North Carolina Farm Bureau member Crystal Roberts was the winner of American Farm Bureau’s 2009 Collegiate Discussion Meet at the Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Conference in Sacramento, Calif.
Roberts, an animal science major at N.C. State and former state FFA officer, had won the state award in November 2008 and snagged the national award after four rounds of competition. The final discussion topic was “How do land grant universities remain on the forefront of an ever-changing agricultural environment?”
Roberts, the daughter of Madison County Farm Bureau members, took home a $2,500 scholarship.

CABARRUS COUNTY Farm Bureau President Tommy Porter and his wife, Vicky, have been selected by the North Carolina Pork Council as its “Outstanding Pork Producers” for 2009. The Porters run a 580-acre operation where they have 2,200 sows, poultry and cattle. They were recognized for the care they give their animals, environmentally friendly practices and conservation-mindedness while determining the best and most efficient practices. Also, both are active advocates for agriculture and are involved in a number of community leadership roles.

CAMDEN COUNTY

CARTERET COUNTY Farm Bureau hosted Croatan High School FFA Association officers and members Joseph Mauro, Tyler Sowers, Joshua Filipovich, Keith Mentnech, Jacqueline Staab and Chelsea Lewis at a monthly board meeting in February.
The FFA members presented PowerPoints demonstrating all the various activities the Croatan FFA were involved in, including Southeast Regional Rally, State Convention, White Lake, Mega Conference and National Convention held in Indianapolis. 
In addition to Croatan, Carteret County Farm Bureau sponsored FFA students from West Carteret and East Carteret high schools who attended the National Convention. 
Also pictured are Carteret Farm Bureau officers and directors Clayton Garner, June Bryan, Herbert Page, Mickey Simmons, Mike Temple, Rusty Bryan, Ray Garner, Henry Davis, Greg Garner and AG Extension Agent Ray Harris.

DAVIDSON COUNTY Farm Bureau board member Jim Davis and his family have been awarded the Southeast Region Farm Family Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. Davis is a third-generation beef and poultry farmer, and says the environmentally friendly practices they use include fencing off all of their streams and ponds and using geotech fabric and stone in high-use areas. Also, they use a Soil and Water Conservation-designed litter shed with an incinerator for disposal.
The award was one of six given out nationwide, and the Southeast region includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.

CURRITUCK COUNTY Farm Bureau members recently received recognition and service awards through their local Soil & Water Conservation office. Manly M. West, Albemarle Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor (Currituck Board) was re-elected to a three-year term (his second) on the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Harvey Roberts (a member of the Currituck County Farm Bureau board of directors) and Tommy Grandy, Albemarle Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisors (Currituck board) each received 20-year length of service awards. Roberts was recognized by the Albemarle Resource Conservation & Development (Albemarle RC & D) for his service as a council member. Grandy received his service award from the Albemarle Conservation District (Currituck board). 

FORSYTH COUNTY Farm Bureau members Bob and Jean Cooper, owners of Meadowbrook Tree Farm in Winston-Salem, have earned a big honor: 2008 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. The American Tree Farm System chose to give the couple its top award not just for their own 118-acre farm, which they had to completely restore upon buying it in 1973, but also for their efforts on behalf of the North Carolina Tree Farm Program. The Coopers enrolled their farm in the American Tree Farm System in 1985 and host several forestry projects including the first Green Ash planting project in North Carolina. They’ve opened Meadowbrook Farm to hosting workshops and have taken on roles as active advocates for their industry.

North Carolina Farm Bureau’s 2009-10 LEAD Program recently started with a conference in Wilmington. Over the next two years, the 15 members of the leadership development program will engage in a number of activities meant to develop, foster and enhance the skills of individuals and couples (between the ages of 36 and 52) actively engaged in production agriculture.

GATES COUNTY Farm Bureau hosted a meeting about rules and regulations for farm equipment on roadways on Feb. 11. The event featured a catered lunch and was open to all farmers in the county. Highway Patrolmen from Raleigh and Troop A led the talk, which almost 70 people attended.

DUPLIN County Farm Bureau President Dexter Edwards, with his son Nicholas and Nicholas’ wife, had a booth for their business, Edwards Land and Cattle, at the Murphy-Brown Vendor Expo.

SAMPSON County Farm Bureau board member Buck Blanchard and his wife, Women’s Committee member Shelby, visit NCFB’s display at the Murphy-Brown Vendor Expo March 17 at
the Duplin Events Center in Kenansville.

