More than 1,000 Farm Bureau members in Kansas will gather in Manhattan Dec. 7-8 for their organization’s 97th annual meeting.
Held at the Hilton Garden Inn and Manhattan Convention Center, the meeting will showcase progressive workshops and discussion of agricultural policy issues.
Keynote speakers include Barry Flinchbaugh, an acknowledged expert on agricultural policy and an award-winning professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, and Dale Moore, American Farm Bureau Federation executive director of Public Policy and native Kansan.
Kansas Farm Bureau President Rich Felts will kick off the meeting, at 8 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. Awards and recognition ceremonies will follow including: Friends of Ag, Natural Resources, Photo Contest, Membership Traveling Trophy, Partnership and Coordinators. Moore will wrap up the opening morning session with a look at national issues impacting farmers and ranchers including water, endangered species and taxes.
Workshops follow with topics including ag advocacy, leadership, energy, Kansas water law, crop insurance, using big data and antibiotic use on the farm and ranch.
After lunch, county Farm Bureaus will receive awards for excellence, county progress awards will be announced and Leadership KFB graduates will be honored. Flinchbaugh will wind up this session.
At the evening banquet, 10 Kansas farm families will be recognized for their service to Farm Bureau and their communities, followed by KFB President Felts’ speech to Farm Bureau members.
On Tuesday, more than 400 voting delegates will debate and adopt policy statements for 2016 and elect a vice-president. Farm and ranch leaders will discuss a range of topics including water, animal care, endangered species and energy development.
Kansas Farm Bureau represents grassroots agriculture. Established in 1919, this non-profit advocacy organization supports farm families who earn their living in a changing industry.