By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB) will open its 91st annual convention Nov. 19 in Fort Wayne. The theme of the three-day convention is Building a Championship Team.

The convention allows the Farm Bureau to conduct business and provide information to its membership, said Chris Fenner, leadership development coordinator.

“It gives us a rare opportunity to take our convention to our membership,” he said. “We have a contested presidential election this year, and there are opportunities to hear about important hot topics in agriculture such as farmland values and land use, animal welfare and energy issues.”

The convention in Fort Wayne’s Grand Wayne Center is open to anyone and free of charge. About 1,200-1,300 are expected to attend. In addition to IFB business, the convention includes bus tours on Nov. 19 of area businesses, including Sechler Pickles and Brand’s Dairy.

The cost of the tours is $20 and pre-registration is required.
“Since this is a new area of the state for the convention, we want to showcase the area and the people,” Fenner said. “We think this convention will appeal to a wide number of people.”
This is the second year in a row the convention hasn’t been in Indianapolis.

Last year, it was in Evansville because of construction at the convention center in Indianapolis, Fenner said. Fort Wayne was chosen this year to bring the convention to the northern part of the state. It will return to Indianapolis next year, he said.

On Nov. 20, a commodity marketing outlook session is scheduled, along with a session on land trusts and conservation easements. On Nov. 21, the closing day, Ron Hanson of the University of Nebraska will discuss farm succession, Fenner said.

“He’ll be talking about how to pass the farm from one generation to another without losing it all in court,” he added.

The convention’s closing speaker will be Walter Bond, a former National Basketball Assoc. player turned motivational speaker. “He’ll be talking about our theme, ‘Building a Championship Team.’ He’ll be talking about the importance of being prepared and will be challenging people to think about that so they will be prepared.”
The convention also includes a trade show. While there is no charge to attend the convention, a ticket will be necessary for meals Thursday and Friday nights, and Saturday’s lunch. Meal tickets are available from county Farm Bureau offices.

The IFB has partnered with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic to offer $5 tickets to a Friday evening performance of “Riders In The Sky” with the philharmonic. Proceeds from the concert at Fort Wayne’s Embassy Theatre will go the Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana.

For more convention information, see www.infarmbureau.org and for more details on the New Food For Thought conference, see related article; to pre-register, visit www.newfoodforthought.com