Stay Informed

Early in 2017, Indiana Farm Bureau began a challenging but exciting process: implementing Indiana Farm Bureau’s strategic plan, “Defining Our Future.”

This annual report is intended to provide an update on the first year of that process – and to provide a glimpse into what we have planned in 2018.

The strategic plan was the result of months of effort by members, officers and staff to create a roadmap that will guide the organization through 2021.

In “Defining Our Future,” members realized that INFB programs and activities needed to be more strategically implemented and identified six areas on which to focus:

• Grow membership in a consistent and sustainable way.
• Create and promote a positive image of agriculture. “Tell our story.”
• Create a positive member experience.
• Improve the awareness of Indiana Farm Bureau as a valuable resource.
• Continue successful advocacy efforts at all levels.
• Develop an organizational structure that strengthens county Farm Bureaus.

I am proud of the number of priorities we were able to achieve this year, but what I am most proud of is the engagement of our members during the 2017 legislative session. Nearly 600 members came to the Statehouse and talked with their legislators about everything from road funding to broadband to annexation. We also had more than 1,900 emails distributed from our members to their legislators during session.

I also am proud of the fact that, for the second year in a row, we had an increase in total membership. We couldn’t have done that without you because the number of new members written by volunteers increased significantly compared to previous years. While we came close to increasing our voting membership, we just missed that goal.

We will continue to focus on how we bring farmers of all kinds to the table and on engaging the next generation of Farm Bureau leaders. We’re going to take a solid look at all of our programs to determine if they are serving our members in the best way.

Thank you for all you’ve done to help Farm Bureau succeed. We look forward to helping every county have a successful 2018!