Session 5 - Collaboration and facilitation is the key to success in the CFBF
By Alicia Muhr and Harley Ramirez
Our Leadership Farm Bureau team came back together and resumed our journey after a well-earned eight-week break. Even though we had not seen each other for several weeks, we were all hard at work with extracurricular activities, including several weeks of LinkedIn Learning and a Teams session with Dr. Maegan Meredith in preparation for workshop development. The weather was hot, tomato and almond harvests were in full swing and rice harvest was just around the corner. Regardless, our resilient team was able to set aside the pressures of our professional and family lives to collaborate, facilitate and grow as a leadership team. Most importantly, we were all happy to see each other and excited to get back to work.
We were fortunate to participate in six weeks of online LinkedIn Learning training provided by Nationwide and facilitated by Brent Behrens, Nationwide’s senior human resources consultant. This unique program, called “Authentic Conversations,” challenged our leadership team to make our personal and professional interactions more effective and productive by practicing four habits. These habits include recognizing our own emotions, assuming positive intents and planning for conversations while being direct and clear. The learning path was well developed with a clear weekly focus that took a deep dive into each habit and challenged us with a series of self-reflections. These reflections connected with our understanding of each habit while promoting self-awareness and enriching our learning experience.
The primary purpose of this month's gathering was to start the development phase of our workshops for the Young Farmers & Ranchers’ state conference in December. We had the opportunity to meet via Teams with Dr. Maegan Meredith, director of leadership and organizational training for the American Farm Bureau Federation, on Aug. 25. During our short session, we were introduced to the concept of “Engineering Experiences,” which provided a foundation for developing relevant workshops through a logistical lens. The logistical components of our workshops will include audience analysis, purpose, results, objectives and activities. In addition, this quick call gave us the tools and the foresight to prepare for the one and a half days that we would spend with Dr. Meredith during our in-person August meeting.
In addition to our scheduled workshop, three representatives of our LFB Group—Miranda, Samantha and Alicia, who work at their county Farm Bureaus—attended the county staff training. There, they had the pleasure of meeting California Farm Bureau staff members as well as staff members from other county offices. The purpose of the gathering was to strengthen collaboration between county organizations, share local concerns and gain insights on current issues affecting agriculture across California.
The group attended multiple breakout sessions designed to enhance leadership skills and improve communication and advocacy efforts at the county level. They also provided input on available technological tools such as Canva and Constant Contact, discussed the importance of using social media and shared strategies for building relationships with media and strengthening our agriculture voice in the community. Conversations also focused on Nimble, the membership and engagement platform, and how counties can best utilize it to improve communication and streamline operations. The staff also provided updates on the Growing Farm Bureau initiative, which is designed to expand membership, strengthen local engagement and ensure long-term sustainability.
While all the information and sessions were valuable, what I enjoyed most was the opportunity to connect with staff members from other county Farm Bureaus. Building these relationships will be valuable moving forward, as continued collaboration among counties can strengthen all our efforts. The next steps will be to share session insights with board and committee members while exploring ways to implement Nimble tools at the county level, apply strategies from the Growing Farm Bureau initiative to membership outreach, strengthen local media engagement and continue developing tools to amplify the voice of agriculture in our counties.
LFB 2025 is in full swing with plenty on our plate. We look forward to continued collaboration as we work toward the completion of our efforts to bring relevant, useful and valuable knowledge and experience to our Young Farmers & Ranchers. In addition, we will be embarking on our out-of-state farm tours during mid-September. During our journey, we will continue to collaborate with industry leaders spanning from Little Rock, Ark. to Memphis, Tenn., where we will be exposed to the region's unique agriculture practices and cultural norms.
.svg.png?cacheid=0.9616018850896426)
