arkansas
farm
bureau
afbf women’s leadership committee
committee comments
T
he “Sweet Story Of Agriculture” was the theme of the Ag in the Classroom conference this summer in Hershey, Penn. We stayed at the Hershey Lodge and were hosted by the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation, which is a charitable organization supported by Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Seven members of our state committee, Sue Billiot, our southern representative on the AFBF women’s leadership committee, and two staff members attended. We had the pleasure of having two of our state teachers as presenters at the conference. Sarah Glenn and Lisa Taylor presented two sessions on “Sweet Ways to Integrate Agriculture and the Environment in the Classroom.” We brought back some great ideas for our annual conference in March. The Officers and Leaders Conference in July was all about being Janice Marsh “Engaged” in agriculture. chairwoman The women’s committee strives to engage people about our industry. Farm Bureau gives us all the tools and resources we need to promote agriculture. If you need any resource please don’t hesitate to contact your county Farm Bureau or the state office. Peggy Miller and I attended the Arkansas Rice Expo in Stuttgart on Aug. 1. This was a wonderful opportunity to distribute Ag in the Classroom materials and to tell about our commodities. Once again we participated in the Farmers’ Market in downtown Little Rock the first of August. We gave away bags of rice and Ag in the Classroom information to more than 200 people who visited our location. It was an excellent opportunity to connect with people who don’t know much about agriculture and to tell our story. With school started, we look forward to our coloring book and poster contests and donating art supplies to local schools. I encourage our county committees to get involved in these worthy activities. And plan on attending the state convention in December. Thanks for all you do to promote Arkansas agriculture!
The American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee met July 27-29, in St. Louis. Sue Billiot of Smithville (Sharp County), is a member of the committee which toured Monsanto’s Chesterfield plant and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. The committee had an outstanding learning opportunity with Monsanto. Billiot shared that she is, “Farm Bureau Proud” of the work the committee did to make sure agriculture’s balanced message is shared and that customers’ concerns were addressed. With that in mind, AFBF will host its eighth annual Farm Bureau Women’s Communications Boot Camp Oct. 7-10, in Washington, D.C., gaining confidence in sharing agriculture’s message with the public is important and the training is open to all women who are members of Farm Bureau and interested in developing their communication and leadership skills. A maximum of 15 applicants Sue Billiot will be selected to participate. Make plans now to attend the AFBF Annual Convention Jan. 9-13, 2015 in San Diego. Programs of special interest to women include Friday night’s VIP preview of the IDEAg Tradeshow and the State Chair Networking activity; the Saturday morning caucuses and annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Women; and Sunday’s Leadership Luncheon and vespers service. The convention offers some exciting opportunities for all volunteer leaders. Looking ahead to February, the dates for the AFBF 2015 FUSION Conference have been announced. FUSION stands for Farmers United: Skills, Inspiration, Outreach and Networking. The conference will be held Feb. 13-16, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. FUSION is the new name for the conference previously referred to as the Engagement Conference and brings together Farm Bureau women and Young Farmers and Ranchers every other year.
county activities The following activity summaries were submitted by the county Farm Bureau Women’s Committees:
Arkansas: The committee sponsored
and assisted with the growth of a rice plot at the Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie to spotlight the importance of rice in Arkansas for the museum’s visitors. The committee also sponsored Miss Arkansas County Rice in the Miss Arkansas Rice Queen contest and made a donation to 4-H.
Baxter: The committee arranged for the
Farm Bureau Ag Experience Trailer and milk cow to be part of a program at Hackler Intermediate School with FFA students conducting the program
for third graders. The committee also sponsored a booth at the FFA Auction with Ag in the Classroom material handed out to the kids. It also included a section on poultry and baby chicks for children to see and learn about through activity sheets and a question and answer session. The booth also featured large posters on cattle, chickens, wheat, rice, etc., and brochures about member benefits and the new Savings Plus program.
Benton: The committee conducted a Farm
Expo at Russell Jones Elementary in Rogers. 160 fourth and fifth grade students participated. There were nine stations consisting of baby chicks, the importance of water, poultry bingo, beef by-products, food safety, dairy, rice milling, and cotton ginning, all to educate students on the continued on page 2
Third Quarter 2014 ®
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