And the Winner is..... (NVFB 2012 Discussion Meet)

While Nevada Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Ranchers were discussing current Ag topics in the Discussion Meet, our Youngest Young Farmer and Rancher's were also preparing for future discussion meets.  hopefully 20 years from now these little boys will be carrying on the traditions of Ag that their parents  are instilling in them from a very early age!  These cute boys are the sons of the State FFA Advisor, the Elko County FB YF&R Chair, and the NVFB State YF&R Chair.

The final round of the Discussion Meet is held at the NVFB Annual Meeting's Awards dinner on the final night of the meeting.  This has been the tradition for the last few years as it gives the opportunity for the members attending to all see what the DM is and gives the competitors an opportunity to compete in front of the crowd.

Our final round from left to right was: Candace Shrecengost, Dann Mathews, (Irene Barlow as moderator) Corey Shrecengost, (Doug Bushman as room monitor) and Lacey Tom.

Nevada Farm Bureau members listen to the Discussion Meet as competitors discuss:

2. What can be done to encourage young farmers and ranchers to return home to the farm if it means living in a rural area that does not provide the same amenities (education, health care, technology) as a metropolitan community? 

Dann gives his final one minute closing.  

Unfortunately, I was not the picture fanatic at this meeting that I usually am--trying to carry a diaper bag, a baby, stroller, my Farm Bureau binder and bag, and my camera bag was just too much and so the camera bag was the one that was dropped.  That means I don't have pictures of the winners, but here are the final results of a great discussion meet:

1st Place:  Corey S.

2nd Place: Dann M.

3rd Place:  Candace S.

4th: Lacey T.

Congratulations to all on a great job!  

Nevada Farm Bureau YF&R Discussion Meet 2012

This year was the largest Discussion Meet that we have had since I first attended the Nevada Farm Bureau's Annual Meeting 6 years ago in Tonopah.  I competed that day and was one of only two people that had come to the meeting to do so.  We convinced three others to join so that we would actually be able to have a 'group' discussion.  The last two years we have had nine people.  This year (drumroll, please) we had TEN!  Okay, that may not seem so big to you, but there were a few others there that we could have begged and pleaded with to join, and that is my whole point--there were ten competing YF&R members, and and about ten others attending that day that were not competing.  That is a big deal from six years ago.  All of the other states that I have visited with through YF&R activities and meetings have told me "Don't give up and Don't get discouraged, it takes time to build the YF&R program."  So, that is what I keep in mind when it seems slow.  But at least it seems steady, also.  Clark County has a full program now working.  Elko has a YF&R Chair that attended their first annual meeting and was excited about being involved.  And we have in the works a great plan to build the program in 2013 to each active county!  But, enough about that--here is a re-cap of our Discussion Meet this year:

In the first round of discussion we had Dan B. from Clark, Kaley S. from Clark, our past year's DM Winner, Irene B. from Clark, who helped as our Moderator.

Also competing in the first round were Jon D. from Elko, Candace S. from Elko, and Dann M. of Lincoln.

Competitors are introduced to the room and to the topic, they are then given the opportunity to give a 30 second opening statement on the topic before the discussion begins.  They are judged on time, presentation, cooperation, knowledge of the topic, etc.  Their topic was:  How can Farm Bureau play a role to ensure the viability of quality agricultural education programs within our schools? 

Out in the foyer we were prepping future YF&R members for the Discussion Meet.

Dann gets his final point in before the round ends.

Round two brought five more competitors to the table--Lacey T. from Clark.

Cory S. from Elko and Ashley W. from Churchill, were both attentive to the discussion at hand, the topic of this round was:  Certain sectors of agriculture are labor intensive and rely heavily on immigrant workers. What is a fair and balanced immigration policy?

Cody M. is another of our collegiate competitors from Elko County.

And the final contestant in this round is NV FFA President, Margaret W.

The round closes and the competitors have a one minute period of quiet time to compose their thoughts in order to give their one minute closing statements. After that the judges head out to tally the scores and choose the final four competitors for the final round of Discussion!!

Why should you compete???

There are great cash prizes as state meeting for the winners of our Discussion Meet, but the prizes at nationals are even better--just thought you should know what you could be competing for if you are interested in giving the Discussion Meet a chance!!



