Forty-nine Montana Farm Bureau members who traveled to San Diego for the American Farm Convention January 9-14 had the opportunity to participate in workshops, hear speakers at the General Session, listen to the Young Farmer and Rancher contests, and meet other agriculturalists from across the country.
The meeting kicked off with AFBF President Bob Stallman addressing the successes of Farm Bureau as well as the challenges. “Farmers and ranchers care deeply about our environment and are focused on continuous improvement. However, we cannot sustain the nation’s food supply if excessive restrictions and regulatory costs make the business of farming and ranching economically unsustainable,” Stallman told the group, indicating that Farm Bureau will continue to oppose the Waters of the U.S. rule that would regulate land and water. “Farm Bureau has your back.”
Keynote speaker U.S. Navy Commander Rorke Denver spoke at the general session Monday morning, Denver connected his experiences in the military with farming and ranching, and provided insights on teamwork and courage when faced with pressure-filled situations. Relating to serving in leadership, whether it is in the military or in agriculture, the ability to stay calm and let your training take over is what Denver said is critical to performing when the stakes are highest.
“Calm is contagious. If you keep your head, you keep your head,” Denver said, relating to staying calm when leading others on the battlefield. “Calm is being focused on the job at hand when you need to do it at its most intense moment.”
There were many workshops to choose from on two days of the convention, ranging from Farm Bill decisions and a Crop Market Outlook to Food Safety and Compliance and several leadership workshops.
MFBF members felt the workshops proved educational.
“I attended workshops on the farm bill which explained the decision tools to make choices easier, along with Mike Taylor, deputy commissions, Food and Drug Administration, giving insight on the Food Safety Modernization Act,” noted Ted McFarland, Billings area rancher. His wife, Lisa, who serves as president of the Yellowstone County Farm Bureau and District Chair of the MFB Women’s Leadership Committee, attended some leadership workshops. “We had one session where we studied various board games everybody probably grew up playing, and saw how they related to leadership.”
Joe Garrity, Cascade County Farm Bureau, found the workshops to be very informative and said he will take new leadership ideas back to the county. His wife, Julie Meyer, visited with many of the County Farm Bureau Ag Idea Exchange booths at the trade show where she took photos and made notes about each one to bring up at their next county meeting. Meyer’s son, Corey Roberts, was inspired by seeing how other young people are developing their Young Farmer and Rancher Committees in their counties, and took away good leadership ideas.
Former Yellowstone County President Allan Hanley said he especially enjoy fellowship with other farmers and ranchers. “There is such a connection between all of us, whether someone has a small vegetable farm in Rhode Island, big ranch in Florida or a dairy in California.”
MFBF District 7 Director Tom DePuydt of Saco echoed Hanley’s sentiments. “No matter who you visited with at the convention, you have something in common,” DePuydt says. “I learned a lot in the workshops on precision agriculture and using the Unmanned Arial Vehicles, as well as enjoyed a leadership workshop on saying “yes” and improving communication in our organization.”
Cyndi Johnson who farms with her husband, Ken, near Conrad, enjoyed hearing about new technology available, as well attending the workshop led by Charlie Arnot, CEO, Center for Food Integrity, on sound science versus what consumers choose to believe. “He covered how to begin a conversation to acknowledge the concerns of the consumer, then talked about how you move forward to establish credibility. Arnot believes people do eventually learn to decipher good from poor information.”
Bruce and Edie Wright, small grain farmers from Bozeman, enjoyed the new IdeaAg trade show, as well as seeing the San Diego area. “It’s always good to see other parts of our country and find out what farmers are doing in the area.”
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