SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Ohio Farm Bureau Young Agricultural Professionals, Stacie Anderson, of Wood County, and Mike Hannewald, of Lucas County, were big winners at the 104th American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Convention in San Juan in January.

Anderson won the AFBF Excellence in Agriculture Award, after winning the same Ohio award in 2022. This award spotlights young farm bureau members who are agricultural enthusiasts but have not earned a majority of their income from a production agriculture enterprise.

Hannewald won the AFBF Discussion Meet, also after winning the Ohio Discussion Meet in 2022. The Discussion Meet simulates a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant.

Excellence in Ag

Anderson grew up on her family’s farm raising corn, soybeans, wheat and specialty crops while participating in 4-H and FFA. She is a graduate of Ohio State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in agribusiness and applied economics and a master’s degree in agricultural communications.

She and her husband, Brian, grow corn, soybeans and wheat, as well as raise poultry for direct-to-consumer products and have a small herd of beef cattle. The couple has three children, Audrey, age 7, Morris, 5, and Mawer, 3, who is trying to avoid school as long as he can because all he wants to do is farm.

Off the farm, Anderson is the agronomy sales manager for Legacy Farmers Cooperative, where she manages sales of all crop nutrients, chemicals, seeds and precision products.

“I was comfortable about sharing my story and what I am passionate about in the presentation component felt because I felt like it was a natural fit,” Anderson said. “Ninety-five percent of my involvement is in my hometown. A lot of folks do a lot more than I do at the state and national levels. I applaud them for those efforts.”

The driving force behind why Anderson applied for the competition and why she thinks she was successful is because she focused on how little things one does can have a big impact on their hometown, she said. People always ask her how she has the time to do everything she does.

“I tell them that if you want cool things to happen in your hometown, you need to go out and make cool things happen,” she explained. “I am definitely the product of a lot of mentors and advisers, people who have invested a lot of time in me and events and things that have helped me get to where I am today. I need to use the gifts, the time, and the talent to reinvest that back into my hometown.”

Discussion Meet

Hannewald developed a strong interest in farming while growing up on the family farm just outside of Waterville, and became active in 4-H and FFA. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Ohio State. He is an agronomist and precision farming adviser for Beck’s Hybrids, covering northern Ohio and northeastern Indiana. He remains actively involved in the family farm, where he farms with his dad, Keith.

The Discussion Meet topics came out in the fall. Hannewald learned as much about them as he could.

“You have to bring different solutions to the problems that are presented and you have to be prepared because you don’t know what the other competitors are going to bring to the table or what direction the discussion might go,” Hannewald said.

“We had four different topics for the four rounds of the Discussion Meet,” he explained.

Round 1 was economics and infrastructure issues faced by young farmers.

Round 2 was supply chain issues.

Round 3 looked at how, due to current economic demands, many farmers and ranchers spend a lot of time outside the “fence rows” on off-farm jobs. How can farm bureau become more accessible and welcoming to members who are working in related fields and juggling responsibilities on and off the farm?

Round 4 focused on the issue of climate, which has become a major topic among business leaders, policymakers and consumers. As an industry that depends on the weather, what role do we as farmers and ranchers play in shaping climate initiatives to benefit society overall as well as our own farms and ranches, and what can farm bureau do to better serve its members who work off the farm.

The 34 participants were judged on three things: What is your knowledge of the topic and what are the solutions that you bring to the table and the quality of those; how well do you work with and collaborate with the other competitors and integrate their ideas to the solicitors; how good are you at public speaking and communicating, in being concise in getting your point across.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Stacie and Mike’s accomplishments at the American Farm Bureau level,” said Adam Sharp, executive vice president of Ohio Farm Bureau. “Their passion for Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Ag Professionals program is evident by their achievements in San Juan and they are both incredible advocates for our organization and Ohio agriculture as a whole.”

Ohio competitors have only won these competitive national competitions twice in the last 20 plus years. It’s rare when a state farm bureau wins multiple awards from AFBF in the same year. Ohio Farm Bureau is only aware of it happening once before.

John Hummel, of Canal Winchester, competed as Ohio’s Outstanding Young Farmer award winner.