As we gather together to be with friends and family during this holiday season, our Farm Bureau family is doing the same.

For the first time in two years, many of our members came together for Kentucky Farm Bureau’s (KFB) annual meeting. This yearly conference to adopt policy and set priorities for the coming year was held virtually in 2020.

And while we continued to serve our members and move forward through those digital means last year, it was so good to finally meet again in person for a number of reasons.

I think we have an instinctive desire to physically come together to work, network, and fellowship, and while the blessing of modern technology has been invaluable to us, nothing compares to actually being together as families, as co-workers, and as an organization.

For more than 100 years, KFB has served as the Voice of Kentucky Agriculture, doing so through good times, and challenging times.

And while serving as that voice, we have also kept the good of all Kentuckians in mind, as well as the communities in which they live.

Whether most of the general public realizes it or not, we are all connected to the farm in the most basic of ways: through our food sources.

We saw a heightened awareness of how essential agriculture is to the well-being of our nation over the last two years.

We, as farmers, have always known this, and it is up to us to help others understand it. Advocacy has always been part of the mission of Farm Bureau, and I can assure you that our commitment to the ag industry, to our communities, and to the prosperity of this Commonwealth remains the same now as it was when this organization began.

We are just as committed to the land and natural resources our farm families have depended on for generation after generation as they remain true stewards of the environment.

We are just as committed to the educational endeavors that have always been a part of this organization. Education is the key to the future and our local volunteers continually support this cause in their respective counties, year after year.    

We are more committed than ever when it comes to advocating for agriculture for the sake of all those people who are depending on the sustainability of our farms.

And our commitment to every past, present, and future member who depends on our efforts to make Kentucky a better place to live, work, and raise their families will never waver. We will always continue in our daily efforts to make the lives of all of our citizens better.

Through our insurance company and by way of the Federation’s agricultural advocacy on behalf of this organization, we have a presence in every county across this state which enables us to continue the strong commitment we make to our Commonwealth each and every day.

When it comes to this wonderful place we call home, it was perhaps best said by the beloved Kentucky author Jessie Stuart, who once wrote, “If these United States can be called a body, then Kentucky can be called its heart.”

May your holidays and the New Year be filled with joy, hope, and good health.

Mark Haney, President
Kentucky Farm Bureau