By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Savings bonds, tractors, chain saws and other prizes were all up for grabs at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual meeting in Seattle, Wash., Jan. 10-13.
Young farmers from Indiana placed close to the top in all three contests, competing with farmers from 33 states. That was the best result for Indiana since 2004, when the state had two winners and one top finalist in the national contest.

“The word that comes to mind with all three of these groups of people is ‘preparation.’ They were extremely well-prepared,” said Chris Fenner, leadership development coordinator for the Indiana Farm Bureau.

Steve and Kimmie Gauck of Decatur County were among three runners-up for AFBF’s Young Farmer and Rancher Excellence in Agriculture Award, which was established eight years ago to recognize young people who serve the ag industry but don’t derive the majority of their income from it.

They received a $6,000 savings bond and a chain saw from Stihl, after impressing the judges with their application and presentation on three key issues they believe will shape agriculture in the near future.

In the Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award contest, Joe and Angela Mann of Putnam County were among three runners-up and were rewarded with a Case IH Farmall 31 Tractor, courtesy of Case IH. The contest is open to full-time farmers, and involves a lengthy application that details the farm’s finances.

“It’s pretty much a farm management contest,” Fenner explained. “It looks at your goals, your business decisions and how much the operation has increased in size. It also looks at your leadership activities, whether it’s with Farm Bureau or with local government, or other community groups.”

The Manns received the award for their role in running a 7,500-acre row crop operation and a wean-to-finish hog farm in partnership with Joe’s brothers near Cloverdale, Ind. The couple are also the sole owners of Rolling Meadow Plant Farm, a greenhouse operation marketing a large variety of annuals and vegetable plants.

“The contest gives you a different, overall look at your farming operation and your financial numbers. It makes you think about where you want to go in the next five years and, in our case, where you’ve been in the past 10 years,” said Angela Mann.

“After talking to all the other contestants I think it was humbling to be chosen (as the runner-up). There was a huge amount of competition between the states and a lot of good people. Not all of them grew row crops; there was a tree nursery owner, berry growers, basically people from all facets of the agricultural community,” she added. “It was an eye-opening experience to hear about everybody else’s situation and farming in other states.”

Indiana also placed among the three runners-up in the AFBF Young Farmer and Rancher Discussion Meet. Mike Honeycutt of Marion County received a $6,000 savings bond and a chainsaw from Stihl for his analyses and his ability to build consensus and provide solutions on the prearranged topics in four different discussion meets.

The Indiana contestants earned a trip to AFBF’s annual meeting in Seattle after winning their respective contests on the state level last November. Fenner said their involvement in Farm Bureau, as well as their local communities, helped them reach the finals on the national level, adding that all three Indiana contestants this year showed “outstanding” leadership skills.

“We’re very proud of them and look forward to them having long careers in agriculture,” he said.