The American Farm Bureau Federation presented awards to state Farm Bureaus at the organization’s 104th Convention, which runs through Jan. 11. The awards recognize excellence in implementation of outstanding member programs and membership achievement in 2022.
Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana and North Carolina earned the Pinnacle Award, the highest honor a state Farm Bureau can be awarded for program and membership achievement.
The following states earned New Horizon Awards, which honor the most innovative new state Farm Bureau programs:
- Delaware: Read It and Eat: Teaching Children about Specialty Crops through Ag Accurate Books. A three-year campaign aimed at increasing specialty crop consumption in children and introducing them to new foods at an early age.
- Florida: Home Field AGvantage Tailgate. A fun and engaging educational event about Florida agriculture for football fans that generated brand awareness of Florida Farm Bureau and promoted membership.
- Illinois: County Farm Bureau Certified Director Program. In-person and online trainings for members in key roles.
- Kansas: Casten Fellows Program. Farm Bureau fellowship program developed to honor the life of the late Jill Casten-Downing, a Kansas Farm Bureau staffer who passed away in April 2019 and had a love for Kansas, agriculture, leadership development and international travel.
- Minnesota: Interactive Ag Literacy Exhibits. Interactive exhibits to teach ag literacy to people of all ages at the Minnesota State Fair.
- New York: Grow NY Farms Coalition. A coalition to advocate for keeping the farm labor overtime threshold at 60 hours in New York state.
The Awards of Excellence recognize state Farm Bureaus that demonstrated outstanding achievements in four program areas: Advocacy, Coalitions & Partnerships, Engagement & Outreach and Leadership & Business Development. The following state Farm Bureaus were recognized in all four categories:
- Alabama Farmers Federation
- Arizona Farm Bureau Federation
- Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
- California Farm Bureau Federation
- Colorado Farm Bureau Federation
- Florida Farm Bureau Federation
- Georgia Farm Bureau Federation
- Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
- Illinois Farm Bureau
- Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
- Kansas Farm Bureau
- Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation
- Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
- Maryland Farm Bureau
- Michigan Farm Bureau
- Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation
- Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation
- Missouri Farm Bureau Federation
- Montana Farm Bureau Federation
- New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau
- New York Farm Bureau
- North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation
- Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
- Oklahoma Farm Bureau
- Oregon Farm Bureau
- Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
- South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation
- Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation
- Texas Farm Bureau
- Utah Farm Bureau Federation
- Vermont Farm Bureau
- Virginia Farm Bureau Federation
- Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation
Delaware Farm Bureau was recognized for Coalitions & Partnerships, Engagement & Outreach and Leadership & Business Development; Nevada Farm Bureau Federation for Advocacy, Coalitions & Partnerships and Engagement & Outreach; South Dakota Farm Bureau Federation for Advocacy, Engagement & Outreach and Leadership & Business Development; and Washington Farm Bureau for Advocacy and Engagement & Outreach.
American Farm Bureau Convention
The 104th AFBF Convention wraps up Jan. 11, with a virtual option for portions of the event available to those not attending in person. The full schedule and virtual registration information are available at annualconvention.fb.org.