More than 50 young agriculturalists gathered in Enid for the two-day Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers conference July 8-9.
The annual conference brought together young farmers, ranchers and agribusinesspeople ages 18-35 as attendees toured agricultural businesses, heard presentations from speakers and made connections with like-minded agriculturalists.
“Our YF&R members really enjoyed the opportunity to meet with friends and learn about agriculture in the Enid area,” said Josh Emerson, OKFB YF&R state chairman. “It’s always eye-opening to tour businesses and learn about new agriculture technologies and trends.”
The Friday tours included the ADM flour mill in Enid, Equity Marketing Alliance and Chisholm Trail Grain Terminal near Medford. YF&R members learned first-hand how the agricultural products they grow are handled, processed and marketed.
The group had supper at Simpson’s Old Time Museum in Enid, the home of Skeleton Creek Productions movie studio, where they viewed frontier artifacts and walked through movie sets the production company uses.
During Saturday morning’s session, YF&R members learned about a variety of opportunities to help them protect the future of agriculture and increase their efficiency on their farms and ranches.
OKFB public policy’s Brady Bond and YF&R committee member Travis Schnaithman helped guide members on advocating for SQ 777, the Right to Farm, in their local communities.
Speakers shared agricultural information with YF&R members on a variety of topics, including Machinery Link’s sharing platform, the Vet Gun pneumatic fly treatment system and how the FDA’s veterinary feed directive will impact livestock care.
OKFB’s YF&R program is for young agriculturalists ages 18-35 who are involved in production agriculture or agribusinesses, and helps them connect with like-minded individuals as they shape the future of agriculture and Farm Bureau.
Find pictures from the YF&R Conference in our Flickr album here.
