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by Joe Cornely

During his speech to delegates, OFBF president Bob Peterson called 2005 "a great year for Farm Bureau." Following are excerpts from his official address:

Our Ohio
How many of you have seen an Our Ohio TV show, read the magazine or gone to the Web site? I am glad you enjoy it, but I really want people who live in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati or Toledo – the urban public across this state – to watch it, live it, know it and develop an appreciation for agriculture and its connection to their lives.

I have watched the Our Ohio brand grow from a vague concept of attempting to tell about agriculture. An idea first brought out in the envisioned future process has become this professional, polished production. It has been an amazing journey, and it has been accomplished by an agriculture organization and its people.

Policy successes
During the policy development process, I was surprised by how many sections of policy we could delete because we accomplished them. Big legislative victories included tort reform, a national energy policy, passage of CAFTA-DR and Ohio tax and Medicaid reform. If not for Farm Bureau, Ohio would not have passed a budget with the lowest growth rate in 40 years. Issue 1 passed handily with Farm Bureau’s endorsement and led the governor’s staff to say "…you cannot do grassroots lobbying without the support of Farm Bureau."

Keys to success
I believe 2005 was a great year because of timing, determination and hard work. Timing affects when you can accomplish goals. For example, I could have planted corn on Monday. We hadn’t had too much moisture, the seed bed would have been almost ideal – maybe a little cold – but we all know it would be disastrous to plant corn in December. The timing is not right.

2005 was a great, great year because seeds were sown and work had been done years prior. We had the appropriate policy, the right staff and leaders to implement the policy, and the timing was not right until this year.

Goals for the year ahead
In 2006, I would suggest we look to the following areas to sow seeds of success:

• Energy – the entire energy arena from drilling wells, building refineries, improving distribution, exploring alternatives such as nuclear, wind, ethanol, bio-diesel and bio-mass -- is important. We simply need more, better, cheaper and cleaner energy.

• The 2006 elections will also be important with several candidates running for governor. I want someone in this room to help each of them develop their agriculture platforms. If you have a favorite candidate, I encourage you to get involved with their campaign.

• 2006 also has elections for two Supreme Court positions, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, treasurer, 99 state representatives, 17 state senators and potentially several ballot issues.

• Other key issues will be eminent domain, drainage, line fence laws, livestock issues, world trade and the 2007 Farm Bill.

The future of Farm Bureau
I am reading "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman, a fascinating book about our rapidly changing world. I believe you could easily say we live in a faster, more complex and more competitive world. Our farm in Fayette County is striving to determine how we fit in a faster, flatter world. I wonder, is Farm Bureau, at the national, state and local levels, structured correctly for a faster, flatter more competitive future? Unfortunately, I don’t believe we are. In this new world, we have to be more untied, more coordinated, more cohesive and more responsive -- from the individual farmer member, to the county Farm Bureau, to the Ohio Farm Bureau and to the American Farm Bureau.

I am fond of the phrase, "he who runs alone, may run fast, but he who runs together, runs far." We as an organization need to run together so we can run far.

In the future, Ohio Farm Bureau will only be as successful as the unity and purpose that binds us together. Eighty-seven years ago, Ohio Farm Bureau was formed to collectively do for farmers what they could not do for themselves.

Farm Bureau is strong, solid and unbreakable. If we work together, we can meet any challenge.

Caption: OFBF President Bob Peterson at annual meeting '05.