Dairy farmers, as a rule, are so busy it’s a miracle they ever pick up the phone, but sometimes you get lucky.
“District 7 Director Michael DeRuiter reached out to let me know someone on the search committee threw my name into the hat to represent Michigan at the national level,” said Cora Okkema, a member of the Mecosta County Farm Bureau. “I was honored, especially since it was my peers who did it.”
In this case, ‘national level’ means a stint on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) Committee, the group steering arguably one of the organization’s most vital programs.
“After some responsible thinking — ‘Can I practically do this with the other 5,000 things on my plate?’ — I decided why not, especially knowing this would be my only chance to do so,” said Okkema, who sees 35 on the horizon.
Her not-so-secret nominator was no less than then-outgoing leader Carl Bednarski, tossing Okkema’s hat into the nomination pool as one of his final acts as MFB president.
“I feel particularly grateful having his support as one of his last duties,” Okkema said.
Soon the official word was in her inbox: a welcome letter from AFBF President Zippy Duval announcing her name among the six new appointees to the national YF&R committee. Suddenly her already full calendar absorbed a whole new agenda of remote and in-person meetings, duties at national-level conferences and regional travel to neighboring states she’ll also represent alongside Michigan.
“I will assist with YF&R competitive events, serve on one of four subcommittees and provide programming guidance for the FUSION Conference,” Okkema said. “As the primary contact for two or three states, I’d like to visit some farms — learn about their stories, struggles and solutions.
“Really it’s seeing how I can serve my fellow farmers on a grander scale — and hopefully develop a tool, program or resource Young Farmers & Ranchers can benefit from for years to come.”
Outside her new platform, Okkema stays plenty busy as a dairy educator for MSU Extension, providing parlor assessments, training calf-care teams, testing for passive immunity transfer in young calves and sharing updates, best practices and new dairy research.
Somehow she also finds time to help on her family’s De Grins Oer Dairy — milking 700 Holsteins alongside her parents, sister and brother-in-law — and pitch in as an engaged member of the Mecosta County Farm Bureau, serving on the board and with several local outreach programs.
Her calendar will lighten a smidge once Okkema finishes out her curriculum with MFB’s 2024-25 ProFILE cohort. The program’s penultimate bus trip soon heads for San Antonio, Texas — site of AFBF’s upcoming 2025 Annual Convention.
“I love meeting new people and watching their faces light up as they share their passions and pursuits,
Okkema said. “Being surrounded by that innate drive with service-minded individuals makes ideas come to fruition.
“I’ll do my dairy best!” she winked.
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