The Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) hosted its 106th Annual Meeting on Nov. 21-23, 2023 at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest in Minnetonka.
The MFBF Annual Meeting brings together the organization’s grassroots membership to surface and discuss issues facing agriculture, along with general organization updates, educational opportunities and networking.
A list of all of the award winners over the two days, along with linked press releases, can be found below. There is also a link with photos of all the award winners and other event photos.
The MFBF Annual Meeting represents the culmination of the grassroots policy development process for the organization, with issues surfaced by counties at the local level presented to the state delegates for adaptation into the MFBF policy book. Based on the surfaced issues, the Board of Directors then set priority issues for the upcoming year, focusing on the top issues from throughout the process.
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Vice President Carolyn Olson of Lyon County was re-elected to a two-year term. Also re-elected to the board for three-year terms were Jeff Pagel of Olmsted County (District 1), and Miles Kuschel of Cass County (District 6). Also elected to complete two years of a three-year term vacated by former District 7 Director Shayne Isane was Bruce Brenden of West Otter Tail County. Newly elected members to the board serving one-year terms were Tiffany Kobbermann of Pope County as the Promotion & Education Chair and Katie Drewitz of Fillmore County as the Young Farmers & Ranchers Chair. Read more.
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Several Young Farmers & Ranchers competitions were held, including the Excellence in Agriculture contest, Achievement Award, and Discussion Meet. The winners of each competition will represent Minnesota at the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas in January.
- Winning the Excellence in Agriculture competition was Luke Daninger of Forest Lake (Washington County). The award recognizes individuals on their involvement in agriculture, leadership ability, and involvement and participation in Farm Bureau and other organizations.
- Winning the Achievement Award were Dustin and Katie Wiese of Pequot Lakes (Cass County). The award recognizes individuals on a combination of their farming operation growth and financial progress of operation, Farm Bureau leadership, as well as leadership outside of Farm Bureau.
- Winning the Discussion Meet was Megan Horsager of Clara City (Chippewa County). The contest is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant. Individuals are evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a pre-determined topic, with the top contestant offering cooperation and communication while analyzing agricultural problems and developing solutions.
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Six students were the recipients of scholarships through the Minnesota Farm Bureau Foundation. View recipients.
- Recipients of the Al Christopherson Scholarship include Kendra Kendra Blaschko (Le Sueur County), Emma Kuball (Rice County), Owen Rozeboom (Dakota County) and Ella Thome (Mower County).
- Recipients of the Paul Stark Memorial Scholarship include Alexis Hoefs (Le Sueur County) and Mary Lanoue (Lyon County).
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Former Minnesota State Fair Director Jerry Hammer, John Hart with the USDA Wildlife Services program, and Tom Rothman who recently retired with the University of Minnesota – Extension received the Distinguished Service to Agriculture award, and three couples were recognized as Honorary Life Members:
- Bernie Aronson of Lincoln County
- Jerry and Lori Beckel of Le Sueur County
- Al and Diane Christopherson of Kandiyohi County
Katie Emmett with Sleepy Eye FFA was named the FFA Advisor of the Year. Read more.
Nick Schiltz, instructor at Riverland Community College, was recognized as the Post-Secondary Agriculture Educator of the Year. Read More.
Nicole Kudrle, University of Minnesota Extension educator in North St. Louis County, was named the Extension Educator of the Year. Read More.
Mark Dorenkamp with Brownfield Ag News was named the Ag Communicator of the Year. Read More.
