By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

A new county awards program is launching this year to recognize and reward County Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) committees for outstanding efforts in agricultural promotion and member engagement.

The County YF&R Awards Program will run from Jan. 22 through Oct. 31, 2026.

“The County YF&R Awards Program is designed to recognize the hard work and dedication of YF&R committees across the state,” said Roger Hall, TFB YF&R coordinator. “These committees are doing great work in their communities, and this program helps document, reward and elevate those efforts.”

County YF&R committees will earn points for a variety of activities, including contests, attending meetings, promotional events, legislative engagement and membership drives. These activities are designed to highlight the impact YF&R committees have in their communities while strengthening Farm Bureau’s mission at the grassroots level.

County Farm Bureaus must complete and submit the awards program application by Nov. 7. Applications allow committees to earn up to 1,000 points based on participation.

“County YF&R committees earn points for basic purpose activities such as appointing a YF&R chair, applying for YF&R contests, attendance at YF&R meetings and involvement in the Farmers Feeding Families program,” Hall said. “Additional credit can be earned by participation in organization programs and legislative activities.”

The winning county Farm Bureau YF&R committee will receive an all-expense-paid trip for committee members to the 2027 ABFB Fusion Conference and will be entered into a drawing for a $2,000 promotional toolkit.

In addition, each committee with 300 or more points will qualify as state-approved YF&R committees and be entered into the promotional toolkit drawing. Committees earning 500 or more points will receive branded jackets or pullovers, along with an entry into the toolkit drawing.

View the guidelines document and access the application form here.

For more questions about the awards program, contact youngfarmers@txfb.org.