Nevada FB Annual Meeting--NV YF&R & The Discussion Meet

Nevada Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Chair: Jamie Perkins, from Panaca, Lincoln County, Nevada.  (Yep, that's me, thanks to Zach for getting a few pic's of me, I generally try to hide out behind the camera, especially since photography is a hobby of mine, but also because I am not really fond of being on the other side!)  I am in my third year as State YF&R Chair, mainly because I have a very strong desire to see the program grow and succeed in Nevada, but also, because I really, really enjoy it.

American Farm Bureau helps Nevada YF&R GROW!!

The final workshop of the annual meeting was put on by AFBF's own, Matt Scramlin. I first met Matt a couple of years ago at the National YF&R Conference in Sacramento.  We had attended a couple of his very dynamic workshops there, and afterwards, Dann Mathews of Dry Valley, Nevada, approached him and asked what it would take to have him come to Nevada and put on some workshops.  Well, he told us all we had to do was ask, so I emailed him later to verify that that was all it took, and our state coordinator, Stephanie and I went to work to make it happen.  So, this is the second time in a row, that Matt has been in Nevada for our annual meeting.  He has been able to fly in to Vegas and drive to Ely, and fly in to Reno and drive to Winnemucca, both very different views of our state, and very interesting.  He said the first time he waited to get out of Vegas before deciding to find a place to eat, when his GPS told him the nearest food was 50 miles behind him, it started to make him nervous about how far and few between these Nevada towns really were!

So, Matt's workshop basically focused on the need for YF&R at the county level and different approaches as to how to get it established.  My monthly article in the Journal reported on that.  So, I am going to insert it, in case anyone wants to know more!

The rest of the pictures show those in the workshop working in groups to understand the pro's and con's of each of his ideas for getting YF&R going.

Nevada Farm Bureau's Young Farmer & Rancher

DISCUSSION MEET--The FINAL FOUR



Kadee Buckmaster, Stacie Schwandt, Charlie Mann (our moderator), Lacey Sproul and Aly Reynolds compete in the Final Round of the Discussion Meet)



'The Discussion Meet contest is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant. This competition is evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a pre-determined topic. The judges are looking for the contestant that offers constructive criticism, cooperation, and communication while analyzing agricultural problems and developing solutions.' -From AFBF

It is held in up to four rounds, with generally 4-6 contestants, though 4 is the ideal.  We usually have about 8 contestants at the state level, which means we only have three rounds--the final four being made up of the top scorers from the first two rounds.  There are five topics related to Farm Bureau and Agriculture, one is drawn at random to be topic of each round. 

(Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out during the first two rounds, so all the pic's are of the Final Four round)

Stacie Schwandt was our first place winner, followed by Aly Reynolds, Kadee Buckmaster, and Lacey Sproul.  The winner, Stacie, will go on to compete in the Collegiate Discussion Meet at the National YF&R Conference in Orlando, Florida this coming February.  This is the third year in a row that we have had a collegiate level winner, otherwise the winner would go on to compete at the American Farm Bureau's Annual Meeting held in January in Atlanta, Georgia.  We have had a lot of involvement from our State FFA officers, including Charlie Mann, who acted as moderator for the Discussion Meet.  Charlie was our 2008 winner and completed at the collegiate competition in Sacramento.

YF&R Breakfast & Committee Meeting

Blake and Kessa Stratton represent Clark County YF&R.  Blake is the County YF&R Chair and has been helping to build the program there.

Lacey & Jasmine

Grey and Jordan

So, after all the great food was gone, we held our meeting, reviewed the previous year, the year to come, budget, program of work, harvest for all, ag literacy program, etc.  One step at a time, we are building and growing!

American Farm Bureau Teaches Nevada How to Build Their YF&R Program
YFR& Report
By: Jamie Perkins, Chair

Another great annual meeting has come and gone for the Nevada Farm Bureau. And, hopefully, with it came inspiration and tools for county board members to take home and start growing the Young Farmer and Rancher Program in their areas. With the help of Matt Scramlin, a staff member with the American Farm Bureau Federation, we were given lots of great ideas to implement to build the program. Matt teaches a workshop that Nevada Farm Bureau members were first exposed to last year at the Western Region Farm Bureau Meetings held in Sparks. Those who attended the workshop there felt that it would be a great asset to the state meeting in order to spread ideas and tools that our county boards could use, so we did.


If I have said it once, I have probably said it a hundred times, but without the Young Farmer and Ranchers in our organization, we are missing our future leadership. So, it is pretty important that we find out who they are and give them the opportunity to get involved. So how do we do that?

#1: Problem Solving Approach—In this approach, Farm Bureau members are encouraged to invite potential YF&R members and offer them an opportunity to talk and discuss (solve problems) about issues facing agriculture today. After the discussion, which could involve a dinner, also, they would be invited back for further discussion and involvement.

#2: Organizing a Committee Approach—In this approach, FB members would get approval from the Board President to move forward on organizing and building a YF&R committee for their county, by searching out potential members, inviting them to a meeting/potluck where a state YF&R member would give a presentation about YF&R and then talk about formation of a committee, and decide if they were ready to go ahead with that or set a date for a future meeting where they could do so. They would also have opportunity to consider activities and projects and begin assigning sub-committees for those, also.

#3: A Social Event Approach—the third approach we were taught involved the county sponsoring a social activity for potential YF&R members to attend, at which time they would be able to give a presentation on the YF&R program and talk to those who would be interested in getting more involved.

When I first became Chair, I was taught that there are Three Hot Buttons that get people involved—the idea being that all people have at least one of the three as a need for them to join a group—Social Opportunities, Leadership Development, and the Chance to make a Difference, which all seemed to be covered by one or more of these approaches. Not everyone joins Farm Bureau for all the same reasons, so we need to make sure we try to find out others needs and how to meet them, also. And, if you are interested in getting together and having a state YF&R representative there, just send me an email and we’ll see what we can work out, and GOOD LUCK GROWING!!