Michigan Farm Bureau’s Champions of Excellence Awards recognize county Farm Bureaus for outstanding grassroots efforts implementing member-developed policy, advocating organizational positions and promoting Michigan agriculture.
Activities are evaluated based on the innovation and effectiveness of programs executed over the preceding program year. Successful programs are shared with other counties so great ideas can spread, enriching Farm Bureau and Michigan agriculture overall.
Our final batch of 2024 Champions of Excellence looks at excellent outreach and member-engagement activities in Kent County and Hiawathaland earned them all district-level Champions of Excellence awards.
Hiawathaland
Leaders with the Hiawathaland Farm Bureau had only to flip open the policy book to find inspiration for the outreach event that earned them Champions of Excellence honors for District 12. From policy #103 — Membership and Farm Bureau Programs — stood out a single bullet point that informed their efforts with renewed energy: “We support educating youth, farmers, educators, consumers and public officials about agriculture and its importance to our economy.”
From that starting point, planners narrowed the target audience to active civic and service groups outside the agricultural realm, then sharpened their goal to a fine point: to inform such groups about the contributions agriculture makes toward the economic, social and civic growth of communities across the central Upper Peninsula.
An ad hoc planning committee set about drafting a preliminary agenda and, with a green light from the county board, began delegating responsibilities for content, promotion, logistics and execution. An gung-ho pair of new members, Nick and Abbey Chenier, hosted the event at one of their two retail greenhouses.
The end product was ‘Town to Farm,’ a successful outreach program that comingled representatives of farm and non-farm communities across the central U.P. The most sought-after attendees were those groups and individuals who lacked any prior experience with or exposure to the local Farm Bureau.
“That was intentional,” said Hiawathaland President Dan Bahrman. “We felt that group lacked sufficient understanding about our local Farm Bureau — most thought we were just an insurance company.
“We took the initiative to inform participants about available local outreach activities and programs” with hopes of forging improved relations between everyday consumers and the region’s relatively low-profile farm sector — not to mention that sector’s contributions to area communities.
Regular members were invited via direct-mail postcards once the overall program was set: a dynamic, interactive presentation about the landscape of modern U.P. agriculture; static displays with information about Farm Bureau services; and plenty of Q&A time between audience and presenters.
Attendees enjoyed a hearty meal prepared by member-volunteers from local farm products.
Printed informational materials were prepared for attendees to take home and member presenters polished their content until it was down pat and they could knock any question deep into center field.
Made possible in part by funding through MFB's Connecting Communities initiative, the interactive program offered attendees an introduction to Farm Bureau and its background, including an historical overview of agricultural leaders’ contributions to building local communities and key institutions including banks, an arts center and a community college.
Coverage from a local TV station broadcast the outreach to an even greater audience and strengthened Hiawathaland’s working relationship with the station.
Everyone present went home with a door prize after touring the greenhouse.
“Altogether we were able to reach 42 participants, with 16 of our member-volunteers behind the scenes,” Bahrman said. “The goal was 30-35 people, so it was successful well beyond our original expectations.”
Exit surveys documented participants’ satisfaction with the event — and their enthusiasm for similar events in the future. Subsequent follow-up with some of the organizations represented in the audience that day has continued, galvanizing their new-and-improved relationship with the Hiawathaland Farm Bureau.
Kent
While individual board members and volunteers have always been involved with the Kent County Youth Fair, the county Farm Bureau itself hasn’t had much of a presence. Last year, though, they flipped that script to get more members on site and teed-up to support and encourage youngsters showing livestock.
Remedying historically low member turnout ended up being as simple as comping parking and admission fees, while the support component took the form of buying more animals at the livestock auction.
With help from MFB’s design team, an eye-catching postcard mailed to regular members promoted the free parking and admission deal for Aug. 3 — auction day. Leading up to that event, President Kylee Zdunic-Rasch promoted member’s kids’ fair projects, with record-setting results for the Kent County Farm Bureau’s Facebook page.
Buoyed by comments on auction day, the county Farm Bureau purchased animals from as many members’ children as possible, then promptly returned them to the exhibitor for resale, dramatically boosting the youngster’s return on investment.
Kent’s new approach to the fair yielded great results, with 69 member families taking part, more than half of them first-timers to Farm Bureau, and another 14 families involved for the first time in years.
The weeks following the fair saw one participant join a county Farm Bureau committee; another attended a subsequent event; and several more use MFB’s Farm Feed texting tool for political action.
“Once we started buying animals, there was a buzz in the air wherever we went,” said board member Bruce Klamer. “The people knew Kent County Farm Bureau was in the building!
“It was a successful gateway to increased involvement,” Klamer said. “Contributing both financial support and encouragement to members’ children demonstrates that our Farm Bureau is committed to the future of farming and farm families here in Kent County.
“It was also great promotion for the benefits of membership to the hundreds of non-members at the fair that day!”
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