Oklahoma Youth Programs
“The Oklahoma Farm Bureau knows that our greatest resource is the youth in our state,” said Holly Carroll, Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s vice president of field service and leadership development. “The more opportunities we can give them to develop leadership skills, grow professionally and learn about agriculture, the brighter our future looks.”
The following are youth programs available through the Oklahoma Farm Bureau (OFB).
Oklahoma Youth Leading Agriculture: This is a week-long training in the summer for 20 students in Oklahoma with the goal of developing/continuing a career and life in the agriculture field. It includes tours of different sectors of agriculture, also visits with different companies in Oklahoma about job opportunities in their markets, and personal leadership development. One of the other big aspects is giving back to their community. We always incorporate a time for them to complete a service project and learn about agriculture in the classroom with resources that they can take home and use. Retaining our best and brightest students by introducing them to as many different areas of agriculture in Oklahoma is the key goal.
Scholarships: OFB offers nine scholarships for high school seniors who are Farm Bureau members and attending an Oklahoma University with an agriculture major.
Speech Contests: OFB sponsors several different FFA speaking events across the state.
YouTube Video Contest: Last year OFB hosted a contest for high school students to create a 3 minute video about why Oklahoma farmers care.
Livestock Judging Contest: Each fall OFB hosts the state fair livestock judging contest. OFB also sponsors awards at Big 3 Field Day at OSU and the trip at the Tulsa State Fair Livestock Contest.
Collegiate: OFB has a collegiate chapter at Oklahoma State University and North West Oklahoma State University where they meet and discuss issues in agriculture and how Farm Bureau is involved.
All of Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s programs are designed to challenge students, and encourage them to be involved in the agriculture industry in some way. “Whether it is through leadership programs, speech contests or showing/judging livestock, every aspect of agriculture is important and we want to see more and more youth involvement in those areas,” Carroll added.
Arkansas Youth Programs
“Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest industry, adding around $16 billion to the state’s economy every year. The Natural State’s diverse landscape and climate produce a wide variety of agricultural products. Arkansas is a major exporter of rice, soybeans, cotton, poultry and feed grains. There are 49,346 farms statewide and 97 percent of Arkansas’ farms are family-owned,” according to the Arkansas Farm Bureau website.
With this knowledge of agriculture’s presence in the great state of Arkansas, it is essential that youth programs are available to enhance and brighten the future for tomorrow’s leaders of the state’s rural and agricultural industry.
The following are programs available through the Arkansas Farm Bureau (AFB).
Ag in the Classroom: The Ag-in-the-Classroom program utilizes volunteers, both teachers and farmers, as in-classroom resources. Teachers incorporate Ag-in-the-Classroom materials with their normal, traditional Arkansas curriculum frameworks; and farmers often serve as teaching guests and distribute activity books and information on specific crops.
Arkansas Ag Scholarships: Because Farm Bureau cares about the future of our farming communities and our youth of today, there are several wonderful Arkansas college scholarships for college bound students.
Safety Education: Farm Bureau is concerned with saving lives and preventing injuries. Farm Bureau has two full-time Safety coordinators who present safety programs around the state FREE of charge to schools, churches, county Farm Bureaus, civic and charitable organizations.
Available in Arkansas and Oklahoma
Through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, loans are available to qualified rural youth to establish and operate income-producing projects in connection with 4-H Clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. These projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience.
The youth loan program is a way for rural youth to get started in agriculture production. “The majority of our youth loans are to members of 4-H Clubs or FFA Chapters in their hometown,” said Phil Estes, with the UDSA Farm Service Agency in Stillwater, Okla. “We use these organizations to help supervise and mentor these young people. The majority of our youth loans are to purchase breeding livestock or to get involved in production agriculture.”
According to Estes, many youth borrowers end up coming back to FSA after they turn 18 to apply for our other agriculture loan programs.
“What I tell all our loan officers is that the youth loan is no better than the parents,” Estes said. “If you have good supporting parents, they will make sure the loan is a success, otherwise you will have problems. The only problems we have had with these loans is when the parents sell the security and don’t pay proceeds back on the loan.”
