Indiana Farm Bureau Marks 100th, Positions for Next 100

Farm-Bureau-celebrates-100-years

Indiana Farm Bureau officially commemorated its 100^th anniversary at the state capitol yesterday with cake, congratulations and well wishes from many, including Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch.

“You are a part of an organization whose sole focus over the past one hundred years has been to support and advocate for agriculture and rural Indiana,” Crouch told the gathered Farm Bureau members. “Your century-long commitment has not only shaped our identity as Hoosiers, but it also is an economic foundation of Indiana’s economy.”

Crouch delivered remarks and then read Governor Holcomb’s proclamation on Indiana Farm Bureau Day. INFB president Randy Kron was all smiles on a landmark day for the organization as he tipped his hat to the small group with sharp vision in 1919, “to come up with this concept of people working together to be better advocates, that your voice was stronger by being in a group and working together. I think looking at our history that has proven to be very true. I think the ones sitting there 100 years ago signing the papers starting a farm organization are looking down and pretty proud.”

Now Kron leads a grass roots farm group beginning its second 100 years. How will they stay relevant in their communities and at the state and national levels?

“That’s not an easy question, but I will tell you our state board of directors have been having a lot of conversations,” he said. “I think when you hit a milestone like this, it makes you reflect a little bit about how do we get positioned. There’s no doubt there’s a lot of challenges in agriculture right now, but we’ve got to figure out how to remain relevant to our members, so that means we have to stay connected to our members.”

He told HAT the state board of directors has been taking a long look at all their programs and will adapt and evolve just as agriculture has the past 100 years. The next century of Farm Bureau will certainly rely on cultivating new and young members. Programs for that are already in place.

“Between the FFA, the collegiate Farm Bureaus at different universities and in our Young Farmer program, we’ve put a lot of resources into this next generation.”

Farm Bureau’s 100^th year celebration culminates with special events at the annual convention. It will be back in French Lick this year, December 19-21.

Hear more from Kron:Randy-Kron-on-INFB-at-100