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by Jack Fisher, OFBF Executive Vice President

This spring, many of us will share with our children and grandchildren the joy of high school and college graduation. It’s comforting to know that many of these graduates are prepared for their next steps in life because of the training they’ve received through programs supported by Ohio’s agricultural community.

FFA, 4-H, Farm Bureau Youth, Collegiate Farm Bureau and similar groups provide a strong foundation for our young people. And their learning is advanced through opportunities like the Ohio State University LEAD program or our own Young Leader activities. The farming community has an unmatched history of supporting these opportunities for development and involvement. But now more than ever, our responsibility to enhance these opportunities has taken on an even greater importance.

Our oncoming generations will face a terrific challenge. I’m referring to the increasing lack of understanding the public has about agriculture. We think consumers today don’t understand our industry. What will it be like when our customers are four or five generations removed from the farm instead of one or two?

An added complication in Ohio is that those same people who don’t understand agriculture are moving closer to it. In years to come, more and more nonfarmers will seek the attractions of living in rural areas. The migration to the country is already creating problems. It’s easy to see how they could get worse in the future.

Dealing with these realities will take special knowledge and special skills. Our youth and young adult programs are uniquely suited for teaching that knowledge and polishing those skills. For that reason alone, these programs are deserving of our support.

One form of support Ohio Farm Bureau is undertaking is a fund-raising campaign to assist with construction of a new 4-H Center on the campus of The Ohio State University. Along with our friends at Nationwide, OFBF is committed to creating a one-of-a-kind center to enhance the outreach effort of Ohio’s 4-H program to hundreds of thousands of young people and adults.

This center will be unique in several ways. While located at Ohio State, it will feature state-of-the-art technology that will extend its reach into every county of Ohio. And while it will be a highly visible facility, this center will be far more than bricks and mortar. It will serve as the centerpiece for a commitment to youth development statewide.

One reason Farm Bureau is so eager to help create the center is the diversity of people who will be reached. The center’s ability to impact lives will extend beyond 4-H members and volunteers. Youth church groups, athletic leagues, community service groups and virtually any program dedicated to positive youth development will have access to the center’s programs of training and teaching. The center will touch urban and rural, male and female, white, African-American, Hispanic and Asian, wealthy and underprivileged. The "nonfarmers" who will be reached by the center are a perfect audience with which we can create a more widespread understanding of, and appreciation for, Ohio’s agricultural industry. Through the center, our state’s future businesspersons, homemakers, politicians, laborers and community leaders can gain valuable exposure to the economic, social and environmental benefits rooted in Ohio’s farm families.

Equally important will be the center’s ability to give rural members new insights and perspectives; background to help agricultural people be better prepared to deal with the new issues impacting farming’s future generations.

Whether it’s 4-H, our own Farm Bureau young leader programs, or other similar activities, you and I are fulfilling a responsibility. This is our generation’s opportunity to shape young lives and thus shape the future. We should never discount the importance of this task. Because in Ohio’s farm community, not only is our job to grow food, but also to grow good citizens.

Cutline: OFBF Executive Vice President Jack Fisher was awarded the Ohio FFA Association's Honorary Degree during its state convention May 3. The degree is the second-highest Honorary Degree and recognizes individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the agricultural education-FFA program.