By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) was created in 1919 with the purpose of unifying farmers statewide, and to resolve problems at the grassroots level. One of the organization’s early leaders was Murray Lincoln.

“We need not be our brother’s keeper,” Lincoln was quoted as saying, “but we must be his helper. When people work together to help one another, they discover in the process that each individual improves his own lot. Prosperity is like strawberry jam, you can’t spread even a little of it without getting some of it on yourself.”

Last week the OFBF celebrated its 92nd birthday. In the early years the OFBF’s thrust was to get farmers to work as a unit among themselves and govern by many rather than a few. While that unification effort still exists today, the group’s mission is a bit different: To forge a partnership between farmers and consumers.

“We have 214,331 members across Ohio and just 60,000 of those are farmers,” said Janet Cassidy, senior director of marketing and communications. “Our mission is to build a partnership between farmers and consumers.”

The first Farm Bureau in the United States was started in Broome County, N.Y., in 1911. Ohio’s began in 1919 with the goal of improving a farmer’s income and standard of living through organized action. Economic conditions and the quality of life were greatly improved in its first decade of existence, with the organization’s help in rural electrification, group purchasing of farm supplies and marketing of farm commodities and insurance.

Membership growth was slow but steady and by 1934, there were 10,393 members from Ohio’s 88 counties. By 1967 the membership grew to nearly 51,000, and by this time the farmers were vastly outnumbered.

In 1992 the OFBF saw an increase of 10,426 members, the highest jump since 1957. And just 10 years later, the membership grew to just over 190,000.
“With the growing obsession about food and health, we see a lot more interaction among our consumer members who are interested about learning where their food comes from,” Cassidy said. “It’s a reflection on what’s going on nationally.”

There are Farm Bureau Federations in all 50 states. Each county in Ohio has its own Farm Bureau and dues vary from county to county. Dues in the early stages of the OFBF were just $10 annually. Cassidy notes that non-farmers are more than willing to pay dues to be a part of a reputable and vital organization.
“When a person joins the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, they become a member of the county Farm Bureau, state Farm Bureau and national Farm Bureau with that single check,” she said.

OFBF is noted for its accomplishments, such as the creation and nurturing of several successful organizations, including Nationwide Insurance and the development of the advisory council program, which gives members a greater opportunity to discuss and resolve problems and the development and growth of their leadership abilities.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about OFBF is in its policy development process, which takes suggestions from the individual member at the county level, through the state and, eventually, to the national level. “There’s this national conversation going on today,” Cassidy said.

“Much of this is happening at farmers’ markets in Ohio and that’s pretty much the front line. Even our commodity producers are starting to hear from consumers asking such things as ‘how is it done?’ and ‘what are you doing?’”
The OFBF has created a path to help those on as well as off the farm. Many of those implementations came late in the storied history of the organization.
According to Cassidy, membership to OFBF has its rewards. Members’ benefits include legislative representation on important issues such as personal property rights, renewable fuels and the environment. Members, she said, may access a variety of savings, including preferred pricing on Nationwide Insurance products and discounts from Sherwin Williams.

All this is fine, she added, but benefits at the grassroots level are still a priority. “There’s this turning back to gardening nowadays, so a lot of consumer members are interested in knowing the proper way to garden and how to prepare food. For this reason we’re now offering classes and workshops on these topics to help the consumer with food production and food preparation,” Cassidy explained.