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Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Agricultural Professionals program has awarded $500 grants to eight local YAP groups and two Collegiate Farm Bureau groups.

The grants are courtesy of Farm Credit Mid-America and fund YAP-focused educational programming or events. Winning groups were recently acknowledged at the Young Agricultural Professionals Winter Leadership Experience.

The recipients and their programming:

Ashland County YAP
A Careers in Ag Info Night will be offered for various FFA chapters in the county with students rotating among breakout sessions of various Young Ag Professionals describing their careers.

Hardin, Hancock, Seneca, Wyandot Counties YAP
Young Ag Professionals from these four counties will join forces with the Blanchard River Demonstration Farms Network to host a day-long FFA Career Day at the demonstration farms. Students will learn about the conservation practices being used at the farms and participate in an interactive career fair.

Holmes County YAP
The group will reach out to FFA and 4-H members in their last year of high school and get them involved with Farm Bureau. An additional seat will be created on the county board with the new young board member receiving a $500 scholarship at the end of his or her term.

Jackson-Vinton County YAP
Partnering with local FFA chapters, the YAP group will host a dinner prepared by a chef using all food grown by local Farm Bureau members, FFA chapters in their greenhouse and the local Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s farm. All proceeds will go to the local Youth Scholarship Fund and a local food charity.

Jefferson County Farm Bureau
The county Farm Bureau is establishing a YAP group that will focus on a wide variety of programming that includes ag careers, financial resources for young entrepreneurs, emerging niche agriculture, legal issues and agriculture’s image in the community.

Montgomery County YAP
The movie “Farmland” will be shown followed by a panel discussion by YAP members as a way to connect students with Farm Bureau’s mission and highlight careers available in the agriculture industry.

Ross County YAP
Young Ag Professionals members will invite FFA students to learn about ag-related career opportunities through a series of Q&A sessions with a panel of local agriculture professionals. Ag careers represented will include farmers, veterinarians, ag lenders, ag educators, Extension personnel, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Soil and Water Conservation District agents.

Tuscarawas County YAP
Kent State Tuscarawas County Campus has started an agribusiness program. Tuscarawas County YAP members will support it by creating programming and activities that focus on careers in agriculture, monthly meetings and field trips.

Wilmington College Collegiate Farm Bureau
The scholarship will help pay for collegiate Farm Bureau members to attend American Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference.

Wright State University Lake Campus
The scholarship will help fund the university’s fourth annual Emerging Ag Conference to be held in the new agriculture and water quality facility. The event is geared toward Young Ag Professionals who want to learn about diverse areas of agriculture.

Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Agricultural Professionals are singles and married couples ages 18 to 35 who are interested in improving the business of agriculture, learning new ideas and developing leadership skills. To learn more visit experienceyap.com.

This is a news release for use by journalists. Questions should be directed to Joe Cornely, 614-246-8230.