Young Farm Bureau members highlighted on national stage

CONTACT: Kathy Richardson, Public Relations Program Manager (352) 374-1533

New Orleans, La.– Chris and Kelly Lyons of Mayo were runners-up for the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award and Charlie and Kelli Hofer of Ocala were top 10 finalists in the Excellence in Agriculture competition during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 89th annual convention. Young farmers from around the United States competed for the awards by demonstrating knowledge of and achievement in agriculture, as well as commitment to promoting the agriculture industry.

The Lyons will receive a Case IH DX compact tractor, courtesy of Case IH, and a $500 product voucher from Valvoline. The Achievement Award recognizes young farmers and ranchers who have excelled in their farming or ranching operations and exhibited superior leadership abilities. Participants are evaluated on a combination of their agricultural operation’s growth and financial progress, Farm Bureau leadership and leadership outside Farm Bureau.

“We are proud of Chris and Kelly,” said Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick. “They typify the high quality of our up-and-coming farmers and we are excited about their future in Farm Bureau.”

In October 2007, Chris and Kelly drove away from the Florida Farm Bureau annual meeting in a new Dodge Ram quad cab truck, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, as winners in the Florida Farm Bureau Federation’s 2007 Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher (YF&R) competition.

The Lyons are Lafayette County natives and operate an 800-acre coastal hay farm, supplying square bales to Florida and Texas. They lease additional land for their 50-head beef cattle operation. They also operate a purebred dog kennel consisting of English and French bulldogs and pugs. They also own and operate a large broiler farm that produces 210,000 chickens every eight weeks. In addition to their aggressive farming operations, Chris and Kelly are busy parents. They have three daughters. They list their major interests as “church, family and our farm.”

Chris is an active member of the Lafayette County Farm Bureau. Kelly is on the county Women’s Committee. At the state level, Chris is on the Florida Farm Bureau’s Beef Advisory Committee and the Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Group while Kelly has served on the YF&R Leadership Group and State Women’s Committees.

The Hofers of Ocala were among the top 10 finalists in the American Farm Bureau’s Excellence in Agriculture competition. Charlie is a feed consultant covering north-central Florida for Cargill Animal Nutrition and enjoys helping livestock producers improve their profitability and animal quality. Kelli is the High School/College coordinator for Central Florida Community College where she helps promote and recruit for the equine and horticulture programs as well as all Associate of Science degrees. Charlie is certified as a Professional Animal Scientist by the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists.

The Excellence in Agriculture award recognizes young farmers and ranchers who do not derive the majority of their income from their agricultural operation, but who actively contribute and grow through their involvement in agriculture, their leadership ability, and participation in Farm Bureau and other organizations.

Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general-interest agricultural organization with approximately 143,000 member-families, statewide. For more information on the annual meeting, visit http://FloridaFarmBureau.org.