American Farm Bureau Federation® (AFBF)
2013 AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R)
Competitive Event Prizes
___________________________________________________________________________________
AFBF YF&R Discussion Meet
Winner* Receives:
• Choice of either a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado or 2013 GMC Sierra ( (approximate retail value of $35,000)
*Sponsor: GM, located at 100 Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48265-1000, is the sponsor of the award. The 2013 Pickup award is not transferable, assignable, and/or redeemable for cash. The Award Winner is solely responsible for the payment of any and all related federal and/or state income tax with respect to the receipt of this award.
• Paid registration to the 2013 AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference
o February 8-11, 2013 in Phoenix, AZ
The three (3) Finalists** each receive:
• A Case IH Farmall 55A (approximate retail value of $17,500)
**Sponsor: Case IH, located at 621 State Street, Racine, WI 53402, is the sponsor of the Finalists Awards. The Case IH compact tractor award is not transferable, assignable, and/or redeemable for cash. Each Finalist Award Winner is solely responsible for the payment of any and all related federal and/or state income tax with respect to the receipt of this award.
• $2,500 cash prize
• STIHL Farm Boss (approximate retail value of $360).
**Sponsor: STIHL, located at 536 Viking Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23452, is the sponsor of the Runner-Up Awards. The STIHL Farm Boss award is not transferable, assignable, and/or redeemable for cash. Each Runner-Up Award Winner is solely responsible for the payment of any and all related federal and/or state income tax with respect to the receipt of these awards.
In the event any of the above event prizes/awards are unavailable,
AFBF reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value in its sole discretion.


____________________________________________________________
AFBF YF&R Collegiate Discussion Meet
Winner* Receives:
• A $2,500 scholarship
The three (3) Finalists* will each receive:
• A $1,000 scholarship
Every participant* receives:
• A $250 scholarship
*Sponsor: CHS Foundation, located at 5500 Cenex Drive, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077, is the sole sponsor of YF&R Collegiate Discussion Meet. Each Scholarship Recipient is solely responsible for the payment of any and all related federal and/or state income tax with respect to the receipt of this award.
In the event any of the above event prizes/awards are unavailable,
AFBF reserves the right to substitute a prize of comparable or greater value in its sole discretion.

Letting Go of the Family Farm......

I have been off the wire for quite a few months now--shockingly (to me anyway) my baby is four months this week--so, I shouldn't have any excuses, right?  Yeah, right.  It seems that every day is a race.  Have you ever considered training for a marathon?  I have.  Yes, I have been called crazy before.  I also have been running on and off since I was in 8th grade, so, it is definitely something that has tickled my brain before.  Lately, though, I have felt that everyday of my life was like running a marathon.  Not that you need an example, but here is one:  Thursday I got up at 6:20 am, fought the kids who were hung over from Halloween to get chores done and off to school by 7:45, taking care of baby in the meantime.  My son came in from doing chores to tell me that he thought our horse was dying, so in between getting them off and my next item on the agenda, my husband and I tried to take care of him, to no avail.  I had to be somewhere by 9 am to help someone pack up for a move, my daughter gets out at 9:45, so I sent her to a friends, by the time we were done it was time to feed the baby and pick-up the boys--I had learned two days before that they had parent-teacher conferences that day, after I had already scheduled the baby's appointment for his 4-month check-up and immunizations.  So, by the time I got them home, fed, and checked on the horse (finally making arrangements for my husband to come home and help take care of him, and worrying about not being there for my kids as they said good-bye) back to three parent-teacher conferences, down to Caliente to the clinic, then to get shots, then to run a few more errands, home to pick up my daughter for dance, home to make dinner and get ready for another meeting. Not a second for any cleaning, laundry, dishes, so the house is kind of scary, but at least the day is over.  Thank heavens it is the weekend (we're on a 4-day school week), because we didn't get any time for homework, which usually takes 2-3 hours a day.  We recently learned that two of our sons are dyslexic and so the majority of the effort to help them learn to read fluently comes back on me.
Not every day is quite this busy, but at the same time, I usually get to sit when I am feeding the baby and that doesn't make for easy typing, so my blogging gets neglected pretty badly.  In the midst of the baby coming, school starting, learning about the dyslexia, there was also the issue of the family farm.

My dad and several of the grandkids, doing chores at the farm.

This past few months, my grandparent's sold the family farm that my dad and his twin brother have ran for the last 30 years.  The farm that I spent my childhood on.  And, the weight of something like that weighs heavily on all of us.  It has caused a lot of hard feelings.

My mom and two of my kids feeding a calf.

They sold it to one of my dad's younger brother's who has never been involved with it.  They sold it to him after promising my dad and uncle that they would talk to them, give them the opportunity first. They sold it without even telling them.  And, so our family has been grieving.  It has like losing a family member.

