Young Farmer Program


The Young Farmer Program

The Young Farmer Program brings together young farmers from across the state of Iowa. The program, for farmers(age 18 - 35), provides leadership and participation opportunities to encourage young members to build a stronger network and become active in the organization and the agricultural community at all levels - county, state and national.



Bob Joslin Award

This award is an opportunity for young farmers who are actively contributing and growing through their involvement in Farm Bureau and agriculture to earn recognition. Participants are judged on their involvement in agriculture and leadership ability. The Joslin Award winner will receive a D170 lawn tractor from John Deere, our new award sponsor.

Nominations from the County Farm Bureau are due August 31.

Congratulations to the 2011 Joslin Award winner - Jay Lynch from Humboldt County



Young Farmer Conference

Mark your calendars - January 25 - 26, 2013. Click here to view the 2012 agenda. The Discussion Meet is sponsored by John Deere.


Discussion Meet

Individuals compete on a panel of three to six people in a free-wheeling style as if they were sitting around the kitchen table discussing a problem. They exchange ideas and information to solve the problem. Each contestant is judged on cooperative attitude, problem solving & implementation, delivery and analysis of the topic. The four topics are current ag issues and are selected by the AFBF Young Farmer & Rancher Committee.

The preliminary rounds were held during the Young Farmer Conference, January 27 - 28. The top eight* winners will advance to the state finals at the IFBF Annual Meeting in December. Prizes are awarded to the top four contestants. Click here for more information.

We're pleased to announced that John Deere is now sponsoring the contest.

Congratulations to the 2011 winner Jamie Busch - Upah from Tama County.
Good luck in Hawaii at the AFBF Discussion Meet!

*2012 Discussion Meet Finalists: Tamara Heim, Harrison County, Tim Keegan, Linn County, Vernon Knaack, Woodbury County, Steve Nelson, Franklin County, Ben Pullen, Clay County, Brianne Streck, Woodbury County, Dan Hansen, Audubon County, Brian Jones, Adair County


Achievement Award

This award recognizes young farmers for their efforts in growth and progress of their farming operation and leadership achievement. The key is the growth and financial progress the candidate(s) have made since they started farming. Candidates complete an application on their farm operation, financial information (confidentiality guaranteed) and leadership experience. The first round of applications were due May 11, 2012. The top three finalists are completing the second phase of their applications.

Winners will be announced during the IFBF Annual Meeting in December. Prizes are awarded to the top three applicants. The Iowa winner will compete in the AFBF competition in Nashville, 2013. Click here for more information on the contest and prizes.

We're pleased to announced that John Deere is the contest sponsor.

Congratulations to the 2011 Top 3:
1st Justin and Jennifer Dammann, Page County
2nd Tom and Jessica Forbes, Harrison County
3rd Mark and Stacey Boender, Mahaska County








Young Farmer Advisory Committee

Contact your district representative for more information in Young Farmer activities in your area. Click to view the map.


Chicago young farmer trip announced

  • Tuesday and Wednesday, July  9 & 10, 2013
  • Join young farmers from across the state of Iowa on a trip to the CME Group/CBOT Building.  
  • NEW THIS YEAR: We will also be touring Fair Oaks Farms, a state of the art dairy farm built to tell the story of agriculture.
  • Beneficial experience to see the markets in action and hear educational presentations on the same day!
  • Past participants rate this trip as a valuable experience!
  • Pick up sites at West Des Moines and Coralville.
  • Activities include:
    1. Evening to sightsee in Chicago
    2. View opening of grain markets
    3. Market outlook
    4. Overview of electronic trading
    5. Fair Oaks Farms
  • Article and registration form with more details in the Farm Bureau Spokesman in April 17, 2013 edition.
  • Trip fee is $100 per participant
  • The trip is designed for Farm Bureau members from 19 – 35 years of age and the bus will be filled on a first come – first served basis.  
  • Registration is not final and accepted until payment is made.
To register and pay for the trip, please click the button.

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Field Services Staff


Mary Foley Balvanz
Leadership Training Manager
mfoleybalvanz@ifbf.org


"We became members for a number of reasons, one being the policy side of Farm Bureau. From the beginning, we were amazed to see that Farm Bureau took the initiative to connect with young farmers and that our views were important too."

Jody Van Regenmorter
Lyon County
Member since 1995





Please tag #IowaYoungFarmer when tweeting about Young Farmer events.