Annual Farm Bureau Convention Heads to Southern Indiana

IFB registration open

West Baden Springs HotelThe annual Indiana Farm Bureau state convention heads for the opposite end of the state from the Ft. Wayne location last year. The 2014 convention December 12 and 13 is at the French Lick Resort and registration is now open. If you have never been to the annual gathering of the state’s largest farm organization, Andy Dietrick at IFB says just one of the reasons to attend is to get up to speed with presentations on a number of political and regulatory issues.

“Specifically farmland property taxes, water issues, food labeling and lot of issues during the breakout sessions in particular that are going to be coming up on the radar screen in the future. So, this is an opportunity for members to get ahead of the curve on some of those.”

Of course the location and its facilities should also be a very good draw.Andy Dietrick

“French Lick Resort and the West Baden Springs hotel are just fabulous properties. They’re historic and grand, and when you walk into the atrium of the West Baden where we will be having both of our meal functions you just kind of stand there and look around and take it all in and marvel at what an architectural wonder it really is in southern Indiana.”

President Don Villwock’s annual address is at 5 PM Friday this year and that is a change from previous years. Then at Saturday’s closing session at noon, “Special guest speaker is Nido Qubein who is the president of High Point University and more importantly chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company. How he started that business and what he brings to business is a good message for our members I think.”

Each county Farm Bureau will send representatives to the business meeting on Dec. 13, where they will elect Indiana Farm Bureau’s 2nd vice president for the next three years. The delegates also may discuss policy issues that have arisen since the main policy-setting delegate session in August.

An Artisan Fair & Exhibitor Showcase featuring local food and farm products, commercial exhibitors and a number of informational sessions will run on Friday, Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

County and membership awards will be presented during Saturday’s lunch.

The convention sessions are free and open to anyone; there is a cost for meal tickets, which must be purchased through the online registration system.

This year’s theme is “Get on Board” and you can register online at the convention website, conv.infb.org, or by calling 317-692-7846.

Indiana Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization, with approximately 72,000 farmer members and 182,000 associate members. Approximately 1,200 are expected to attend the meeting.

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