UNION COUNTY Farm Bureau hosted a retirement breakfast for Jerry Simpson, Union County Cooperative Extension Director, on Jan. 26. In Simpson’s honor, Union County Farm Bureau donated $2,000 to the Union County 4-H Youth and Development Foundation. In the photo are Simpson, left, and Union County Farm Bureau President Brad Hargett.

WAKE County Farm Bureau members Richard Jenks and Jay Thompson represented Farm Bureau at Leesville Road Middle School’s Career Day on March 5. About 90 sixth-graders learned about the importance of agriculture to North Carolina’s economy and about what farm life is like today. Students pictured stayed after class to ask more questions about farming.

WARREN County Farm Bureau bought Photosynthesis Promenade books for four county schools. Pictured are, from left: Jeff Bender, Warren County Farm Bureau president; Calvin Jones, Warren County Board of Education chairman; Pat Riethmeier, Ag in the Classroom ambassador; and Dr. Ray Spain, superintendent of Warren County Schools.

More than 100 women from across the state recently attended the 2009 North Carolina Farm Bureau Women’s Conference. The event, held at the Marriott Crabtree Valley in Raleigh, included a silent auction with proceeds benefiting NCFB’s Ag in the Classroom program. The conference also included a number of educational workshops such as misconceptions about agriculture, becoming a better leader and developing leadership skills, the impact of urbanization on agriculture and how to develop active county Farm Bureaus.
A luncheon featured an update of bills being introduced in the General Assembly and how Farm Bureau is monitoring legislative activities. Michele Payn-Knoper was a featured guest at the conference, with a talk on “Celebrating Agriculture.”
The Silent Auction raised more than $3,900 for the Ag in the Classroom program.

1. Helping farmers—The men and women who produce our food, fiber and forestry products are worthy of your trust. They care about the environment, their animals, our safety, the quality of food, their communities, our future, and most of all, you and your families.
Through membership in Farm Bureau, you are able to help farmers be better stewards of the food supply. NCFB’s mission is to help improve the lives of farmers and their rural communities. The state and nation’s farmers produce the safest and most abundant food supply in the world. If they are able to operate free of the additional costs associated with the often needless and over-burdensome regulations and laws promoted by anti-agriculture groups, they can continue to produce enough to feed the expanding world population.

2. Helping yourself—The amount and quality of benefits available to members is well worth the $25 annual membership dues. From competitive rates on insurance products and savings on prescription drugs, Grainger products, Choice hotels, car rentals and other products to getting an inside track on NASCAR products, Farm Bureau’s lineup of member savings is sure to help out the family budget. Check our Web site at www.ncfb.org for more information on NCFB’s service partners.

3. Helping your community— County Farm Bureaus are major employers in their communities, with office support people and agents ready to help those in need of the organization’s services. In addition, local farmers are enthusiastically engaged with community activities on a level that makes a real difference. Farm Bureau is a non-profit organization, so it is constantly hosting various events meant to benefit the entire community. From Safety Days to D.A.R.E. and other awareness programs, county Farm Bureaus help make their communities better places to live and raise families, both financially and through their social awareness efforts.

4. Helping young people— Whether it’s helping elementary school children plant a garden in conjunction with NCFB’s Ag in the Classroom program, hosting a weeklong tour of the state’s agricultural careers and land grant universities through the organization’s Institute for Future Agricultural Leaders, or providing college scholarships for students pursuing agriculturally related careers through the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship fund, NCFB makes a difference for young people.

5. Helping protect our future—Farm Bureau also has programs focused on producing outstanding leaders. NCFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers program helps farmers 18-35 years old focus on their leadership skills through special programs and events that foster their development. Another program that continues leadership training is the organization’s Leadership Education Activity Development effort. This LEAD program continues developing the skill set farmers acquired through participation in YF&R.

In addition to the programs that help educate young people and develop them into future leaders, Farm Bureau is helping protect the farmer. The best way to ensure a continued supply of safe and abundant food for the state and nation’s citizens is by keeping farmers on the farm.
Now that’s something to feel good about!

Each year, the week leading up to Thanksgiving is designated as National Farm-City Week and is recognized across the country. Since 1955, the nationally observed week has been dedicated to recognizing agriculture’s impact on everyday life.

Local Farm-City Week events celebrate the connection of the people who grow the food with the people who eat it. Farmers, ranchers and others involved in the agriculture community are honored for their hard work and what they contribute to society and to the American economy.

