Many Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation members dread turning 35 years old, but not for the reasons you might think. This milestone birthday marks their last year to participate in the Young Farmers & Ranchers program.

In the past, this meant their place to serve within the organization became less defined. This year, MFBF has set out to change that by developing a new program.

Landmark Leadership Council, also known as LLC, will engage Farm Bureau members who have aged out of the YF&R program and give them increased opportunities for service within Farm Bureau to further develop their leadership abilities, while continuing to foster a deeper understanding of our organization.

“My wife and I had such a good experience with YF&R that, when we aged out, we were looking for somewhere to fit back into Farm Bureau,” Sunflower County Farm Bureau member Walt Rambo says.

“I’m really looking forward to having a clear path to getting involved,” Leflore County Farm Bureau member Rebekkah Arant says. “We always want to serve and do things, but we don’t always know the opportunity is out there.  So I think having that shown will be very helpful.”

The program will focus on meaningful engagement in specific agricultural issues, significant participation in policy development and regulatory matters, intentional agricultural advocacy, and mentorship of Mississippi’s YF&R members.

Eligible participants in this program will be members who meet the following requirements:

• Members between the ages of 30-55 who are past members of the MFBF YF&R Committee and who successfully completed their service on the state committee. Participation must be approved by the member’s MFBF Regional Manager.
• Members between the ages of 36-55 who did not serve on the MFBF YF&R Committee who may be nominated for participation by a MFBF Regional Manager and invited to participate by the MFBF President.
• All participants must be an active member in good standing of a Mississippi County Farm Bureau.

“There’s a pretty good size gap in the industry that needs to be filled from the younger farmer to the 50 to 55-year-old farmer, and it looks like this program will help do that,” Bolivar County Farm Bureau member Luke Andrews says.

“I think we need to tell the family farm story more. It doesn’t get told enough. That’s one way I think this program can help,” Sunflower County Farm Bureau member Ashley Rambo says.

After celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2022, the organization is looking for opportunities to continue developing and supporting farmers for the next century. Many members, including Adams County Farm Bureau member Nobel Guedon, expressed how this new program could accomplish that goal.

“This is very positive for the longevity of Farm Bureau,” he says. “This will allow us to take a group of individuals that are very experienced and very committed to Farm Bureau, and push them to be the next leaders of organization and state.”

To learn more about LLC, visit msfb.org/llc.