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by Amy Beth Graves

Recognizing that the story of farmers needs to be told more, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) has donated more than $11,000 to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Foundation for Agriculture to help promote agriculture.

OFBF President Bob Peterson presented a check of $11,178.20, which works out to five cents for every Ohio member, to AFBF Chief Administrative Officer Dick Newpher on May 5. The presentation took place during an OFBF staff meeting that started with an update about Ohio’s membership campaign.

"I’m glad to see the meeting begin with membership. This is what Farm Bureau is all about," said Newpher, who got his Farm Bureau start in 1973 as a Pennsylvania field representative. "We need to work very hard to get those farmer members. They are the faces of agriculture."

Newpher accepted the check on behalf of AFBF President Bob Stallman who was unable to attend the morning meeting because his flight was late. American Agriculture Insurance Co. Chief Executive Officer Virgil Applequist also attended the meeting, which was set up as part of AFBF’s effort to meet with state Farm Bureaus.

Newpher said the money will be used for projects such as an AFBF booth at Walt Disney World's Innoventions center at EPCOT and America’s Heartland,, a national public television show supported by AFBF and Monsanto Co. The weekly show is scheduled to start sometime this fall as is OFBF’s own public television show, Our Ohio.

"If we don’t tell our story, no one else will. The TV show will tell what we do and how we do it," Newpher said. "We feel that telling agriculture’s story is very critical."

The foundation has been focusing on trying to get funding from state Farm Bureaus before asking for help from outside groups, Newpher said.

"If you don’t do a good job from the inside, you can’t expect to get wheel barrels of money from the outside," he said.

During the meeting, Newpher gave an update on various AFBF activities such as staff vacancies and the effort to move all operations to Washington, D.C., which he said has been discussed off and on since 1949. He said that should be done by July 1.

Newpher also talked about the new AFBF Intranet site, "silo," saying the goal is for it to become the "electronic Farm Bureau news." He said that eventually every state’s county board of directors will have access to the Web site.

A possible restructuring of AFBF’s board also was discussed with Newpher saying the regional designation may disappear and Peterson, an AFBF board member, suggesting that the number of delegates be lowered from 400 to 300.

"What’s the best use for our dollars?" Peterson asked, noting that having so many delegates at the annual AFBF meeting is expensive.

Both Newpher and Applequist praised OFBF for its donation to the foundation and its hard work in representing and protecting the agricultural industry.

"The work you do is being done to protect our interests. We appreciate what you do," Applequist said.

Caption: AFBF Chief Administrative Officer Dick Newpher (left) talks to Ohio staff members as OFBF President Jack Fisher listens.