Union County Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau board members not pictured: 

David Gruenbaum- vice president

Tom Knoble, Luke Brill

 

Cheryl Gordon

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Cheryl Gordon is from Ida, Michigan and she is a registered dietician specializing in pediatrics. She is also a lavender farmer! Her favorite part about being on the county Farm Bureau board is being part of a team that positively impacts agricultural issues in Union County in ways she could never do on her own.

“We are continuing to add new projects and activities to support our Union County Farm Bureau members. I’m most excited about our Wine Down at the Maize event, held at The Maize at Little Darby Creek, because 100% of the proceeds go toward our scholarship fund. I’m also happy we were able to collaborate with the Union County Sheriff’s office to roll out our new Farm Watch Crime Prevention Program for Union County farmers.”

Justin Gravatt

Justin Gravatt is from Richwood, where he is a grain farmer. Justin enjoys representing the interests of agriculture for Union County, meeting other board members and learning about them as well as their ideas about what is important for Union County agriculture.

He is excited to grow the membership in Union County, provide educational opportunities and promote agriculture!

Garrett Leeds

Garrett Leeds is from Milford Center and serves as membership chair for Union County Farm Bureau. He is an ag product specialist for Kubota Tractor Corporation.

Garrett’s favorite part of being on the board is being involved in different topics involving agriculture and how the board can help Union County become more aware of its local farmers and the importance of them.

Jordan Scheiderer

Jordan Scheiderer has been on the board of trustees for three years. She has her bachelor’s degree in environment and natural resources from the Ohio State University. Jordan works as an analyst for Scotts Miracle-Gro. She also enjoys working alongside her husband on the family farm. Jordan’s favorite part about being on the board is supporting our local farmers, spreading knowledge about agriculture, and getting to meet new people

 


Michael Plotner-president

Mike Plotner is the Union County Farm Bureau president. He has served on the board for four years. He lives in West Mansfield with his wife, Maile. He is one of only four dairy farms left in Union County, where he and his wife milk Brown Swiss, a few Holsteins, and farm a couple hundred acres. He also works full time at Select Sires.

Mike’s favorite part of being on the board is the ability to directly impact policy changes in county, state, and national levels to help out members and farmers he represents.

Hannah Rausch

Hannah Rausch is a board trustee from Raymond. She works at the Union County Department of Human Services. Hannah enjoys interacting with people and sharing agricultural information and resources. The board has been planning a variety of events for the year. Hannah is looking forward to the Wine down at the Maize event and raising money for scholarships.

Laci Rausch

Laci is a Union County board member from Milford Center. She assists with marketing at Select Sires. Her favorite part about being on the board is encouraging women and young members to join and make a difference. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anne Scheiderer- secretary

Anne Scheiderer has been the board secretary for a lot of years after filling lots of other positions including president. Some of the others were women’s committee chairman, advisory council chairman co-chaired with her husband, Jim, policy development chairman and the information chairmen writing her own articles.

She is a life-long resident of Chuckery, but her address is Milford Center. She said she moved about 3 miles when she got married, from the east side of Chuckery to the west side and from Plain City to Milford Center

Anne’s most recent job was helping to teach art at St. John’s Lutheran School in Marysville. Before that she worked at the Union County Board of Elections, Memorial Hospital of Union County, Herron’s 5th Street Deli, Goodies Galore where she learned to make decorated cakes and started working at Weiss’s Fabric store in the 80s. She also “babysat” the Farm Bureau office in Union County while waiting to hire a new secretary several times.

Her favorite part of being on the board is learning to know the board members and farmers from one end of the county to the other. Through Farm Bureau, she has been to a lot of places including Washington, DC. and met lots of people that she said she would have missed had she not been really involved with Farm Bureau. “

Agriculture is different outside your own fence, the soil is different from field to field, the weather varies from farm to farm, the prices for farm products vary from state to state. One of the first new crops, for me, I learned about was tobacco. I’ve always been on the board or attended board meetings as a committee chairman and sometimes both.”

Ralph Stonerock

Ralph Stonerock is a retired poultry nutritionist and farms near Marysville. He says he has enjoyed learning more about this organization and making friendships along the way.

“Farm Bureau membership must grow with community participants and that includes all residents that care/share appreciating values.”

 

Tim SchachtTim Schacht

Tim Schactt is a first-generation grain farmer. He owns and operates Ohio Till Farmstead  where he raises many specialty grain crops for the food-grade market. Tim is best known for the popcorn his farm sells throughout the region.  Tim became involved with the Ohio Farm Bureau because he felt it was a great way to network with other farmers in the area and get involved in local and state issues affecting agriculture. 

 

Austin Davis

My agricultural career started back in 2014 when I started farming in northern Union County with my uncle and grandpa. That was also around the time I was part of North Union’s national winning agronomy team. With that experience I decided to pursue a further education at OSU ATI where I received an associate’s degree of science in agronomy. I worked for multiple co-ops through internships then took a different path installing building automation systems for 4 years while continuing to grow my own farming operation at home. I then returned back to farming full time in 2022 managing a 3,000+ acre farm in Union County with the opportunity to work on the Mississippi farm as well during the rush of harvest. I look forward to bringing my knowledge and experiences to the Farm Bureau to help create a brighter future for young and seasoned farmers.

 

Aaron Stonerock

My primary occupation is Sr. Enterprise Architect for a regional insurance carrier.  Separately, I operate our farm operation of 1200 acres in 5 counties and am an owner of a biological seed inoculant company.

FFA taught many life skills and I appreciate the opportunity to support agriculture in my community and state.  The board supports land owner rights, community fairs, performs community outreach, and addresses challenges.

The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
Matt Aultman's avatar
Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Giving farmers a voice
The plan we are on is great. It’s comparable to my previous job's plan, and we are a sole proprietor.
Kevin Holy's avatar
Kevin Holy

Geauga County Farm Bureau

Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan
We really appreciate what Farm Bureau has done to get people interested in this line of work and workforce development and getting people interested in this industry.
Jody Brown Boyd's avatar
Jody Brown Boyd

Brown's Family Farm Market

Finding farm labor
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
We work terrifically with the Ashtabula County Farm Bureau, hosting at least one to two outreach town hall events every year to educate new farmers and existing farmers on traditional CAUV and woodlands.
David Thomas's avatar
David Thomas

Ashtabula County Auditor

CAUV: Past, present and future
Because we are younger farmers just starting out, Farm Bureau has a lot of good opportunities and resources to help us grow in the future.
Hannah Kiser's avatar
Hannah Kiser

Sandusky County Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau involvement
Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
Chad Ruhl's avatar
Chad Ruhl

Farm manager, CSI Insurance

Select Partner Program
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
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