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by Jack Fisher, OFBF executive vice president

At next week's annual meeting your elected delegates will decide Farm Bureau's short-term goals and long range strategies. So I think now's a good time to look back and evaluate how we performed over the past year.

Our measuring stick is the goals established by your state board of trustees. Incorporating last year's policy decisions, the board gave us some specific marching orders. Here's our "report card."

Taxes are too high, and frivolous lawsuits dampen business growth. OFBF successfully tackled both problems. By opposing State Issue 1 and generating grassroots lobbying for Senate Bill 80, Farm Bureau led the movement toward a state where businesses can thrive and individuals can prosper.

OFBF was virtually alone in opposing Issue 1. This created an opportunity to publicly advocate for fiscally responsible government and a reformed tax structure that will encourage businesses and individuals to locate and remain in Ohio. The defeat of Issue 1, led by rural counties, stopped $690 million in new state spending. It kept government from expanding its influence in private enterprise. And it validated OFBF's belief that Ohio's economic future should not exclude farming and agribusiness.

Senate Bill 80 will reform Ohio's civil litigation laws. Farms and businesses won't grow if they are under the threat of constant lawsuits. The Senate bill puts common sense into the court system and greatly reduces legal disincentives for business. Around 1,000 of you heeded Farm Bureau's call to contact legislators about this important legislation.

Best Management Practices (BMP) help you operate your farm profitably and responsibly. A goal this past year was to make sure Farm Bureau uses BMPs. We examined our business practices to see whether OFBF is operating in a way that assures long-term viability. State Trustee Steve Hess chaired the committee overseeing the self- examination. "We're doing just about everything the right way," he said recently. And he "was impressed that we rated near the top" in comparison to similar organizations. Farm Bureau's financial audit also showed positive results. One of OFBF's prime BMPs is listening to members, something our policy development process guarantees.

For the 36th consecutive year, OFBF enjoyed a membership increase thanks to our volunteers, staff and friends at Nationwide. On the financial front, membership growth allowed us to maintain key programs and activities. Our investments have been carefully managed in a difficult market. And we continue to operate with a balanced budget. Our relationship with Nationwide remains beneficial to both organizations. And several counties have enacted prudent dues increases to sustain their activities. Sponsorship monies to counties also were reallocated to the benefit of the whole organization.

Farm Bureau pursued legislative, regulatory and public relations efforts to assure the strength of Ohio's livestock farms and the crop farms and agribusinesses that rely on them. A new law confirms that construction and expansion rules are the function of state government, not local agencies. We supported a court case confirming the right to farm. And we communicated to the public about the positive economic, environmental and social contributions made by livestock operations.

Our goal was to do an even better job of talking with both members and the public. We did this through enhancing member input via advisory councils, surveying public opinion, expanding our presence in classrooms, upgrading our Web site and targeting media advertising. Reader surveys for Buckeye Farm News and Our Ohio report high levels of satisfaction. And Our Ohio was named the top state Farm Bureau publication in the nation.

Like to see more highlights of how Farm Bureau performed this past year? Pull out the past year's issues of Buckeye Farm News. They have nearly 600 stories on what Farm Bureau did for you and with you.