Article submitted by Jackie Matter

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s annual meeting offered more than previously reported.

First, congratulations to Ethan Jamison, a Juniata County native and student at Penn State for winning the collegiate discussion meet held during annual meeting.

Also, congratulations to Julia Mummau for winning first place in the state for her safety contest video.

Winter can be a slower time for some farmers and with that comes opportunities to catch up on paperwork and meetings. The farm bureau has several upcoming opportunities available.

The first is the Young Ag Professional’s Annual Conference scheduled for Feb. 12-13 in State College.

This event is open to farm bureau members ages 18-35 and is a wonderful opportunity to be introduced to the farm bureau.

In fact, this year’s theme for the conference is “Why Farm Bureau?” The conference is how my husband and I began participating in the farm bureau several years ago.

Topics for this year’s conference include mental health awareness, building your leadership brand, impromptu speaking, networking for success, proaction in lameness, what do sore feet cost you, the new and beginning farmer state tax credit, niche marketing, new employee and orientation training, and farm finance: preparing for commercial credit.

Matt Episcopo is the keynote speaker and Country Traction will be evening entertainmen.

The Juniata County Farm Bureau will sponsor one individual or one couple from the county to attend this conference, but the deadline to register is Jan. 7.

For more information, contact Ethan or Lindsey Shoop at (717) 734-0129.

Another opportunity in State College is the Ag Promotion Conference scheduled for March 11-12.

The keynote speaker for this conference is Gian Paul Gonzalez and topics include a mobile ag science lab lesson, an introduction to podcasting, how to write a children’s book, a Gen Z perspective on social media, and the Grow PA Workforce project.

Each county may send three attendees to this conference. For more information or to register, contact Ethan or Lindsey Shoop at (717) 734-0129.

Registration for ag literacy week is now open. In the past, several individuals participated by reading to various elementary school classrooms throughout the county.

In 2022, ag literacy week is scheduled for March 14-18. Anyone interested can register to read to a classroom by visiting https://pfbfriends.com/ag-literacy-week/.

This site also explains the program. Readers purchase the book and donate it to the classroom. In addition to reading to the classroom, there is also an activity that goes along with the theme of the book.

This year’s book is “My Family’s Soybean Farm” by Katie Olthoff.

Not to be confused with ag literacy week, the PA Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee also has a book program where books are donated to schools.

This program is less formal and is called the FARM-tastic Book Program.

The books are donated to schools and if individuals choose to read to the classroom, they are welcome to do so.

This year’s FARM-tastic book is “The Barn At Night” by Michelle Houts.

Did you know?

The PA Farm Bureau’s Ag Promotion Committee is tasked with promoting agriculture and educating consumers about agriculture.

They work closely with the Friends of Ag Foundation in carrying out this task.

Ways in which they accomplish these goals are through programs such as the Mobile Ag Science Labs, Ag on the Go, Ag Awareness Crates, participation in their annual conference, and ag literacy week.

Thanks for reading and, until next time, remember to thank a farmer!