Young Ag Professionals

There is always a lot to take in at the Ohio Farm Bureau Young Agricultural Professionals Winter Leadership Experience. Plenty of educational seminars, resources for new and beginning farmers and an abundance of networking opportunities. At the event last weekend in Cincinnati, attendees also got some education and advice from a panel of more seasoned farmers, including Steve Hirsch, a fifth-generation owner of Hirsch Fruit Farm in Ross County, as well as a board member for Nationwide Insurance and Rose Hartschuh, an Ohio Farm Bureau board member who operates a dairy and raises grain crops, alfalfa and cover crops in Northwest Ohio. On this Our Ohio Weekly, hear some of their advice to younger farmers.

Our Ohio Weekly · Young Ag Professionals Winter Leadership Experience

00:00 – Hirsch and Hartschuh talk about their current farming operations and the road from when they started their careers to where they are now.

16:50 – Hirsch and Hartschuh discuss some of the new ideas they brought to the farm when they first started and what a plan for the future looks like.

23:50 – On this edition of “To the Beat of Agriculture”, hear from the recipient of the Charles Boyles Master Shepherd of the Year Award. Learn how Roger Cox comes from a long line of sheep herders and how his children are already picking up the mantle from him.

32:20 – Hirsch and Hartschuh share some of the challenges they have seen throughout their career and how important networking is to their success.

42:20 – Hirsch and Hartschuh cover some of the barriers that young and beginning farmers may experience and who influenced them the most in their careers.

Labor has always been an issue, mainly because we are a seasonal operation. So that's a challenge finding somebody who only wants to work three months out of a year, sometimes up to six months.
Mandy Way's avatar
Mandy Way

Way Farms

Farm Labor Resources
I appreciate the benefit of having a strong voice in my corner. The extras that are included in membership are wonderful, but I'm a member because of the positive impact to my local and state agricultural communities.
Ernie Welch's avatar
Ernie Welch

Van Wert County Farm Bureau

Strong communities
I see the value and need to be engaged in the community I live in, to be a part of the decision-making process and to volunteer with organizations that help make our community better.
Matt Aultman's avatar
Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Leadership development
Farm Bureau involvement has taught me how to grow my professional and leadership experience outside of the workforce and how to do that in a community-centric way.
Jaclyn De Candio's avatar
Jaclyn De Candio

Clark County Farm Bureau

Young Ag Professionals program
With not growing up on a farm, I’d say I was a late bloomer to agriculture. I feel so fortunate that I found the agriculture industry. There are so many opportunities for growth.
Jenna Gregorich's avatar
Jenna Gregorich

Coshocton County Farm Bureau

Growing our Generation
Knowing that horticulture is under the agriculture umbrella and having Farm Bureau supporting horticulture like it does the rest of ag is very important.
Jared Hughes's avatar
Jared Hughes

Groovy Plants Ranch

Groovy Plants Ranch
If it wasn't for Farm Bureau, I personally, along with many others, would not have had the opportunity to meet with our representatives face to face in Washington.
Austin Heil's avatar
Austin Heil

Hardin County Farm Bureau

Washington, D.C. Leadership Experience
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
Mary Smallsreed's avatar
Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Advocacy
Suggested Tags: