In the News

The June Leader Trip for Indiana Farm Bureau county leaders is now in the books, but the connections made and knowledge gained for these members will serve them well in the future. At the concluding event of the trip, a tour through George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Hoosier Ag Today got feedback from a small group of the leader trip attendees, including Craig Wood from Hamilton County and Nicole Branham from Jennings County.

Another HAT podcast participant is Beth Gormong from Vigo County, who said there was empowerment by participating in the face to face meetings with Indiana Senators and her representative, Congressman Larry Bucshon.

“That first time is like a hurdle like they are somebody unapproachable, but once you find out that they’re going to listen to you and that they’re going to answer your questions and care about your concerns, then when you see them at the statehouse or at your local meetings, they’re a friendly face that you can easily go up to and speak with.”

Dr. Virgil Bremer of Rush County was impressed with the work Indiana Farm Bureau did in not only organizing the trip but making the connections with impressive and important speakers.

“We met with Ted McKinney, we met with Anne Hazlett, both of our Senators, our own individual representatives. Having the connections to pull it all off with just 48 hours in Washington DC, that’s special,” he says on the podcast. “Having the connections to do something like that and come in and create impact in a short amount of time is very valuable.”

Nicole Branham added there is no way to replace the one on one opportunities they had on the trip.