Farmers urged to tell their story

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

BOISE – During Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s 85^th annual meeting, farmers and ranchers were urged to tell their story.

They were also applauded for helping to produce, along with other U.S. farmers and ranchers, the most abundant, safest and affordable food supply in the world.

Keynote speaker Rick Rigsby noted that by the year 2054, there will be an estimated 9.8 billion people in the world “that the people in here have … the responsibility to feed.”

Rigsby, an ordained minister, motivational speaker and author, reminded farmers and ranchers that what they do is extremely important and he likened it to a calling.

“What you folks are doing is a calling,” Rigsby said.” As a pastor, I can tell you, you don’t walk away from a calling.”

He urged agricultural producers to “be the kind of farmer that your grandparents would be proud of.”

IFBF is the state’s largest general farm organization and represents more than 10,000 farmers and ranchers in Idaho.

This year’s annual IFBF meeting was held Dec. 3-6 in Boise and attended by several hundred Farm Bureau members and their families from throughout the state.

A constant theme of this year’s annual convention was the call for farmers and ranchers to tell their story.

“You have to be willing to advocate for agriculture,” said Idaho Farm Bureau Federation President Bryan Searle. “If you don’t tell the story, somebody else will. If somebody else tells that story, it might be false.”

“You have stories to tell; don’t be afraid to tell them,” said Joel Benson, director of IFBF’s information division.

Jessie Jarvis, a guest speaker and third-generation Idaho rancher and farmer, told Farm Bureau members that telling the story of agriculture from their perspective builds trust among the public, makes agriculture relatable and tangible, and combats misinformation.

“Who is the PR firm for agriculture?” she asked. “It is me and you.”

Jarvis encouraged farmers to get outside of their comfort zone if necessary to tell their story.

“I’m wildly uncomfortable (right now) but I’m doing it anyway,” she said. “Agriculture is the wisest and purest pursuit and we have to continue to … share that message.”

She shared the results of a recent national Gallup poll that showed Americans overwhelmingly feel more favorable about agriculture than they any other industry.

Still, there is a lot of work still to do to educate consumers about the industry, Jarvis added, pointing out that 54 percent of Americans aged 11-24 have never seen a cow in real life.

“That’s mind-blowing,” she said.

During the conference, Jarvis was presented IFBF’s first-ever Social Media Influencer Award for her efforts in spreading the word about agriculture through social media and other avenues.

The award is given to “those who go above and beyond to not only support agriculture, but to share agriculture,” Benson said.

Jarvis and Searle were two of several presenters that spoke about how important it is for farmers to tell their own unique story, and not let someone else tell it for them.

“I am a big proponent of advocating for agriculture,” University of Idaho meat scientist Phil Bass said in a podcast recorded live during the convention.

“Be willing to talk to people,” he said. “You would be surprised at how interested people are in what we do.”

Idaho State Department of Agriculture Director Chanel Tewalt was awarded IFBF’s Defender of Agriculture Award, the organization’s highest award for an Idaho official.

“This is a woman who is one of us,” Searle said when presenting that award. “She understands agriculture … Director Tewalt is (a) defender of agriculture.”

“Ag has been foundational in every aspect of my life,” Tewalt said.

She said the relationship she has with Farm Bureau pre-dates her role as ISDA director and “is one of the most important things I have in this job.”

During the convention, Searle announced that he will retire from the IFBF president’s position next December when his current term expires. A potato farmer from Shelley, Searle has served as the organization’s president for nine years.

He said he and his wife, Mary, made the decision that this will be his last term as IFBF president, and he made it clear that he will continue to work hard to build the Farm Bureau organization until he retires as president.

“I turn 65 in a year; I think it’s a good time to hand the reins over,” Searle said.

The IFBF annual meeting was also attended by some elected officials, as well as representatives from state and federal agencies involved with agriculture, and those involved with the state’s farm commissions and other ag groups.

“We appreciate our elected officials and others that work with our organization being here today,” Searle said during the convention.

During the conference, Searle also urged Farm Bureau members to get and remain engaged, whether that means telling their story, testifying on bills involving agriculture, helping host events or building a relationship with their elected officials.

“You can make a difference,” he said. “Go forth. Get engaged, stay engaged. You can make a difference … if you are willing to stand up and engage, advocate and teach.”

