Richland County Farm Bureau recently celebrated the Farm Bureau Centennial at the Annual Meeting held at the Ontario Event Center. Seventy-one members and special guests enjoyed a buffet dinner. President Luke Wittmer thanked the 15 dinner sponsors for their continued support of Farm Bureau.
The OFBF Centennial video started things off after dinner. Wittmer then introduced the guest speakers, Norman Jones and Kip Curtis, who spoke about the OSU-Mansfield microfarm project and Gro-Op (urban farm support).
At the annual meeting, trustee elections were held, delegates to represent the county at the state level were selected, and public policies were voted on and approved. The policies of Farm Bureau provide the framework through which they advocate for family, community and food security. The policies help guide efforts to address real community issues—issues such as regulations, funding public education and services, environmental protection, animal care, health care, landowner’s rights and community planning. And these policies are used to develop programs, projects and advocacy at the state and federal level, but just as importantly are used to help guide the yearly plan of work for Richland County Farm Bureau volunteers.
Richland County Farm Bureau also highlighted the accomplishments of programs held during the past year and thanked the volunteers who made local activities successful. Each board trustee was recognized for their effort, hard work and accomplishments over the past year. Loren Hulit was sworn in as president for the 2019-2020 program year. Charles Hebble, Anne Joudrey, Orva Dawson and Brian Alt were elected to the Richland County Farm Bureau board. The 2020 Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation (OFBF) delegates will be Luke Wittmer, Tim Johnson and Anne Joudrey, who will attend with the president, Loren Hulit.
A sale of raffle tickets, through the OFBF, was held from August through the annual meeting for an OFBF Centennial print. The proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Richland County Farm Bureau Impact fund of the OFB Foundation, which will be used for agricultural education programs and events in Richland County. The winning ticket was purchased by Dale Hulit. Door prize drawing for mums and fruit baskets followed the raffle drawing.
Richland County Farm Bureau is now making plans for 2020. They strive to represent local farmers, maintain strong relationships with elected officials, and reach out to consumers with facts about food production. If you’d like more information about Farm Bureau, call or email the county office at 419.747.7488 or [email protected].
