Rebecca started the meeting very peppy! 11/10 approve. We started with the four-way test, which is always worth passing. Kurt Guter gave our reflection for the day on farmers. He highlighted the essential role they play in food security and their ability to be resilient and adaptable. During harvest, farmers give up meals on their table to put food on ours. We need doctors, lawyers and other professionals during crisis. We need to eat three times a day and need farmers. We flexed our vocal chords to America, the Beautiful. Sue’s guest was Ehab Awad who is interested in membership. Jen Zatkin from Capital Area Housing Partnership was also a first time guest interested in membership. Eric Helder was a guest of Terry Terry who works on getting incentives for development projects. My guest was Tara Jegla, from the Village Flower Farm and Community Center. Rebecca introduced John Hooper for the special music? It was actually Mark Hooper. Mark introduced a senior from Dewitt High School, Gwendellyn Doerfler, who is a nationally recognized songwriter and composer. She sang Merry Christmas and Blue Christmas and was accompanied by Mark Dale Smith. And absolutely crushed it. We are about to see her do big things one day. A few announcements from Rebecca. The Children’s Holiday Party is December 13th. The 40th annual MLK event will be in February – please reach out to Bilky if you would like to attend. The International Committee meets right after this meeting. If you’re reading this now, you’re too late. John Pence came up to the podium to talk about November birthday months. The question for the month was “What is the best birthday present you’ve ever received?” Linda Sarnelli enjoyed a 1970 Mercury Capri her parents got her when she was in college. Joe Yang was a Voltron action set from his sister that he got for his 40th birthday - finally able to complete his set! Power move. John Pence received tickets to a Steelers game. While tailgating, his wife surprised him by having his two kids flown in. For November, they raised $949 and only missed two members. Can we collectively shame these two people? Jon Kolbasa introduced our speaker for the day, Abby Vittore, who is a fifth generation farmer! Abby presented on Farming for the Future: How Young Farmers are Addressing Today’s Agricultural Challenges.  Young Farmers are defined as those under the age of 35. Abby reminded us that we are all involved in agriculture in one way or another. Abby lives in Britton, MI and a 2016 graduate of MSU with degrees in Agribusiness Management and a minor in Crop and Soil Science. She is a wife and mom – her husbands name is Ben! – as well as a small business owner. An all around AGRIBUSINESS BOSS. Her family runs Carpenter Farms, which has 600 acres of row crops and 30 head of beef cows. This business was started in 1912 by her great grandfather. Some people were sad about the Titanic sinking. Others were starting farms. In 2007, they started Carpenter Farms Greenhouse LLC and Carpenter Farms Pumpkins LLC. This is a full agritourism business with 40 acres of pumpkins. In 2016, they purchased a local greenhouse business that Abby runs and is the majority owner. They also purchased Madison Garden Center, dba Barret’s Showplace Gardens and Flower Shop. There are 1.9 million farms and ranches in the United States. 95% of farms in the United States are family owned and operated. It is much more common to find third or fourth generation farmers than a first-generation farmer. The average age of an American Farmer is 58.1. Farmers over the age of 65 outnumber farmers under 35 at a rate of 6 to 1. Only .9% of American farmers are considered young farmers! How did we get here? A decrease in farm income was a result of increased capital and input prices in a weather dependent industry. There has been a lack of succession planning with significant barriers to entry. Only 38% of young farmers are involved in the succession planning of their family farm – how is that not 100%!? Would not have taken over my family business if I couldn’t own it one day! 80% of young farmers have another job. 70% of young farmers have another full time job. This makes my heart sad. Young farmers are more likely to adopt innovations due to a greater adaptive capacity to new technologies. Young farmers are more likely to have a higher education degree than the average American adult. There has been a 15% increase in the number of farms using renewable energy between 2012 and 2017. Over 75% of young farmers reported that sustainability was a main focus on their farm. Farming is a business that requires an entrepreneurial approach. Farms with young farmer decision makers provided more diverse options than the average U.S. farm. Farms with young farmer decision makers have higher than average gross sales. Young farmers reported that direct to consumer markets made up the highest proportion of sales. There is a major need for advocacy for young farmers. There needs to be more support of state and federal programs that support young farmers. We held a collective sigh that agricultural champion Debbie Stabenow has retired. Abby came on behalf of an invitation from Michelle and Michigan Farm Bureau. Michigan Farm Bureau was founded in 1919. They are a grassroots organization with approximately 42,000 farmer members. They are the voice of agriculture when it comes to policy development and political action. Michigan Farm Bureau provides many other business services, like legal, printing and graphic design. We have to give other insurance providers credit where it’s due, and Michigan Farm Bureau is a top notch organization! Abby chairs the State Young Farmers Committee, which helps connect young farmers for networking, advocacy and opportunities to engage further in the agriculture industry. There was a question about direct to consumer sales since many young farmers are going that route. Abby sees farmers just inviting the community to come right to their farm. Irv asked about newer people coming in to the industry. Abby reiterated that it is a huge challenge with how capital intensive it is to start. Evan asked about regenerative farming and Abby said that is a buzzword that oftentimes encapsulates many things farmers are already doing. We heard a phenomenal TED Talk about the use of pesticides in food use. America has the safest food system in the world. Pesticides are used on such a small scale. I’ll say what Abby is thinking – get over it! Bilky asked about the use of migration/migrant labor. Abby mentioned that Michigan Farm Bureau has been very helpful in assisting with visa programs to ensure migrant workers can be here. They are vital to their industry. Nice work, Michigan Farm Bureau! John Pence did ask how long we are supposed to cook sweet corn. Abby said until it looks like it’s done. Her husband has never complained. Lastly, can we just give a shoutout to Abby!? I love seeing young professionals, especially young women, knock it out of the park. One of the best presentations I’ve seen in a long time and gives me so much hope for our collective future! Email for Ben Rathbun: Ben@rathbunagency.com |