County Farm Bureaus earn accolades for outstanding work
» December 4, 2012 «
Outstanding work on behalf of family farmers and ranchers earned recognition for county Farm Bureaus across California during a ceremony last night at the California Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in Pasadena.
The Sacramento County Farm Bureau earned top honors as winner of the Golden State Hall of Honor Award, while the Butte County Farm Bureau earned the Innovator Award for conducting a unique activity. The Siskiyou, Napa, Yolo and Sacramento county Farm Bureaus earned County of the Year awards in their respective membership categories, and 19 other county Farm Bureaus were recognized for excellence in program activities.
As winner of the 2012 Golden State Hall of Honor Award, the Sacramento County Farm Bureau was judged to have accomplished the most outstanding program of work for the year. The county Farm Bureau completed an extensive body of work on behalf of its members, including expanding and improving benefits programs for both Sacramento County and Farm Bureau members statewide, as well as focusing on customer service for both Farm Bureau and community members. The county Farm Bureau website was redesigned to be more user-friendly, and the welcome packet for new members was updated. Sacramento also earned County of the Year honors in its membership category of 2,000 or more members.
The Butte County Farm Bureau earned the Innovator Award for a membership outreach luncheon that drew community member attendance of more than 100 individuals. CFBF President Paul Wenger spoke at the event and greeted new agricultural members. The event also helped raise more than $4,500 for the California Farm Bureau Fund to Protect the Family Farm (FARM PAC®).
The Siskiyou County Farm Bureau earned County of the Year honors among county Farm Bureaus with fewer than 650 members. The county Farm Bureau does extensive education work in partnership with community organizations and events. Additionally, the county Farm Bureau has represented members through legal action against the California Department of Fish and Game, involving a new interpretation of a longstanding streambed alteration law that threatens farmers' ability to provide water to their crops.
The Napa County Farm Bureau was named the County of the Year in its membership category of 651 to 1,000 members. Outstanding activities organized by the county Farm Bureau included a mentorship program between beginning and established growers to help new farmers develop business plans, as well as hosting forums about water issues and organizing tours of local farms for regional water board members to see sustainable agricultural practices.
Within the category of county Farm Bureaus between 1,001 and 2,000 members, the Yolo County Farm Bureau was named County of the Year. The county Farm Bureau held meetings with local elected officials, officially endorsing two farm-friendly candidates. County Farm Bureau members and other community residents benefited from numerous trainings and seminars, covering topics including flood prevention plan impacts and a Safety Day session, held in Spanish, that had 270 attendees.
Four other county Farm Bureaus earned President's Program of the Year awards for outstanding programs within their membership categories: Monterey, Butte, San Joaquin and Tulare.In addition, 15 others were honored with County Activities of Excellence Awards: Colusa, El Dorado, Imperial, Madera, Mendocino, Merced, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Ventura and Yuba-Sutter.
A separate group of awards recognized county Farm Bureaus who reached certain membership goals. Earning awards for highest membership royalty payments in their membership classes were county Farm Bureaus from Humboldt, Kings, Yuba-Sutter and Fresno. Monterey County Farm Bureau won for highest percentage of membership goal among agricultural memberships, and Sonoma County Farm Bureau for greatest overall growth in agricultural memberships. Calaveras County Farm Bureau was honored for greatest upward movement in ranking of agricultural memberships, and San Mateo County Farm Bureau for highest percentage growth in associate memberships.
The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 74,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members.
Contact:
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com
Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.
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