State Farm Bureau Professionals Recognized for Excellence in Communications

May 30, 2023

The American Farm Bureau Federation recently hosted a national competition to recognize top professionals from state Farm Bureau organizations for their exceptional work in communications. New York, Illinois and Utah Farm Bureaus received the most awards overall, earning honors in several categories including writing, media relations, social media and video production.

This year’s contest included 177 submissions for work produced in 2022 by state Farm Bureaus across the country.

“Highlighting the important work farmers and ranchers do each day is critical to the mission of Farm Bureau,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “State Farm Bureau communicators are the best in their field, amplifying the trusted voices of our grassroots members to become a powerful voice for agriculture across the country.”

Awards were presented to Farm Bureau communicators in Alabama, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

A list of award winners follows. This year’s honorees are being recognized for excellence in several new digital categories as well as the inaugural Anne Marie Moss Team Effort Award. The Moss Award recognizes outstanding collaboration on an issue that is a priority for AFBF; sustainability is the issue for this year’s contest. Each award is divided into three groups based on membership size, with larger state membership winners listed first. Only two awards are listed in categories where there were entries in only two of the divisions.

Anne Marie Moss Team Effort Award

New York, for “Focusing on the Future,” a multi-faceted initiative that shares the innovative sustainability work farmers are doing – Seth Moser-Katz, Steve Ammerman, Brooks Brown, Tim Bigham, Renee Ciardi, Lauren Williams, Ashley Oeser, Kyle Wallach, Renee St. Jacques, Mark James, Todd Heyn, Lauren McGrath

Wisconsin, for “35 Under 35,” a program that recognizes members for leadership in environmental, social and economic activities – Rachel Gerbitz, Amy Eckelberg, Cassie Sonnentag, Lynn Siekmann, Wendy Volkert, Bob Nash

Alabama, for “Down to Earth: Agriculture Sustains Alabama,” a campaign that shares the sustainable- and conservation-minded practices of farmers and forest landowners

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Video: Designing a Robotic Berry Picker

Since blackberries must be harvested by hand, the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To support a growing blackberry industry in Arkansas, food science associate professor Renee Threlfall is collaborating with mechanical engineering assistant professor Anthony Gunderman to develop a mechanical harvesting system. Most recently, the team designed a device to measure the force needed to pick a blackberry without damaging it. The data from this device will help inform the next stage of development and move the team closer to the goal of a fully autonomous robotic berry picker. The device was developed by Gunderman, with Yue Chen, a former U of A professor now at Georgia Tech, and Jeremy Collins, then a U of A undergraduate engineering student. To determine the force needed to pick blackberries without damage, the engineers worked with Threlfall and Andrea Myers, then a graduate student.