer, Isabella; Mike Noll, Sanilac; Cora Okkema, Mecosta; Tyler Ooman, Oceana; Alex Overhiser, Allegan
• Jeffrey Palik, Copper Country; Elaine Palm, Ogemaw; Nathan Payne, Iosco; Suzzy Pross, Clinton; Cyn & Tom Prusakiewicz, Otsego; Allan Robinette, Kent; Chris Sanford, Jackson; Ed Scheffler, Lenawee; Jeff Schluckbier, Tuscola; Taylor Schomaker, Saginaw; Tami Shaw, Ingham; Kathy Siler, Washtenaw; Madeleine Smeltzer, Wexford; Jason Smith, Macomb; Katelyn Thompson, Eaton; Christian Tollini, Presque Isle
• John Vanderkooi, Ottawa; Ellen Vanderwal, Missaukee; Ray Van Driessche, Bay; Cale Veurink, Emmet; Abby Vittore, Lenawee; Dan Vogler, Wexford; Marsha Wainio, Iron Range; Nate Wilson, Northwest Michigan; Andrew & Tom Woelmer, Monroe; Cole Wood, Sanilac; Nicole Zaagman, Kent; Kylee Zdunic-Rasch, Kent; Frank Zwemmer, Gratiot