Less than two weeks after the end of the Michigan Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Leaders Conference, I left for Omaha, Nebraska and the American Farm Bureau Federation’s National Young Farmer and Rancher Conference. I made sure to take advantage of the first-timers’ seminar and tour. Although I’ve been to conferences all over the country for various organizations, this was the first time I’d experienced such hospitality to first-time conference attendees.
The conference kicked off with a welcome reception and networking. I was thrilled to win a Cabela’s gift card during the raffle. It was so wonderful to reconnect with friends made at the recent Michigan conference.
Day Two
Saturday was jammed full of motivation, education and entertainment. I have to give a shout out to my amazing roommate for the weekend, Zoey Zupin. Had a blast getting to know her and sharing this incredible experience as fellow Kent County members.
There were so many amazing highlights. The morning keynote was full of enthusiasm and energy as Dr. Rick Rigsby gave us this challenging and thought provoking message:
- Do hard better
- Get uncomfortable
- Disrupt your thinking
Life is not easy and we need to press through hard times: figure things out, don’t give up, keep standing. We also need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Comfort is the barrier to progress. Changing our perspective and thinking out of the box helps us develop into our greatest potential. Dr. Rigsby closed by encouraging us to be great by helping people all around us and focusing on the basics. In his definition, greatness boils down to doing ordinary, daily things better than others by starting where we are, using what we have, and doing what we can. When we get the simple things right, we will grow greatness within ourselves.
After a delicious lunch, we headed out to our selected breakout sessions. I sat in on three sessions that included topics: agriculture advocacy, public policy (specifically what’s happening in Washington), and a screening of the documentary, Abundance: The Story behind The Farmlink Project.
My key takeaways from the sessions:
- Use my strengths to develop opportunities to connect and engage my local community through agriculture.
- Understanding of how government works to put forth and pass federal legislation that encompasses agriculture such as the farm bill.
- How two college students defied the odds to salvage millions of pounds of food from farmers and relocate it to communities in need throughout the COVID pandemic and beyond.
We rounded out an exciting day with an incredible party at the historic Union Station which now houses The Durham Museum. The evening felt like a mix of the movie Night at the Museum and Polar Express as we had the entire museum for our group of 900 young farmers and ranchers. So many displays and artifacts to explore, and model trains galore! There were several restored train cars we could walk through and experience as well. We danced the night away to country favorites and classics.
Day Three
Sunday was the day of the blue polos! Each state wore the same color shirt and took a group photo. That morning’s keynote encompassed an important panel discussion featuring American Farm Bureau Federation’s program Farm State of Mind, bringing awareness to mental health and farmer suicide and services and programs (many free) Farm Bureau provides its members. It’s important that we farmers dispel the stigma and stereotypes and have vulnerable conversations about mental health: I myself know the challenges of struggling with mental health, and I’m grateful for my treatment for depression and anxiety.
Did you know that, “Multiple studies show that farmer suicide rates are 2-5x higher than the national average. Experiences such as natural disasters, extreme weather events, financial uncertainty, fluctuating markets, labor shortages, trade disruptions and other factors all contribute to extreme stress for farmers and ranchers who often live in a very isolated setting.”
We learned from four other farmers the importance of taking responsibility for our own mental health and Farm Bureau’s belief: “A healthy farm or ranch is nothing without a healthy you.”
Breakout sessions on Sunday included business basics for beginning farmers, work/life balance, and agri-tainment and agritourism. I really enjoyed the business basics class. We learned that, first and foremost, we are not farmers, we are entrepreneurs. Furthermore, if we are not making a profit we either need to quit or pivot to make a profit, otherwise it’s just a hobby. We dove deeper into budgeting and financial statements, understanding how to calculate our gross and net profit percentages.
As someone who handles books, taxes, payroll and budgets on a weekly basis, I left with some practical tips to take home to apply on the farm. In regards to work/life balance, I walked away feeling more confident in my ability to say no to opportunities or invitations that do not align with my values and priorities with the farm. It was interesting to hear what farmers in other states offer their customers and how they are pivoting to meet food and farm product demands through CSAs, subscriptions, multiple locations, and on-farm events and classes to engage and serve those in their communities.
Sunday night, we celebrated Michigan receiving an award for the Harvest for All program and campaign. “According to the Food Bank Council of Michigan, currently 15% of Michigan residents and 18% of all children are considered food insecure. Harvest for All is a year-long campaign, created by the American Farm Bureau Federation, that encourages Farm Bureau members across the country and in Michigan to work together to help fight hunger in their communities.”
We had a little more time to spend as a Michigan group in the evening and enjoyed talking and playing card games together. If there’s one thing that makes Farm Bureau stand out to me in comparison to every other professional organization I’ve been involved with the last 15 years it is that everyone is welcome. It’s a wonderful opportunity for young, old, new, and generational farmers to plug in and feel a sense of belonging, pride and connection. It’s so amazing to have met so many wonderful young farmer friends in such a short period of time.
Day Four
The final day of the we got a wonderful keynote by American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall. I was so touched by Zippy’s keynote and his willingness to share his story and faith with us. He is an example of a servant leader focused on Jesus Christ, leading and living by example, sharing his faith and the power of hard work and prayer with all of us.
Some of Zippy’s points that stuck with me included: Don’t ever underestimate yourself. God has a plan and a purpose for you. Colossians 3:23 “Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for human masters.” He wrapped up his speech by quoting Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”’ A poignant challenge to all of us young farmers and ranchers to respond to the Lord’s calling on our lives.
After an afternoon of farm tourss, our Michigan group crossed the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge over the Missouri River. It was quite spectacular in the dark and a tad bit windy way above the waters below. There’s a line towards the middle of the bridge that signifies the state line of Nebraska and Iowa. Of course we needed to get a photo of us standing in two places at once. An unforgettable night and several days thanks to Kent County Farm Bureau. I want to say a special thanks to all the Farm Bureau staff members and committee members locally and nationally who worked tirelessly to make this conference a success.