By 1812Blockhouse
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s County Activities of Excellence awards are designed to do one thing well: surface local, volunteer-driven ideas that actually work and can be replicated elsewhere. These are not abstract policy wins. They are practical programs built county by county, usually by people balancing full-time jobs, farms, and community life.
This year, 24 counties nationwide earned that recognition. Nine of them are in Ohio, including Richland County. Those winning counties will receive a grant to support participation in the County Activities of Excellence Showcase at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention & Trade Show, taking place January 9–14, 2026, in Anaheim, California. The showcase gives counties a platform to explain not just what they did, but how and why it worked.
Why These Programs Matter
Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, framed the awards as a reminder of where the organization’s strength actually comes from.
He said that one of the most fulfilling parts of serving as president is seeing firsthand the work members are doing in their communities. Drawing on his own experience, Duvall noted that the combination of community spirit and innovation continues to drive Farm Bureau efforts at the local level. County leaders, he said, are consistently finding new ways to show up and support the people they serve.
That emphasis on grassroots leadership is reflected in how the awards are structured. Projects are judged across five categories: education and agricultural promotion, member services, public relations and information, leadership development and policy implementation, and safety.
Richland County’s Approach: Cultivating Minds
Richland County’s winning project, Cultivating Minds, focused on agricultural and environmental literacy at the earliest level. The program provided three hands-on literacy kits to every elementary school in the county, along with the county public library. Each kit was designed to teach young people about agriculture, food systems, and natural resources in a way that connects classroom learning to real-world experience.
Including the public library turned out to be a smart expansion. It ensured that homeschooled students, scouts, 4-H clubs, and other civic groups could access the same materials, extending the program beyond traditional classrooms and into the broader community.
That detail matters. Too many education initiatives stop at the schoolhouse door. Cultivating Minds recognized that learning about agriculture does not happen in one place or on one schedule, and it built access accordingly.
A Model Other Counties Can Use
What makes Richland County’s project stand out is not just the content of the kits, but the structure of the program. It is simple, scalable, and designed with long-term use in mind. That combination is exactly what the County Activities of Excellence awards are meant to highlight. When Richland County shares this project in Anaheim, it will not be pitching a one-off success. It will be offering a model other counties can realistically adapt, fund, and sustain in their own communities.
Something tells us that Louis Bromfield would be proud of this generation of Richland Countians.
Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
