The Veteran Farmer Award of Excellence recognizes veterans who have served or are currently serving in any branch of the United States Military and are actively involved in agriculture and their community. Applications will be evaluated based on excellence in farming and community impact. This program seeks to elevate and celebrate those who have served our country and continue to do so through involvement in agriculture and the community. 

The recipient of the award will receive $10,000 plus reimbursement of up to $5,000 in travel and other expenses incurred for the recipient and their guest to attend the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention to be held in San Antonio, Texas, on January 25-27, 2025.

AFBF will not accept submissions by email. All applications must be submitted via the Submittable platform. The platform does not allow for word count but limits the number of characters. If you have questions, please contact logany@fb.org.

Online applications must be submitted via the online portal on or before 5:00 p.m. ET August 30, 2024.

American Farm Bureau Federation® is excited to offer a fellowship program for MANRRS collegiate members to attend its national leadership conference.

Join us in Denver, CO, March 7-10, 2025, for FUSION Conference!

Benefits: 

• Gain skills and knowledge to apply in your chapter and career
• Network with young farmers, ranchers and agriculturalists from across the country
• Learn from industry leaders about emerging issues in production agriculture and tour local farms
• Receive expense-paid conference registration, flight and hotel room and $200 travel stipend
• Participate in Fellowship-related special activities before and during the conference
• Gain recognition as a 2025 Farm Bureau MANRRS Fellow
• Receive a one-year Farm Bureau membership in your home county 

Eligibility: 

• Active MANRRS collegiate student member
• Minimum GPA of 2.8
• Must be able to participate fully in the events listed under the timeline
• Current and former members of the American Farm Bureau Federation committees and staff of Farm Bureau and/or affiliated companies are not eligible to apply
• Previous Farm Bureau Fellows are not eligible to reapply 

Timeline: 

• November 14, 2024 at 5:00 PM EST: Application Deadline
• December 12, 2024: Fellows Class Announced
• January 4, 2025: Fellows Orientation 
• January-February, 2025: Mentorship Meetings with Former Fellows
• March 7-11, 2025: FUSION Conference in Denver, CO (includes travel days)
• March 10, 2025: Conference Review Form Due
• April 6, 2025: Program Ends (at MANRRS39 Conference) 

FUSION Conference Information: 

American Farm Bureau’s 2025 FUSION Conference will bring together 1,100 members from across the country who are active in three main Farm Bureau program areas: Young Farmers & Ranchers, Women’s Leadership, and Promotion & Education. Those who attend are farmers and ranchers involved in various types of production agriculture and representatives of diverse agribusinesses from across the country. The conference will be a learning opportunity for leaders to increase their knowledge and skills in the areas of leadership development, agriculture issues, professional and personal growth and building a network. You’ll leave the conference with new friends, new ideas and new energy for your chapter. To get an idea about the conference content, scan the QR code below. You’ll find the application for the fellowship as well as a link to the program for the 2023 FUSION Conference. 2025 FUSION Conference content offerings will be similar, but not the same as, the 2023 event. 

The American Farm Bureau Federation® (AFBF) is recruiting ambassadors to showcase the energy and excitement of the 2025 Farm Bureau FUSION Conference occurring March 7-10, 2025, in Denver, Colorado.

About the Program: 

• A team of Collegiate Farm Bureau members design and implement a promotional plan highlighting the conference experience for various audiences, including the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers, Women’s Leadership and Promotion & Education social media accounts. 
• Ambassadors are vital to inspire grassroots agricultural communities across the country to engage as Farm Bureau members and leaders to create a stronger and more sustainable future for agriculture.

Program Benefits:

• Media event coverage experience.
• Real-life application of college course content, including concrete skill development.
• Receive expense-paid conference registration, flight and hotel room and $200 travel stipend.

Eligibility:

• Active undergraduate Farm Bureau member in a state with a recognized YF&R program. 
• Minimum GPA of 2.8
• Applicant must be at least a sophomore at the time of the conference. 
• Current employees or agents of county, state and/or American Farm Bureau organizations and their affiliates are not eligible to compete.
• Previous AFBF Social Media Ambassadors are not eligible to reapply. 
• Proficient in constructing engaging photo and video social media content.
• Ability to take, pull and edit photos, and edit engaging videos, a plus.
• Agriculture, Communications, Journalism or related major preferred.

Duties include:

• Attend an orientation, training and planning meeting in early January 2025 (virtual). 
• Develop and execute a social media plan for conference promotion utilizing (but not limited to) Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram, and/or video.
• Coordinate live X (Twitter) feed of conference sessions using Tweetdeck.
• Organize live Story content for competitions, key events and entertainment.
• Collaborate with other ambassadors and AFBF committees to curate cohesive media presence.
• Edit video footage to create conference recap, Reels and promotional videos.
• Monitor conference hashtag to compile promotional content.
• Compile performance data for each platform following conference for effective reporting. 
• Complete a brief review of ambassador experience to help AFBF make improvements. 

Timeline:

• November 14, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST: Application Deadline
• December 19, 2024: Social Media Ambassadors Announced
• Early January 2025: Social Media Ambassador Orientation 
• January-February 2025: Mentorship Meetings with Former Ambassadors
• March 6-11, 2025: FUSION Conference in Denver, CO (includes on-site orientation and travel days)
• March 10, 2025: Conference Review Form Due

Online Submission Guidelines: 

• To complete the online application, visit https://fb.org/cfbgrants
• Applications are due by 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET on September 18, 2024.
• Create a Submittable account if you do not have an existing account. 
• Read through the application and process information, including eligibility, application guidelines, application timeline and selection criteria. 
• Verify agreement with the requirements by selecting, “Yes” and select “Next” to continue. 
• Move through the application, completing each section as described. Fields with an * must be completed before submitting the application.
• There is the option to save your work and come back later by selecting the “Save Draft” button at the bottom of the application. 
• State Coordinator Approval Form: Your application must be verified by the state YF&R coordinator, or similar role, at your state Farm Bureau. Use this section to email them a reference form to complete the State Approval step of your application. Add in an email address and a personalized message to explain your request before selecting “Send Request Now.”Chapters may submit their application before this reference form is completed by the state staff. 
• o We recommend the submitter notify the state staff person that they will be receiving a verification email from Submittable. 
• o If the state YF&R coordinator is the submitter of the mini-grant application, simply send the reference form to yourself to complete. 
• Once your application is finalized, click the “Submit” button to complete your application. 
• A confirmation email will be delivered to the Submitter’s email address. Please be sure to check your spam or junk folder if you are unable to locate this confirmation email. If you have not received a confirmation email within 24 hours of submitting your application, please reach out to yfr@fb.org. 
• You may log back into your Submittable account prior to the deadline to make any edits to your application. 
• Applications will be listed as “IN-PROGRESS” until they have been scored by judges. 
• Chapters will be notified via an email from Submittable as to the status of the application no later than October 8, 2024. Applications will then be listed as either “ACCEPTED” or “DECLINED.” 
• Submitters of accepted applications will then receive a follow-up email from Submittable with further information about remitting the first half of the grant funding and instructions for completing the Recap Report form. 
• Completing the Recap Report form via online submission is required to receive the second half of the grant funding.