California earns awards at AFBF meeting  

The California Farm Bureau was honored by the American Farm Bureau Federation for outstanding membership achievement in 2024.

The awards were presented at the AFBF 106th annual convention in San Antonio, Texas, from Jan. 24 to 29.

The Awards of Excellence recognize state Farm Bureaus that demonstrated outstanding achievements in advocacy, coalitions and partnerships, engagement and outreach, and leadership and business development. California was one of 34 states to be recognized in all four categories.

For advocacy, California was honored for prioritizing in-person meetings and events with lawmakers, regulatory agencies and the public; advocacy training for Farm Bureau members; recognition of members for grassroots advocacy and political campaign involvement; and recognition of farm-friendly legislators.

For coalitions and partnerships, California was recognized for working closely with coalitions or external stakeholders, such as other agriculture associations, businesses or industries, to advance shared objectives. These include priorities such as legislation, legal issues, consumer education about supply chain issues and promotion of agricultural goods. The category also recognizes efforts to work with others to enhance member benefit programs and/or provide revenue to the state Farm Bureau.

For engagement and outreach, California was honored for agriculture-education efforts for school-aged youths; sponsoring or participating in public-engagement activities or events such as Ag Day, fair exhibits, trade shows or farmers market promotions; sponsoring or assisting with agritourism events; sponsoring or hosting events with influencers such as nutritionists, PTAs or bloggers; conducting programs and activities welcoming to a wide diversity of farmers and ranchers; providing information on mental health awareness; conducting media and public outreach through various channels such as magazines, newspapers, social media, newsletters and websites; and conducting membership drives.

For leadership and business development, California was recognized for providing members with leadership and career development opportunities through programs, training and conferences. Specific efforts noted are member media training; training officers, board members and executive staff roles and responsibilities; training for mental health awareness; conducting strategic planning; forming committees to address organizational challenges; recognizing outstanding county Farm Bureaus; holding workshops on estate or succession planning; and hosting business planning workshops addressing such topics as profitability, risk management, farm trends and technology solutions.