Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Benton County Judge Barry Moehring signed the official

 proclamation declaring this week as Benton County Farm Bureau Week.

This event is the kick-off to our county membership drive.

                                   
                                I'm thankful to be a member of an organization that advocates
                        the interests of agriculture in the public arena,disseminates information
                        concerning the value and importance of agriculture and provides products
                            and services which improve the quality of life for all our members.

Not everyone can be a farmer,

but everyone can be a Farm Bureau member!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for Farm Bureau leaders like our Benton County Farm Bureau President Bob Shofner,

For the women I serve with on activities to educate children and adults about agriculture,

the youth activities that are supported by our county and Arkansas Farm Bureau,

and for the blessings I have received as a Farm Bureau member and volunteer.

The mission of Arkansas Farm Bureau is to:

1. Advocate the interests of agriculture in the public arena.

2. Disseminate information concerning the value and importance of agriculture, and 

3. Provide products and services which improve the quality of life for our members.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

 

Food Check-Out Week (February 17-23) celebrates the fact that America's farmers are producing safe,affordable and abundant food for the world's population. Across Arkansas, Farm Bureau women are taking this opportunity to  educate others about the importance of food and the local farmers who grow it.  Benton County Farm Bureau's Women's Committee is donating money to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and with the help of Benton County 4-H members donated canned food to a local food pantry. I'm thankful to be a  dairy farmer that produces food for others and to belong to an organization like  Farm Bureau  that strives to help others in our community.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

                                                                                      
   It's easy to talk about a subject that you are passionate about and an organization where membership matters. My friends James and Rick shared what Farm Bureau means to them personally and the benefits of membership during the KURM radio program. I'm thankful to be a Benton County Farm Bureau member!

Dreams and Determination Day

I didn't count on a volunteer activity making such a personal impact when our Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Committee decided to plan an event to educate 300 students about Benton County's agricultural history to celebrate the theme of Arkansas Heritage Month "Dreams and Determination:Arkansans at Work." The beautiful downtown Bentonville Square was the perfect historical place to present information how farmers in Benton County made life in our agricultural community progressive and enduring with their dreams and determination.

Students rotated through ten stations to learn about agriculture in our county and state. At four of the stations, dedicated volunteers transformed  into characters of our past to relate information about the beginning of the poultry industry in our county, how rural electricity changed farm life, the development of the dairy industry, and the once thriving apple industry that transitioned into other farming activities--all guided by the dreams and determination of Arkansans at work to make a better place for their families.

As I watched the children attentively listening to each character's presentation, I realized how I have personally benefited from the dreams and determination of the generations before us. Although there are fewer farms in Benton County due to the transition from rural to sprawling urbanization, agriculture is still thriving and will continue its place in our county's history because of the dreams and determination of  Arkansas farm families just like mine.

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

This week we began our Benton County Farm Bureau membership drive with a lively discussion about agriculture and the benefits of Farm Bureau membership on  KURM's  Partyline radio show.

I'm thankful to be a member and a volunteer for an organization that has the mission to advocate the interests of agriculture in the public arena,share information about the value and importance of agriculture and provide products and services which improve the quality of life for our members and citizens of our state.

Connecting with Consumers at the Petting Zoo

Rural makes connection with urban this week at the Benton County Fair in Northwest Arkansas. It's a gathering place that preserves our county's rich agricultural history and educates the public about agriculture in our now urbanized area. The fair actually begins its 107th year tomorrow but the fairgrounds was buzzing with activity late this afternoon as trucks and livestock trailers pulled up to the barn to bring the assortment of animals that will be shown by 4-H and FFA members through the week. You could feel the excitement in the air and the anticipation of that possible blue ribbon as the kids moved their animals into the barn!

My sons were kind enough to help me this afternoon to get ready for the fair by setting up the Benton County Farm Bureau Petting Zoo. I'll be unloading my livestock tomorrow in the petting zoo. Our zoo will include baby chicks,a dairy calf, a baby pig,a lamb and a goat. Because most consumers are three generations from having any connection to a farm, providing the petting zoo is a great way to share information about agriculture while having a fun family experience. It's up to the two percent of us who work in agriculture to share how we care for our animals and work to produce safe,affordable food.

More information about our fair can be found at http://www.bentoncountyfairar.org/. I'm looking forward to all those smiles I will see this week and the chance to talk a little about Benton County agriculture!

Snackpacks for Kids

During Food Check-Out Week when we are recognizing farmers for producing safe,abundant and affordable food, we also see the needs of many families in our community during these tough economic times.

On behalf of the Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Comittee, I presented a check this week to Shannon Green, Food Marketing Coordinator of the Samaritan House for a donation to the Snackpacks for Kids program. The Snackpack program is just one of the many programs of the Samaritan House that helps to feed and clothe families in our community.

Snackpacks for Kids provides weekend snacks to children who are most at risk for hunger on the weekends. This program reaches children in Benton,Carroll,Madison and Washington Counties. During the current school year 3300 children in sixty four elementary schools,Head Starts, and Early Childhood Centers receive a snackpack each Friday. Each pack contains eight to ten healthy weekend snacks. Food products that are routinely packed are: animal crackers,beef jerky,cereal, cheese crackers,fruit bars,fruit juice boxes,fruit snacks/roll-ups,pretzels,pudding cups and Vienna sausage. Volunteers meet weekly to prepare boxes for each school and deliver them for distribution. When they reach the school, the counselor will put designated snacks into the children's backpacks to take home for the weekend to make sure they will have food until they come back to school on Monday.

If you are interested in donating to this program you can call the Samaritan House at 479-636-4198 or reach Shannon by email sgreen@samcc.org. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Food Check-Out Week than by helping others in our community!

Arkansas Farm Bureau's Grassroots

Every year the first full week of February is designated as Arkansas Farm Bureau Membership Drive Kickoff. Until I married a farmer, I thought Farm Bureau was an insurance company. Insurance is one of the great member services, but Farm Bureau is a member organization with a much larger mission. Arkansas Farm Bureau began in 1935 with the focus on dealing with issues of concern to agriculture. It was started by farmers that had specific concerns such as the need for rural electrification and reducing freight rates on feed brought in for livestock in drought areas.

The uniqueness of Farm Bureau is that we are a grassroots organization. That means that our organizational policy is set by the members, not by organizational management. Our issues come from problems that we experience on our farms, our communities,and in our state. Our policy is what we use to solve problems through the legislative process at the state or national level.

When you really believe in something and feel passionate about it, it is easy to talk about it. As members of the Benton County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, that is what Dan Douglas,James Simpson and I did today as we talked about the importance of agriculture and Farm Bureau on KURM radio with Col. Kermit Womack. You can find more information about the benefits of membership at http://www.arfb.com/.

Today the mission statement of Arkansas Farm Bureau is:

• advocate the interests of agriculture in the public arena


• disseminate information concerning the value and importance of agriculture


• provide products and services which improve the quality of life for our members

Remember, not everyone can be a farmer, but everyone can be a Farm Bureau Member!