Article

The ways in which Ohio Farm Bureau has played a role in helping members launch ag careers are as varied as they are rooted in the industry. Farm Bureau involvement has shaped futures, strengthened families and opened doors for generations of Ohio farmers and agricultural leaders, empowering individuals to dream bigger, lead stronger and give back to the industry they call home.

Here are some of their stories.

Eric and Jackie Brooks, Athens County

In the early 1980s, Eric was elected to the Athens County Landmark Board of Directors and became involved with the Athens County Farm Bureau, and I was helping to start a Youth Farm Bureau organization. Summer of 1985, the Organization Director for the Athens County area gave us an application to fill out for Ohio Outstanding Young Farm Couple. For this application we had to fill out a five-year plan of our goals and what we wanted to achieve with our farming operation. By this time we were up to 150-200 acres and still working a full-time job. Our goal was to be farming on our own full time in five years. We were one of the four finalists Outstanding Young Couples and recognized at the annual meeting in December 1985. By December 1987, we’d reached our goal to start farming on our own. Over the years our farming operation increased to 1,400 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat, in Athens, Hocking and Meigs counties. We are now slowing down to semi retirement. Because we had the opportunity to fill out the Outstanding Young Farm Couple application, it made us realize the significance of our plans and goals, and our dreams came true.

Lincoln Deitrick, Muskingum County

The Muskingum County Farm Bureau is the first board that I’ve been on since 4-H. So it’s

been really nice getting me back involved with helping out something other than just for myself. Farm Bureau for my farming operation has helped me sharpen my ag toolbox and grain marketing decisions. It’s also helped me with starting up a local meat market and being able to get more involved with bringing the farm to the customers or bringing the customers to the farm and just explaining to them what we do there and why we do it.

Katherine Brown, Stark County

I got involved with Farm Bureau wanting to become more knowledgeable about the ag industry and also wanting to be able to experience and learn more about agriculture outside of just Stark County. With that said, it’s given me so many different professional and personal development opportunities along the way, one of those really impactful opportunities being Discussion Meet. I had the opportunity to compete both collegiately and then also at the Young Ag Professionals level where I was able to become our state winner and move to the national competition. One of the things that experience brought to my career is the ability to research really difficult topics, but then be able to discuss those topics with people who have different perspectives, different solutions, and really bring all those ideas to the table.

Amanda McKay, Clinton County

As a high school student, I received a Farm Bureau scholarship. That scholarship helped

me jump start my career in agriculture. I was raised on a family farm in Clinton County and that scholarship helped support me through my undergraduate degree at Wilmington College and then supported me in spirit as I went on to Virginia Tech for my graduate studies. Thankfully, I was able to come back home, and land a job as the district director of Greene Soil and Water Conservation District and as an adjunct professor of agriculture at Wilmington College. It’s been a real full-circle moment for me, becoming a Farm Bureau county trustee and serving on the scholarship committee so that I am able to help more students like myself get their start in agriculture and continue to succeed as adults.