Calling all Young Farmers & Ranchers!

In effort to create a more effective Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) organization in Nevada, some of our members attended the Utah YF&R convention in Midway, UT on January 26-27. The members from Clark County were Mica & Shelbie Leatham, Hannah Hardy, Lacy Sproul, and myself (Stephanie Bunker.) Jamie & Grant Perkins who are head chair of YF&R were there along with Stephanie Licht and a few others from Nevada.

We learned a lot about how having a strong YF&R organization can help its members by providing information that is useful to them. There were several speakers at the convention, first of which was Kim Farah. She is the LDS Public Relations Representative and she spoke to us about how to get your message across to the media more effectively. Not just on the internet through social sites, but giving an "Elevator pitch" to journalists. (An elevator pitch is giving your story in the time you can ride in an elevator with someone.) Kim talked about telling your story so that people can connect and understand. She told how overworked and underpaid journalists are, so you need to make their job easier by giving them their "Quotable quote." That way your story can be told efficiently and accurately. It is important to be proactive by spreading the message, not just answering a question. And also reactive, redirecting a negative story into "Your story." Kim emphasized that you are in control of what message gets sent to the media.

(Kim Farah and her victim or volunteer)

At the convention there were several couple spotlights, where the head chairs of the county's in Utah would do a slide show of their family and what they do, whether it be farming or ranching and in many cases both. This helped members get to know the leaders in the organization better and what they did to be involved in agriculture. There were also many door prizes given away everytime the group reconvened or broke up for another activity. Shelbie Leatham was excited to win a beanie and an IFA gift card!

(Mica, Shelbie, and Baxter)

A real special treat was entertainment by Baxter Black. He told stories and poems on Friday, and entertained while we ate breakfast on saturday morning. There were several classes  on Saturday, the first hour of classes to choose from were YF&R Competitions:Application & Orientation, Farm To Retail: Heber Valley Cheese Plant, and FSA Programs Beginning Farmer Loans.

I chose to attend the Farm To Retail class, this was Grant & Russ Kohler telling their story of looking to expand or find a niche for their dairy farm. They chose to find a niche for lack of space of expanding in Heber. So they started a cheese plant and they use their milk from the dairy to make the cheese. Grant & Russ told of their experiences going from the farmer to breaking into the retail market. To say the least, they made a leap of faith that everything would work out. For example, would there be a market for a cheese plant in Heber? Or, would their cheese even taste good? Russ explained (or warned) that whatever your estimated cost is for your project, TRIPLE it! Russ & Grant have had their cheese plant open since April of 2011 and have been very succesful, even after some set backs they continue to learn and grow.

(Grant Kohler)

The second hour of classes included, You Have A Story To Tell, Grazing Improvement Program, and FSA Programs Beginning Farmer Loans. I chose to attend the class, Grazing Improvememnt Program. This helped us understand the importand of having a Grazing Improvement Program implemented. The speaker explained that graze land isn't overstocked, but undermanaged. He explained there are different pasture systems, for expamle, the one pasture system, the three pasture system, and the twenty pasture system. The speaker showed pictures of each system and each pasture starting from one to twenty continued to look more healthy. This showed that it is better for the land and the animals, including wildlife, if a twenty pasture system is used. He also explained that there are key principles of Grazing Management, it provides restfor recovery, increases diversity and plant selection, improve water infiltration, allow management flexibility, and increases wildlife abundance and diversity. The speaker showed data to support these principles. He also explained that controlled burns are beneficial because they help undergrowth, selection, plant growth, and density.

After the classes, everyone met back in a group and concluded the conference. There was also the opportunity to tour the Heber Valley Artisan Cheese Plant after the conference ended. Which I did with Mica, Shelbie, and Hannah and had the opportunity to learn about cheese making. We also got to taste many of the different flavors of cheese they made. Which included smoked cheese curd, dill pickle cheese curd, salsa cheese, a garlic cheese spread, fried cheese, cheese with jam on it, and many more exotic flavors.

(Hannah, and Mica)

(Stephanie)

The Utah YF&R Conference provided us "Nevadans" with a better knowledge and motivation to grow our YF&R organization. We discussed different ways we can help the organization help the young farmers and ranchers of nevada. Our goals for the future of YF&R are to get more members involved and to make more people aware of the organization so that we may be a support group for each other and for the future of agriculture.

I would like to thank the Utah YF&R for the invitation to attend their conference and giving us the opportunity to learn so much.