July 2, 2019
Florida Farm Bureau will hold its state Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference, themed “Ready. Set. Grow!” at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, July 12-14, 2019.
More than 300 young farmers and ranchers will attend informative breakout sessions on current agricultural issues and learn how to promote agriculture in their own communities.
“We are excited to have such a diverse group of farmers, ranchers and agriculturists attend this year’s conference,” said Leadership Programs Coordinator Michele Curts. “These young people are the future of agriculture. We want to provide them with life-long skills and networking opportunities to prepare them to carry on the tradition of farming.”
Keynote speaker Sarah Bohnenkamp will enthusiastically share her “Yes I Can” attitude with participants and Fundamism (F.U.N.) speaker Paul J. Long will close out the conference. Breakout sessions will address an array of agricultural-related topics, including grassroots in action, crop insurance, Agritourism, recruiting and empowering volunteers in a millennial age, fundraising and estate planning. A conference agenda is available on the event page.
This year’s conference will host the semi-final rounds of Florida Farm Bureau’s 2019 Discussion Meet competition, which will take place on Friday, July 12. The competition gives young farmers the opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas in a simulated committee meeting. The Final Four Discussion Meet contestants will be announced on Sunday, July 14. The final finalists for both the Excellence in Agriculture and the Achievement in Agriculture competitions will also be announced on Sunday. All finalists will advance to the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Convention in October.
Florida Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers are members between the ages of 18 and 35 who volunteer their time to speak out for agriculture in their local communities. They also support hunger relief through the American Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All Campaign and have donated 21 million pounds of fruits and vegetables and canned goods to assist food-insecure Floridians this year.