By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Robert and Autumn Morrison of Bloomington were selected as the Outstanding Young Farm Couple, Wendy Chrisman of Jewett won the Discussion Meet and Katy Endsley of Pickerington was named as winner of the Excellence in Agriculture Award at the Ohio Farm Bureau’s annual meeting.

All of these winners will represent Ohio during the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in San Antonio next month.

Outstanding couple

The Outstanding Young Farm Couple award recognizes individuals or couples age 35 or younger for their accomplishments in their farming operations and leadership in the agricultural community. The Morrisons are the fourth-generation owners and operators of their farm in Bloomingdale. They have a grass-based grazing operation.

“We run a group of registered Black Angus cows of our own,” said Robert Morrison. “We do custom natural freezer beef; we run a group of stockers that we buy. We have also developed into a custom grazing operation. By custom grazing cattle for other people, I get a paycheck every month from them regardless of the market.”

One of their biggest objectives is to keep their debt load down and the custom grazing helps them do that, he said. The Morrisons also produce sweet corn, Indian corn, pumpkins and gourds.
“Our biggest objective here is that we’re fourth-generation,” Morrison said. “It’s a good place to raise your children if you want to show them that farming is a good living. It can be enjoyable and profitable.

“We want to instill in our kids that too many people have negative attitudes. I want to instill a positive attitude that this is a good living. It’s a good way to be raised. It’s not a restraint.”
“Well-managed farming is a prosperous industry and I want to show that to my children,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is to build an operation that can support future generations if they should so choose to stay.”

Discussion meet

The annual discussion meet tests participants’ subject knowledge and problem-solving skills. The finalists discussed two topics: “How do land grant universities remain on the forefront of an ever-changing agricultural environment?” and “How do we correct the misconceptions of Farm Bureau?”

“My main point (on the first topic) was that as things change, students and faculty come through the university, yet the purpose of a land grant university does remain the same which is to provide education and instruction for students, and to research and then communicate that research through extension to the taxpayers,” Chrisman said.

The biggest question was how universities can continue to do that and maintain funding, which comes from the state and taxpayers, she said.

“That was the part where Farm Bureau comes in, by helping in the legislative and making sure the legislators understand the importance of the funding for those land grant universities, not only for education but the research that they do,” Chrisman said.

The group solution for correcting the misconceptions of Farm Bureau was to get people involved, she said. Not just farmers, but associate Farm Bureau members who are not necessarily farmers but support and believe in the organization – those people should be included as volunteers and invited to Farm Bureau activities.

“We thought this was the best way to reach out, because people believe more what they hear from an individual that they can form a relationship with, versus just publicity,” said Chrisman, who was a past president of the Harrison County Farm Bureau.

The Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes successful people age 35 or younger who are involved in farming but whose primary occupations are not farming or owning an agricultural business. The award is based on involvement in agriculture and participation in Farm Bureau and other community organizations.

As program manager for the Ohio FFA, Endsley guides and directs its officer team. She also conducts leadership training and assists the officers in agricultural-based curriculum development. Previously, she served as chief of the division of markets for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Endsley and her husband, Chad, breed and sell miniature donkeys and assist in family farming and forage operations.

“The great thing about agriculture is that we all come from different areas, but all have a common bond,” Endsley said. “I think of all the people who helped form me into who I am today, and to have a chance to represent Ohio (in the national competition) and honor those who contributed to my success along the way, is an incredible feeling.

December 31, 2008