2026 Excellence in Agriculture Application

2026 Excellence in Agriculture Application
Eligibility
An applicant can be either an individual or a married couple or have similar legal rights under the law applicable to the state Farm Bureau organization. Applicant(s) shall be a Farm Bureau member(s) between 18 and 35 in good standing with their county Farm Bureau. The individual or spouse/spousal‐equivalent shall have reached their 18th birthday when they qualify for the national competition and shall not have reached their 36th birthday by Jan. 1, 2027. Applicant(s) must not have derived most of their income from an owned production agriculture enterprise in the past three years. Past and present members of the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and their spouses are not eligible to compete. Past state YF&R Achievement Award winners and previous AFBF Achievement Award competitors are not eligible to compete. Past state YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award winners and previous AFBF Excellence in Agriculture Award winners are not eligible to compete. Current county, state and American Farm Bureaus employees and their affiliates are not eligible to compete.
Entry Form & Application Guidelines
Do not use identifying information. This includes the applicant(s) name(s), county, or any names that may bring about the recognition or identification of the applicant’s county beyond the entry form. The entry form and application must be completed in first person narrative (i.e., I, me, we, etc.) for questions 1-5. Applicants must use “A1” and “A2” to denote each applicant for question 6. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms unless they have been spelled out once with the abbreviation in parenthesis behind it. Application must be submitted via the online platform, JotForm.
DEADLINE TO APPLY: August 31
Primary Applicant:* (required)

First NameLast Name
Phone:* (required)
Please enter a valid phone numberFormat: (000) 000-0000.
Email:* (required)
example@example.com
Date of Birth:* (required)
Secondary Applicant (if applicable):

First NameLast Name
Phone:
Please enter a valid phone numberFormat: (000) 000-0000.
Email:
example@example.com
Date of Birth:
Address:* (required)

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Farm Bureau Membership Number:* (required)
County of Membership:* (required)
What is the highest level of education you have completed?
If you attended college, please list the University(ies) you attended:

Application Questions

Please answer each question fully and be mindful of the character county for each question
1. Personal background, including family, education and personal interests: (2,000 characters)* (required)
2 a. Explain your occupation: (2,500 characters)* (required)
2 b. Explain your involvement in agriculture/agribusiness: (2,500 characters)* (required)
3. Describe your efforts to positively promote and impact the agriculture industry. Examples may include things such as hosting farm tours, legislative visits, writing a blog, etc. (5000 characters)* (required)
4a. Agriculture faces important issues at the local, state, national and international levels. Pick three of the levels and explain one important issue that will impact the specific level in the next five years. The issues must be different for each level. For example, you may select ag literacy as a local issue, mental health as a state issue and rural broadband as a national issue. (5000 characters)* (required)
4b. Choose one of the issues in your previous response and discuss how you personally have addressed, or can address, that issue and work towards a resolution: (5,000 characters)* (required)
5. What goals do you have for the next five years related to your career, Farm Bureau involvement and involvement with other organizations? (5,000 characters)* (required)

6. Leadership Experience (from age 18 - current)

This applies to both applicants if applying together. Please indicate A1 and A2 when applicable.
County Level: List Farm Bureau leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant(s), indicating service on committees, boards or as officers: (2,500 characters)
CAFB/AFBF Level: List Farm Bureau leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant(s), indicating service on committees, boards or as officers: (2,500 characters)
List other agricultural leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant(s), indicating service on committees, boards or as officers. (i.e., Farm Credit, Soil Conservation, Farm Service Agency, farm cooperatives, 4-H, etc.). Please include organization, description and years of involvement.Example: A1 & A2 – 4-H, Serves as a 4-H Livestock Club Leader (2018 – present) (2,500 characters)
List other community and non-agricultural leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant(s), indicating service on committees, boards or as officers. (For example, civic/service clubs, church, school, volunteer leadership, etc.): (2,500 characters)
Please include any additional information, we should be aware of regarding you or your operation: (250 characters)
Do you acknowledge that you will need to prepare and deliver a presentation to our interview selection committee virtually? The presentation will be an interactive, 25-minute presentation in which the applicant(s) has an opportunity to share the contents of his/her entire application in narrative form with a panel of judges. Applicant(s) will have 25 minutes to present on the topics addressed in the application and address questions from the judges. It will be up to the applicant(s) to determine how they use this time. The only visual means in which to deliver the information is through a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation.
By signing below, I certify that all information provided in this application is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge.
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2026 Excellence in Agriculture Application

Eligibility

Entry Form & Application Guidelines

DEADLINE TO APPLY: August 31

Application Questions

6. Leadership Experience (from age 18 - current)