St. Joseph County’s Drew Bordner was surrounded by agriculture growing up on his family’s Angus operation. As an adult, he continues to stay involved in the industry, working with both row and specialty crop farmers in the tri-state area while also being an active Farm Bureau member.
Bordner got started with Farm Bureau at a young age thanks to his father’s involvement and encouragement. He attended his first organizational event at 16 and his passion for it has only grown since.
Leading up to his current position as co-chair of St. Joseph’s Young Farmer program, Bordner was involved in organizations like FFA, 4-H and the Junior Angus Foundation. He always felt pulled toward leadership and knew chairing the local Young Farmer program would be a promising opportunity — he loves what the program provides his young peers statewide.
“Friendships and networking are right there at the top for me,” he said, “and the opportunities go hand-in-hand.
“The places I’ve been able to visit and things I’ve seen, your average day-to-day person probably wouldn’t get to experience that.”
Bordner also enjoys sharing his experiences and encouraging other young members to get involved. He’s found that finding out what piques people’s interests and gets them to attend events helps open their eyes to what Farm Bureau has to offer.
Bordner takes pride in the success St. Joseph’s Young Farmer program has seen, notably the Young Farmer Awards. Last year two winners came from District 1, including one from St. Joseph County, and this year he’s claimed the employee award for himself.
He credits much of his success to MFB Regional Manager Sarah Pion, a veteran advocate for and supporter of ambitious Young Farmers across the southwestern Lower Peninsula. His fellow Young Farmers in St. Joseph County get Bordner’s nod of gratitude as well, especially for how they strive to make their program successful.
Looking forward, Bordner is excited to increase engagement at local events; this year he and his co-chairs are working with Cass County to host a member trap shoot.
“I never want to close the door to members from other counties, or even friends of members who want to come to see what Farm Bureau is all about,” he said.
As he and his closest peers get closer to aging out of the program, he looks forward to eventually passing the torch to younger members — but not before developing them into effective leaders.
“It can really stifle a program” when its most active members age out, Bordner knows. “One of the biggest things for me is getting a fire lit in that next group of younger adults and getting them involved.”
This article is part of an ongoing series looking at the accomplishments of county Young Farmer chairs; look for more in upcoming issues of Farm Gate.
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