July 14, 2016
Florida Farm Bureau will hold its state Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference, themed “Boots on the Beach,” at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club in Naples, July 15-17.
More than 180 young adults will attend various leadership development seminars at the three-day farm conference so that they can better promote agriculture in their own communities.
“We are excited to have such a committed group of farmers and ranchers attend this year’s conference,” said FFB Young Farmers and Ranchers Coordinator Elise Stoddard. “These young people are our next generation of farmers and they are excited to do their part in helping improve community awareness of agriculture.”
Iowa farmer and agvocate Chris Soules, A.K.A “Prince Farming,” will share his experiences on ABC’s The Bachelor and how he is using his television skills to be an ambassador and spokesperson for today’s farmer.
Breakout sessions will address media relations, political education and precision agriculture. A conference agenda can be viewed at https://floridafarmbureau.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/YFR-LC-Agenda-Final1.pdf.
The conference includes family networking activities, entertainment and an intense volleyball competition. A Discussion Meet competition will also be held at the event. The Discussion Meet competition simulates a committee meeting and engages participants to share ideas on a pre-determined topic and help formulate solutions to problems. The Final Four Discussion Meet contestants will be announced on Sunday and will advance to the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in October.
Florida Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) are members between the ages of 18 and 35 who volunteer their time to speak out for agriculture in their local communities. They support the hunger relief charity Feeding America and have helped contribute an estimated 17.2 million pounds of fruits and vegetables to assist food insecure Floridians this year.