March 2022 FloridAgriculture eNewsletter
Young farmers and ranchers from District 3 gathered at Promised Land Ministries Farm in Lake Butler on Feb. 12 to network and fellowship. Attendees heard from state Farm Bureau leaders about the importance and value of the Florida Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Program (YF&R). They also spent time discussing how to strengthen existing YF&R programs in the surrounding area.
The YF&R program is a shining example of what it means to belong to a community of young leaders in agriculture. The YF&R State Leadership Committee Class President Kevin Lussier and the District 3 YF&R State Leadership Committee Representative Caytlyn Smith shared personal stories on the program. As the area representative, Smith led attendees through multiple conversational exercises to help familiarize new and existing members with the resources available to them.
Past YF&R members also attended the event and took time to share their involvement in Farm Bureau and their family farms or ranches. Katrina Moseley, a cattle and hay producer from Columbia County recalled, “My leadership group started out as strangers but ended as family. We grew close and we are now a community that leans on one another in times of need.”
Also in attendance was the 2022 North Florida Ms. United States Agriculture Queen, Kaitlin Van Huesen. The queen shared how her involvement in programs like YF&R helped lead to advanced service opportunities like the Ms. United State Agriculture pageant.