Champions of Excellence Awards

Purpose

The purpose of Champions of Excellence Awards is to acknowledge the efforts of county Farm Bureaus for their innovative efforts in advocating for agriculture and actively engaging a variety of members.

The Involvement awarded is based on numbers pulled directly from county statistics, and no application is required for consideration. The Champions of Excellence Grassroots award integrates criteria in the areas of leadership development, advocacy and innovation. Each county may submit two applications for consideration in this category.

The key to this award will be how successful your county Farm Bureau was at identifying and addressing a critical issue for agriculture or your community. Points will be awarded for how innovative county Farm Bureaus were in either creating a new program or elevating a current one. The ideas/events submitted through the Champion of Excellence Award process will be shared with other counties in the hopes that they may be utilized in the future.

Applications are closed for the year. Learn more about this year's winners here.

Questions? Contact Lindsay Ball, or call (517) 323-6744.

Program Rules and Guidelines

1. County Farm Bureau applications must be received at the state Farm Bureau office no later than July 1, 2024. Applications can be downloaded from the link above and emailed to [email protected]. Electronic applications are required — handwritten applications will not be accepted.
2. Applications must be complete and shall be no more than three pages long, single sided.
3. County Farm Bureaus may submit up to two applications highlighting different programs or events for this award. The program or activity must have been conducted between the dates of July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024. A maximum of two photos and one other supporting document (i.e. press release, poster, invitation, etc.) may accompany application. These items must be submitted electronically and will become the property of Michigan Farm Bureau. Note: Photos must be high resolution, good quality and sufficiently represent the activity or program for use in promotional materials if selected as a winner.
4. Entry forms received at the state Farm Bureau will be evaluated solely on the contents of the entry form by both district and state judges.
5. By submitting an entry, county Farm Bureaus and their representatives agree to participate in the publicity efforts of Michigan Farm Bureau. Submission of entry does not guarantee publication.
6. Michigan Farm Bureau will announce district winners by August 16, 2024. District Directors will award winner(s) at county annual meeting(s). State winners will be announced and awarded at the 2025 MFB Council of Presidents Conference.
7. One award winner per category will be selected in each district and will receive a $350 county grant. State award winners (one per category) will be selected from district award winners and will receive a $1,000 county grant.
8. Only one county Farm Bureau per award category will be selected as a district winner. District winner(s) will then be forwarded to compete at the state level.
9. It is the responsibility of the individual submitting the application to retain a copy for their records.

Judging

1. Award applications received by July 1, 2024 will be forwarded to each district for judging.
2. Members of the state Young Farmer and state Promotion and Education committees will be placed in a pool of judges.
3. District Level Awards: Three judges for each district, comprised of a representative from the pool noted above, MFB regional representative and MFB staff, will review each entry of another district as assigned by MFB. Judges shall remain impartial and not judge a district in which they hold a membership.
4. State Level Awards: There shall be at least three judges reviewing each entry. Judges, comprised of one representative from the pool, one MFB staff member and a representative from an outside agricultural entity will judge applications for each award category as assigned.
5. Judges will receive electronic copies of entries for their review. If necessary, judges will confer via electronic means or via telephone to agree on designation of awards.