Hello
Summit County Farm Bureau Members!
I hope your summer is off to a great start and you are enjoying the warmer weather! I am thankful for this opportunity to introduce myself as your new Organization Director (OD). On May 1st, Ohio Farm Bureau officially re-districted the regions that we ODs cover and I was fortunate enough to gain Summit County. In addition to Summit, I also manage Ashland, Medina, and Wayne counties and have held the position of Organization Director since February 2017. This job keeps me busy with developing and implementing programs and activities that strengthen the county Farm Bureaus, serving members and bring about positive change in communities within these counties.
I am a native of Orrville and grew up on my family’s swine and dairy beef operation. When I was young, my primary job was helping dad wash buckets after feeding baby Holstein calves. With 100 new calves to train and feed every 8 weeks, that was a lot of buckets to wash! Nowadays, the family farm has evolved into solely focusing on swine and crop production. Though this position keeps me pretty busy, I still try to make time to give a hand loading hogs every now and again.
I grew up very involved with 4-H and especially loved working with my animal projects. I decided to pursue a degree in Animal Sciences from The Ohio State University and then went on for a Master’s degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Illinois. I spent 5.5 years living in Champaign, IL working towards my master’s degree and then as a Research Specialist in the Beef Cattle Nutrition lab.
My previous experiences have all deepened my love and appreciation for agriculture. I have been so blessed with the opportunity to come back to my home area and work for the Ohio Farm Bureau. As a youngster, I appreciated the local Farm Bureau very much for the scholarships I received while at OSU. How little I knew then of all of the other opportunities available to me as a member!
In conclusion, it’s a pleasure to be your Organization Director. I hope that, over time, I get to meet and interact with many of you! In the meantime, please feel free to call the office and speak with me or one of the staff if you have any questions on your membership or if we can be of assistance in any way. Thank you for your membership and I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!
Sincerely,
Lindsay Shoup