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The Hocking County Farm Bureau held its annual meeting on August 15 at the Olde Dutch Family Restaurant in Logan. Farm Bureau members who attended voting on policy proposals, and code changes, and elected trustees and delegates to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) annual meeting.

            Three current board members were re-elected to a 3-year term; Thelma Farmer, Dave Libben, and Larry Mosure. The county Farm Bureau board is comprised of 9 trustees elected by the members of the county Farm Bureau.

            The members in attendance also supported two proposed policies that were presented. The first one focuses on the need to consider the impact on the county’s infrastructure as more and more cabins and lodges are constructed in the county. Hocking County Farm Bureau supports the tourism industry but has concerns as to the impact the new construction has on roads and highways, the electric grid, the water table levels, and the need for more and more broadband services. The Farm Bureau wants those in authority to have a plan in place that will address these concerns. The second proposed policy addresses the need to have a large animal veterinary practice in Hocking County. A big portion of agriculture in Hocking County is in the livestock industry. Goats, sheep, cattle, and equine are all in need of veterinary services. Since the annual meeting took place in August, we have learned that a bill was passed in the Ohio legislature a few years ago that offers financial support to anyone wishing to establish a large animal practice in rural areas of the state. Hocking County Farm Bureau is focusing on promoting this to anyone currently in practice or future veterinarians who may be interested.

            Several changes have been made to the county Farm Bureau’s Code of Regulations. The first change was in response to a change to the membership structure within the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation as voted on by the delegates from each county at the annual meeting held last December. Currently, there are 3 membership classes; Active Members, meaning those who have a vested interest in the agricultural industry, Associate Members, are those who do not have a vested interest but support agriculture and agree with our the organization’s mission statement, and a Young Active Members classification for those who are between the age of 18-24. As of December 1, 2022, there will be only one membership class. This means that anyone who is a member now has voting rights within the organization. However, anyone wishing to serve as a county board trustee or serve as delegate to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting must be actively engaged in some aspect of agriculture.

The final major code change that was voted on by the membership was to increase the dues amount from $79 to $100 per member per year. This change will take place as of December 1, 2022, and then will increase to $120 on December 1, 2025. For any member between the ages of 18-24, the dues rate will increase from $25 to $40.