 There is a grieving process--hurt and anger, and trying to not tear the family apart in the process, love those who have hurt and forgive.  And while I no longer live in Utah, next to the farm, my kids still loved to go and help grandpa do chores and be at the farm and it has become a part of them, so three generations of my family, and my uncle's family are grieving the loss.
We spent a lot of time listening and learning in the last couple of years of Farm Bureau meetings and conferences to people who have seen so many familiar stories and have tried so hard to help prevent these break-ups and losses, but my dad never truly believed that it would happen--that his parents would sell him out.
So, they have been looking for pasture for the horses, gathering up the few things they were allowed to take, and trying hard to not become bitter.  And, at least, in a way, the farm is still in the 'family,' though that means  a hobby farm for my wealthy aunt and uncle.  The years, hours, blood, sweat and tears my dad and uncle have put into have almost no account to them.  The memories are all we have to hold, and right now, they hurt to think about because they still represent loss.  And, though there is a lot more I could say, this was the first time I really even felt I could type about it (and had time to), without the hurt and frustration and bitterness that have been plaguing me when I think about it.
So, my advice to any of you who are going to be passing on the farm, or wanting to be involved with the passing on of the farm--don't think that it won't happen to you the way it happened to us--take the time to meet with a mediator, to discuss to  plan, to express feelings.  Did my grandparents have any idea how much this would hurt their sons?  I honestly don't know--I hope not, because I don't want to believe they would have gone forward with it knowing that, but at the same time I can't imagine how they couldn't.  Weekends and summers and early mornings and late nights--chores have to be done, cows fed, horses, hay.  The barn with the swing out of the hayloft.  Water turns, digging ditches in springtime.  Fixing equipment that's always breaking down.  Not an easy thing to take care of for years, but an even harder thing to have one day and gone the next.

Who's Farming in our Future.....Something to think about.....

**This was a great article that I found recently and applied a lot to YF&R members or future YF&R members**  --JP

U.S. agriculture needs a transfusion of youth

Nov. 1, 2012by Elton Robinson in Farm Press Blog

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• With so many farmers nearing retirement, the question looms, who will farm this land in 2025, a scant 13 years from now?
• The challenge of replacing retiring farmers is daunting, but a University of Missouri professor is doing his part to help prepare young farmers for agricultural careers.
• Kevin Moore is teaching a class which focuses on subjects such as financial planning, developing business plans and features visits from farmers and professors who cover topics such as estate planning, business organization and tax management.

A recent USDA survey forewarns of an impending crisis in agriculture. It’s not about too many rules and regulations restricting farmer profitability, inadequate farm policy or rising input costs, although these factors could very well play into the crisis.

It’s not about land, or water or conservation. There are plenty of rules in place to preserve these resources.

Little has been done however, to encourage the next generation of farmers to step in and provide society’s food, feed, fuel and fiber. With so many U.S. farmers so close to retirement, and a generation of young people less inclined to follow in their parent’s footsteps, one wonders, who will be farming this land in 2025, a scant 13 years from now?

What a professor at the University of Missouri is doing to address this potential shortage of knowledge and skill won’t by itself provide the necessary transfusion of youth. But it’s a good start.

Kevin Moore, an associate professor of agricultural economics, teaches a class at UM called “Returning to the Farm.” It prepares students to overcome the financial and personality hurdles of becoming a farmer.

“The purpose of the class is to teach students the skills that they will need to overcome the financial and societal pressures they face when going back to the family farm or starting their own farms,” Moore said.

The class focuses on subjects such as financial planning, developing business plans and features visits from farmers and professors who cover topics such as estate planning, business organization and tax management.

“If students are prepared to face the first five years of business, they can be successful in the farming industry,” Moore said. “The class helps them prepare for these situations.”

Moore believes many young children of today are more attracted to what they see as more lucrative, non-farming careers and an urban lifestyle. Public perception of agriculture has fallen in recent years, adding to the pressure to seek employment elsewhere.

Moore says parents often wait too long to discuss their children’s goals. “All too often, assumptions are made about the next generation coming back to the farm,” Moore said. “This leaves a lot of planning and decisions for later, during crunch time when kids have already made decisions about the direction of their lives. If younger adults are going to continue to choose not to go into the farming industry, then we may run into a problem, within the next decade or two, due to the lack of farmers in the United States.”

Moore points out that only 5 percent of principal farm operators nationwide are under the age of 35. With one-third of U.S. farmers now at 65 or older, time is running short.