When I’m talking with Farm Bur­eau members across Iowa, I often hear about how much they appreciate the friendships they make with other Farm Bureau members across the state.

Recently, I learned about two young farmers who, although living on opposite sides of the state, formed a fast friendship at the 2013 Iowa Farm Bureau annual meeting.

Farm Bureau members Andrew Pittz of Missouri Valley and Joe Sweeney of Alden met while participating in a rural entrepreneurship panel at the Farm Bureau annual meeting last December.

Pittz and his family started the state’s first...