Many North Carolina communities are involved with Farm-City celebrations, including New Hanover County, which hosts an essay contest, and the town of Plymouth, which has a Farm-City Week festival.

North Carolina Cooperative Extension agent Gerda Rhodes has helped coordinate Washington County’s Plymouth Farm-City Festival for the past 30 years. She says the event “gives us a chance to educate the public about the importance of the ag community in which we live.”

In more recent years, the Plymouth festival has added an Ag Heritage section where people can shell corn, grind wheat, gin cotton, spin wool, and make sausage, ice cream and cracklins. “It has been extremely popular and gives us an opportunity to show how much has changed in agriculture,” Rhodes says.

“The goal is to build an understanding of the interdependence between farmers and consumers,” says Marsha Purcell, with the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Sometimes there are misunderstandings of on-farm practices, or why consumers feel a certain way about farmers, and we hope this helps educate both on why we do things the way we do.”

Each year, a luncheon kicks off the National Farm-City Week. This year’s annual luncheon will be held in Birmingham, Ala., and will feature an agriculture symposium and a live radio broadcast of AgriTalk. Host Mike Adams will moderate a discussion about “Combating Hunger in America” with a panel of industry, academia and nonprofit organizations leaders.

Recently, Farm-City Week has had a stronger influence in classrooms across the country, providing teachers with student activity sheets, placemats and bookmarks to help teach students about how agriculture is important to them. Organizers have worked closely with the Agriculture in the Classroom program to educate students and teachers alike.

“Activities are created that help a child see how food is produced,” Purcell says. “To help them understand that link is very rewarding.”

Most of the week’s activities are grassroots-type events, ranging from banquets to farm tours to job exchange activities. While Farm-City Week starts the Friday before Thanksgiving and ends on Thanksgiving Day each year, community events often happen year-round.

For more information about National Farm-City Week, please visit www.farmcity.org.

National Farm-City Week is November 21-27. www.farmcity.org

NCFB Mutual Insurance Company
Each insured of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Inc. is hereby notified that by virtue of the insured’s policy or policies with the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., the insured is a member of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Inc. The 2008 annual meeting of the company will be held at the Four Seasons (Joseph S. Koury) Convention Center, 3121 High Point Road, Greensboro, N.C. 27407, Mon., Dec. 8 beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Reconvened Session
The reconvened session of the annual meeting of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Inc. and annual meeting of affiliate corporations will commence at 8:00 a.m. Wed., Dec. 10 at the Four Seasons (Joseph S. Koury) Convention Center, Greensboro, N.C.

These include:

· North Carolina Farm Bureau Service Company, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Agency, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Marketing Association, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau R. Flake Shaw Memorial Scholarship Fund.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Investment Corporation
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Legal Foundation, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Political Action Committee, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc.
· Farm Bureau Insurance of North Carolina, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Foundation, Inc.
· North Carolina Farm Bureau Support Services Corporation.

NCFB Magazine hits the airwaves on RFD-TV in August.

The next installment of North Carolina Farm Bureau Magazine will cover everything from tobacco’s growing roots to barbecue’s never ending taste-war.

First up, burley and flue-cured tobacco have both traditionally been grown strictly in distinct geographic regions within North Carolina, but the line between the two types is rapidly dissolving.
NCFB Magazine visits with William Vernon, a burley grower in the Piedmont for that story.

Second, as our population becomes more and more removed from the farm, the challenge for schoolteachers is educating our children about where food really comes from. A newly developed North Carolina Ag in the Classroom tool is helping elementary school teachers across the country bring the farmer more into the classroom.

Third, with North Carolina State University at the heart of bio-fuels research and looking at a variety of crops as potential biofuels stock, many crops not widely grown in the state might have a new future in the farm fields of North Carolina.

And although the days of the lighthouse-keeper checking the whale oil supply and climbing the tower to clean its lenses have passedm, 2 million visitors to the North Carolina Outer Banks every season can get a sense of what it was like to live during that bygone age. NCFB Magazine visits three coastal lighthouses that still provide a beacon of safety for shipping along the treacherous Outer Banks.

Finally, the show takes a look at an East vs. West tale of several North Carolina barbecue chefs who all claim their region is the “Q-Capital.”

North Carolina Farm Bureau Magazine on RFD-TV

Scheduled Showings
(Subject to change)

Aug. 27: 6:30 p.m.
Aug. 28: 4:30 a.m.
Direct TV Satellite Service Channel 379.
DISH Network Satellite Service Channel 231.
Time-Warner Cable in the future, watch for updates.