DAVIDSONVILLE, Md. — Last week, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 104th Convention gathered over 300 farmer and rancher delegates to adopt policies to guide the organization’s work in 2023. The key topics of interest ranged from expanding risk management programs and improving dairy pricing transparency to battling hunger. Besides Maryland counties and Young Farmer members being honored for their hard work and skill, Maryland now has a member on the American Farm Bureau (AFBF) board, and put forth approved policy changes at the convention.
“Delegates demonstrated the strength of Farm Bureau by coming together to represent hard-working farm families from all 50 states and Puerto Rico,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “There’s a lot of work to do in 2023 as Congress drafts the next farm bill, and the policies set forth today will guide AFBF as we work to ensure farmers and ranchers can continue to meet the growing needs of families in America and around the world.”
Maryland Farm Bureau successfully advanced the definition of “regenerative agriculture” that AFBF will promote to Congress for the next farm bill. Regenerative agriculture was defined as a production system that minimizes environmental impacts, maximizes production and increases the productivity of the soil over time. As a result of MDFB’s effort, the national organization will argue for farm bill conservation programs that target production agriculture and directly benefit farmers.
“We know we share many of the same concerns and goals for conservation as other Farm Bureau states; coming together and sharing our policy goals will help our voice be heard federally,” said Wayne Stafford, president of MDFB who was elected to the AFBF Board of Directors to represent the Northeast Region for a one-year term. “I look forward to helping promote the needs of farmers in our region and recognizing ag’s challenges elsewhere in the country, as well. I’m proud to be part of our Maryland contingent, and of the contest participants and delegates who represented Maryland at this convention so well.” Chris Hoffman from Pennsylvania was also elected to the board for the Northeast Region.
MDFB received the AFBF’s Award of Excellence, which recognizes state Farm Bureaus that demonstrated outstanding achievements in 2022. The bureau was recognized in all four categories:
- Advocacy
- Coalitions & Partnerships
- Engagement & Outreach
- Leadership & Business Development
The bureau was also awarded the Scholar Award from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The Scholar Award is given to six states — one from each member group — and is awarded to the state Farm Bureau with the highest total donations in that member group.
Marylanders participated in the following individual competitions:
- Katie Stevens: Made the Top 10 in the Excellence in Ag competition.
- Alston Shipley: Competed in the first and second rounds of the Discussion Meet.
- Emmy Dallam: Competed in the Achievement Award competition.
Frederick County received a County Activities of Excellence award for its Soil-Smart Farm Tour, a one-day tour of four agricultural operations. These were attended by the county executive and council members and elected state government representatives.
In addition, 15 state Farm Bureau presidents were re-elected to two-year terms to represent their regions on the board. Maryland is in the Northeast Region, and will be represented by David Fisher from New York and Joe Tisbert from Vermont.
The 2024 convention will be January 19 – 24 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
–Maryland Farm Bureau