The Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Summer Leadership Conference, set for June 21-23 in San Marcos, offers farmers and ranchers from across the state the opportunity to catch up on the latest in Texas agriculture.
Topics for this year’s conference include issues important to Texas farmers and ranchers both at home and on a global scale, said TFB President Russell Boening.
Climate change, carbon sequestration markets, soil health improvement practices and cover crops, cattle marketing, foreign policy and the economy, and pesticide regulation and registration will be covered.
Also on the agenda is a legislative wrap-up session from the 87th Texas Legislature and an overview of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and how the agency works to help farmers, ranchers and rural Texans.
“We have our annual meeting every December, so the summer conference presents another opportunity six months apart where we can get farmers and ranchers together to discuss issues with commodities and legislative topics,” Boening said. “In December, we’re tending to the business of the organization—creating bylaws, electing state directors, voting on policy resolutions and recognizing our members and county Farm Bureaus. This conference is a chance to inform our membership of what’s going on in a more general sense. It’s much more informational and focused on discussing these issues and how they affect our members.”
TFB’s commodity advisory committees also meet during the summer conference to discuss current issues and possible solutions related to agricultural commodities in the state.
The Summer Leadership Conference is one of the first large in-person events TFB has hosted in over a year. The novel coronavirus pandemic of 2020 temporarily halted TFB in-person meetings. But with vaccine rates rising and the governor declaring Texas “open for business,” things are slowly returning to a new normal.
“This year, there may be some additional measures taken to make sure folks are safe as we gather in groups, but we’re ready to get back to business,” Boening said. “We have a good lineup planned with lots of information that should be relevant to our members and help them make the best business decisions for their operations, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Registration for the Summer Leadership Conference begins at 9 a.m. on June 21, with a county presidents’ dinner set for that evening. June 22 will be an all-day event with a group lunch. The conference will adjourn after a morning general session on June 23.
A tentative agenda and room reservation form is available at texasfarmbureau.org. The deadline for room reservations is May 14, and rooms must be cancelled by June 14 to avoid cancellation penalties.