MANHATTAN – Farmers and ranchers from all over Kansas will be Growing Forward when they gather at the end of the week for the 91st annual meeting of Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest agriculture advocacy organization.

More than 1,000 Farm Bureau members representing each of the state’s 105 counties will have the opportunity to learn more about how they can strengthen their farm, their farm organization and their way of life, as they attend the KFB annual meeting, Nov. 20-21 in Manhattan.

In his message to the Farm Bureau delegates on Friday, Nov. 20, Kansas Farm Bureau president Steve Baccus will discuss the potential for influencing the hearts and minds of the majority of Americans who lack a direct, personal connection with family farming and agriculture – by leading with our strength.

“We have families we love and support. We help our neighbors. We have a work ethic. We’re honest. These things come naturally to us and they have for generations. We have a rural culture. We have a way of life,” Baccus will say. “We should talk more about these positive values. For a couple of very compelling reasons: They’re true and they resonate.”

KFB members will also hear from Cam Marston, founder and president of Generational Insight, whose programs and concepts related to demographics are the result of nearly a decade of extensive research and study inside businesses of all sizes and from all sectors.

Farm Bureau members will have an impressive roster of workshop presenters from which to choose, featuring state, national and international experts who will address federal farm policy, rural development, Kansas natural resource concerns, energy, conservation and much more.

The heart of the Kansas Farm Bureau annual meeting is the delegate resolution process. The policy resolutions adopted by voting delegates in Manhattan will become KFB’s 2010 policy roadmap for agriculture advocacy efforts before local planning and zoning boards, county commissions, the state legislature and the U.S. Congress. The resolutions up for discussion are the result of a yearlong grassroots effort, involving input from county Farm Bureau members throughout Kansas.

The Kansas Farm Bureau annual meeting will take place at two major venues – the KFB state headquarters building just off Seth Child Road in northwest Manhattan, and the KSU Student Union.

Kansas Farm Bureau represents grassroots agriculture. Established in 1919, this non-profit advocacy organization supports farm families who earn their living in a changing industry.

Kansas Farm Bureau

2009 Annual Meeting

Manhattan, Kansas

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20

KFB State Headquarters - 2627 KFB Plaza, Manhattan

8:00 a.m. General Session

Engaging Consumer-generated Media and Why You Need an Online Voice

Randy Krotz, Sr. Vice President of v-Fluence Interactive Public Relations

9:30am Concurrent workshops

KFB Leaders Wear Many Hats with Jeff Casten, Franklin County, Secretary, National Grain Sorghum Checkoff; Jerry McReynolds, Rooks County, 1st VP, National Assn of Wheat Growers; and Keith Miller, Barton County, Vice Chair, U.S. Meat Export Federation

Food Check-Out Week: Working to Promote Agriculture to Consumers with State Committee of Farm Bureau Women

Regulatory Uncertainty for Chemical Applications with Tyler Wegmeyer, AFBF Director, Congressional Relations

Congressional Outlook on Food Safety and Animal Welfare with Kelli Ludlum, AFBF Director, Congressional Relations

Kansas Hometown Prosperity Initiative with Harry Watts, Managing Director, KFB Governmental Relations

Telling The Story of Agriculture with Chris Chinn, Chinn Hog Farm, Missouri

10:45am Concurrent workshops

AFBF Federal Deficit Task Force with Craig Lang, AFBF Board of Directors and President, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation

Farming Under Attack with Mike Irvin, Kansas Farm Bureau Legal Foundation

How will Kansas Protect its Waters in This New Era? with KFB’s Steve Swaffar, KFB Director of Natural Resources, and Kent Askren, KFB Water Resources Specialist

Connected Nation: Making Broadband Technology Work for Everyone with Brent Legg, Director of State and Local Initiatives, Connected Nation

Congressional Outlook on Food Safety and Animal Welfare with Kelli Ludlum, AFBF Director, Congressional Relations

Telling The Story of Agriculture with Chris Chinn, Chinn Hog Farm

11:45am Lunch in the Little Apple®

1:30pm General Session

Steve Baccus, Ottawa County farmer who serves as KFB President

Cam Marston, Founder and President of Generational Insight

K-State Student Union, 2nd floor, Manhattan

5:30pm KFB district caucuses

6:30pm Recognition and awards banquet and ceremony

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21

KFB state headquarters

9:10am Business session

Noon Voting Delegate lunch

1pm Business session resumes

KFB Annual Meeting adjourns upon completion of Business Session