Farm Bureau members’ engagement is already making a difference “in this state and across the nation,” Searle said, “and we can’t … let off the gas. Don’t take a breath. Forge ahead. We have to stay unified and engaged.”

As a way to encourage farmers to be engaged, IFBF board member Jason Fellows quoted Abraham Lincoln: “If you want to predict the future, change it.”

For the first time, the IFBF annual convention included a joint meeting of the organization’s Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) and Promotion and Education (P&E) programs.

Farm Bureau’s YF&R program includes young producers from the ages of 18 to 35. The P&E program is open to anyone, including YF&R members, interested in helping to promote agriculture.

Farm Bureau leaders said the goal of this joint YF&R and P&E conference was to bring members of the two programs together to learn from each other, as well as create bonds and friendships.

“The things you learn in the YF&R program, you get to use in the P&E program and the things you learn in the P&E program, you get to use in the YF&R program,” Fellows said.

Holding it during the regular annual IFBF conference was also meant to show YF&R and P&E members all the possibilities and opportunities that exist within Farm Bureau.

East Idaho farmer Marquee Ricks serves as an example of those opportunities.

Ricks has been involved with Farm Bureau’s YF&R program for 10 years and four years ago won the IFBF Discussion Meet, an event that simulates a committee meeting rather than a debate and is meant to hone the public speaking and problem-solving skills of young farmers and ranchers.

She went on to win the American Farm Bureau Federation Discussion Meet against state Farm Bureau winners from all over the nation.

During the convention, Fellows asked for examples from the crowd of how Farm Bureau has benefited people. Ricks spoke up.

“I believe Farm Bureau refines people,” she said during the joint YF&R and P&E conference. “We grow people here.”

Lance and Tess Zollinger are co-chairs of the P&E committee and their joint presentation was designed to give Farm Bureau members a little taste of what they can help accomplish through the program.

Lance Zollinger said the program allows any Farm Bureau member to be engaged in support of agriculture and their community.

“What we want is for you to have an idea of how powerful this can be,” he said. “Jump in and give it a go.”

“People that love agriculture love to share it and talk about it.” Tess Zollinger said. “Our vision in this program is that all will appreciate and support Idaho agriculture.”

She reminded people that the P&E program takes men and women of all ages and that “this is something you can do along with YF&R.”

During the general conference, IFBF CEO Zak Miller reminded members that “this is a grassroots organization. You are the grassroots. Everything we will accomplish … will come from the grassroots.”

He and Searle applauded the many volunteers who guide the organization, from the county level up through the state level.

The main purpose of IFBF’s annual meeting is to pass policy that supports the state’s agricultural industry. Voting delegates from all of Idaho’s county Farm Bureau organizations vote on proposed policies during the convention’s House of Delegates session.

The delegates, who are all farmers or ranchers, discuss, debate and vote on a wide array of proposed policies.

The policies are introduced by grassroots members at the county Farm Bureau level, discussed and vetted there, and then discussed, debated and voted on during the House of Delegates session.

Policies that are adopted by majority vote during the House of Delegates are included in IFBF’s policy book, which contains the organization’s marching orders throughout the year.

During this House of Delegates session, members voted to add a policy that supports “state-funded research to improve and better understand the state aquifers.”

During the conference, Todd Argall, CEO of Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. of Idaho, said that membership within the organization has reached an all-time high of 90,035.

He said the insurance company is in good shape financially but made it clear that it will not rest on its laurels.

“We’re not settling for anything,” he said. “We have work to do.”

In explaining how a grassroots idea by a Farm Bureau member can end up in the IFBF policy book and eventually become a law, Wilder farmer Miguel Villafana also provided more clarity on Agriculture Protection Areas.

This farmland preservation bill began as a resolution at the county Farm Bureau level and was adopted into law by the Idaho Legislature in 2024.

An APA is a voluntary land-use designation that is requested by a landowner of their county commissioners. The landowner receives certain non-monetary benefits or incentives that help protect the viability of the operation.

Villafana said the respect of private property rights something that everyone involved in creating the proposal agreed on.

“That’s a foundational (idea) in Farm Bureau and something everybody agreed on,” he said.

Everybody also agreed APAs should be voluntary and include some type of incentive.

For now, the APA statute does not include a financial incentive, but adding one is something that is being actively researched and looked at, Villafana said.

The purpose of his presentation was to show how an idea at the grassroots level can make a difference.

“If there are things you feel strongly about, bring them up … They can become law,” he said.