Collegiate Farm Bureau Offers Leadership Opportunities for Students

Indiana Farm Bureau’s Collegiate Farm Bureau program is designed to be a win-win for college students and for INFB. What the students get out of it are leadership opportunities. What INFB gets is access to potential new leaders.

“It is hard to sum up all the benefits of students joining Collegiate Farm Bureau. It is a feeder program into the Young Farmers & Ag Professionals program for sure, but it is so much more,” says Annie Romine, INFB youth engagement coordinator. “Through Collegiate Farm Bureau, students become familiar with Farm Bureau, and they also have opportunities for learning, for travel and for networking. The connections collegiate students make within their local chapter, partnered with connections they make with members in their county, state and our nation, are priceless.”

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Any high school or college student is eligible for a discounted student membership, which costs $20 compared to $36 for a regular membership. Currently, there are three collegiate chapters in Indiana: Huntington University, Purdue University and Vincennes University. A student attending one of these universities can experience the benefits of regular meetings with opportunities to network with guest speakers and participate in Farm Bureau-sponsored competitions, and they are also eligible for collegiate Farm Bureau scholarships.

These student organizations are dedicated to serving as the “Voice of Agriculture” through advocacy, education, communication and community service.

Tara de Jong, a senior who is active in Huntington University’s Collegiate Farm Bureau, is majoring in accounting. It’s partly because of Collegiate Farm Bureau that she is considering becoming a CPA specializing in agricultural accounting.

“It’s through INFB that I realized how much of a need there is,” she says.

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De Jong grew up in Jasper County on a small grain farm, but her high school didn’t have an FFA chapter, and it didn’t get an ag program until she was a junior. That’s another reason why Collegiate Farm Bureau is special to her.

“It was my first experience of being with like-minded individuals with the same interests and passion,” she says.

Morgan Halter, a junior at Vincennes University majoring in agribusiness, is now the chapter president. He was first attracted to Collegiate Farm Bureau because of the fun activities they sponsored, plus the interesting tours, such as one at Corteva Inc., a major American agricultural chemical and seed company.

“What keeps me involved is all of the people I’ve met and connected with. I plan to go back to the family farm,” he says, adding that it’s right across the river from Vincennes in Lawrenceville, Illinois. “The relationships I’ve formed through Collegiate Farm Bureau are going to be lifelong and help me along the way.”

Collegiate Farm Bureau also offers more tangible benefits, including travel opportunities, scholarships and competitions. In fact, Lilly Pryor of Johnson County, Indiana, an active Collegiate Farm Bureau member from Huntington University, made it to the Final Four round of the Collegiate Farm Bureau Discussion Meet, earning $2,100 in scholarship funds as well as a trip to Denver to compete in the Discussion Meet.

If you are a student or know a student who is passionate about agriculture and who would benefit from connecting with others who are passionate about agriculture, encourage them to join a collegiate chapter or get plugged into their county Farm Bureau.

To learn more about Collegiate Farm Bureau, visit the Young Farmers & Ag Professionals section on INFB’s website at infb.org/yfap.

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