Grab A Hold and Join US

Kari Brough, Nevada YF&R State Chair

Wow, what whirl wind we have made it through! Like for most, 2020 was a bummer for our Young Farmers and Ranchers program. Most of us were on our way to the 2020 National Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) Conference when it got cancelled for Covid, and that is where our 2020 stopped.

March is normally the time of year when many of us get off the ranch and head to the big city to join up with the other “Young ins” for the National YF&R Convention. (It is one of the best perks about joining the YF&R.) Farm tours, motivational speakers, and more fun than you can handle. There are classes about, well, everything you can think of: farm succession, marketing, advertising, stocks, advocacy, legislative, leadership, and I even attended one on cheese making. Like I said, everything. The best part is being able to talk with new and old friends from across the county and learn from them! Each year they have a special State Chair training to help us get the most out of your time serving as the state chair. I always come back with a fire in my sole ready to work. So, missing the 2020 conference due to Covid really put a halt on our year.

I was starting to feel like the YF&R was in a huge mud pit and I was at the lead with a shovel in my hand and no way out. I had gotten into a bad habit of rushing though our monthly meetings just so I could check it off my to-do list. This was not something I was proud about and did not want to be remembered as the state chair who did nothing during her two-year term.

Luckily for me I was able to attend, online (thanks Covid), the State YF&R training that was put on at the 2021 Virtual Fusion conference. Although it was not the same as being able to attend in person with other chairs from around the USA, they did a wonderful job. They were there to throw the lasso I needed to get my rear out of the mud, all I needed to do was to pull.

I had an idea, a rebranding, a new fresh start for our program. Fortunately, I have some of the top young farmers and ranchers in the state of Nevada serving on the Nevada State YF&R board with me! I pitched them my idea and let me tell you, they pulled that lasso even further than I could have imagined and together we were able to come up with our new Nevada Young Farmers and Ranchers Mission Statement! Y’all I cannot tell you how excited I am about this! And speaking for my team, we are ALL excited! My hope is that when you read our mission statement that you can feel what we are about, where we are going, how we are getting there, and most importantly that this is an organization that YOU will want to associate your name with.

So now it’s my turn I am tossing out my lasso, grab a hold, pull and join us as the future of Nevada Agriculture! Join today at www.nvfb.org

We are the Future of Nevada Agriculture. Through leadership and community outreach we create connections from our farmers and ranchers to our local community. 

The mission of Nevada YF&R is to impower the Advancement of agriculture relationships, education, & leadership though: 

· Leadership training 

· Promotion of Local Agriculture. 

· Professional development 

· Service to others 

· Education of our youth 

· Connections to fellow agriculturist 

Together we advocate for a strong foundation of Nevada’s agriculture industry.