Ohio Farm Bureau (OFBF) is now 100 years old and we are celebrating our Centennial Anniversary this year. 
“People have within their own hands the tools to fashion their own destiny.” Murray D. Lincoln, Ohio Farm Bureau’s first executive vice president spoke those words and famously rallied farmers around that idea, that a century later, still defines who we are. As Dean Hartong (91 years young) of Hartong Dairy Farm (the sole remaining dairy farm in Summit County) recently told me “amongst farm families, Murray Lincoln was a household name back in the day and was widely respected and supported.” Murray spoke in 1925 of “cooperation amongst the rural folks of Ohio along commercial, economical, legislative, social, and educational lines.” That’s us today, unwavering from our belief that Farm Bureau enables individuals to do together what can’t be done alone.
That conviction has paid a century of dividends. We electrified rural Ohio, preserved farmland by achieving equitable taxes through CAUV, set standards to assure high quality care for food animals and most recently are tackling the complex challenge of protecting water quality. The list of policy accomplishments that serve the food chain, from farmer to the family dinner table, is extensive. Along the way, we’ve spun off cooperatives and organizations that remain today. Undoubtedly the greatest is the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, which sold its first policy in 1926 and in 1955 became Nationwide, now a Fortune 66 company and the country’s largest farm insurer. Nationwide is still our most important and valued partner.
Through the course of the coming year OFBF will be sharing its 100 years of Farm Bureau’s accomplishments and visions for the future. I hope you’ll read, watch and listen to the stories of Ohioans who across a century, whatever the need, made lives and communities better through Farm Bureau.
Our annual membership campaign is planned to formally kickoff on February 13, 2019 from 6 to 9 pm at the Spaghetti Warehouse. You will see additional detailed information about the membership campaign kickoff on the back of this winter newsletter.
Paul Haberny and Mike Blinkhorn are heading up the membership campaign committee this year. If anyone needs information about joining or renewing their Summit County Farm Bureau membership be sure and contact Jan Weaver at our office for more (330-456-4889 or 800-654-5158.)
Membership supports programs that ensure the growth of Ohio’s food and farms, such as advocating for good government policy, developing opportunities for young farmers, providing student scholarships and grants, supporting local food efforts, creating food literacy programs for kids, hosting community building events and funding efforts to protect the environment, water quality, farmland preservation and more.
Help support our organization by renewing your own membership and/or encouraging a friend or family member to become a farm bureau member. See you at Kickoff !