Butler County Farm Bureau

President’s Message – January 2024

Butler County Presidents CornerSince our annual meeting in 2023, our board of trustees has been busy in its committee structure with plans to educate our members and nonmembers about the benefits available through Farm Bureau. We worked along side Nancy Nix, Butler County Auditor, and the county CAUV staff in providing an Open Forum in late 2023 for questions relating to the updated real estate valuations and how the CAUV rates will be calculated. 

We are planning to have an educational program in March, which we will be hosted at the Parish Center of Holy Name of Jesus in Trenton centered around buying and selling local meat and CAUV for small farms. More details to follow on this Butler County Farm Bureau web page. 

Butler County sent five delegates to attend the Ohio Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in early December. At this meeting, policy proposals were presented. After presentation and discussion, voting occurred. Butler County did have policy proposals included and the outcome of those proposals are discussed later in this newsletter issue (check your mailbox).

I attended the district meeting in late December which included a few board members from each of the four counties in our District; Butler, Hamilton, Montgomery and Preble. This meeting was an opportunity to discuss successes of other counties in their membership drives. We brought back several ideas from this meeting to discuss with our board and determine what might work for our county.

Health and wellness was also a big topic for our farm families. Ohio Farm Bureau offers members several health insurance and medical reimbursement plans to help members and their families stay healthy and control health care costs. 

Scholarship opportunities are available at both the state and county level. Our county scholarship applications are posted online and will be due by March 31. 

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about what benefits are available to you through your county membership, please call us at 513-844-8371 or email us [email protected].

Sincerely,

Kathy Carmack, President

Giving farmers a voice
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
Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan
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
Finding farm labor
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
Strong communities
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
CAUV: Past, present and future
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
Farm Bureau involvement
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
Select Partner Program
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
Advocacy
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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