More than 75 members of the Florida Farm Bureau attended the 106th annual American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The event saw several Florida members receiving national recognition for various awards.
Young Farmers and Ranchers members from Florida participated in different competitions. Chad Haas from Volusia County, Marshal and Taylor Sewell from Levy County, and Brandt and Samantha Hendricks from Santa Rosa County competed in the Discussion Meet, Excellence in Agriculture, and Achievement in Agriculture contests. Both the Hendricks and Sewells reached the top ten finalists in their respective categories. Notably, the Sewells were declared winners of the 2025 Excellence in Agriculture award by AFBF.
The title of 2025 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year was awarded to Sirius, a Maremma sheepdog owned by Jorge and Debbie Garcia-Bengochea from Alachua County.
Kevin Lussier, also from Alachua County, was honored for his role as Chair of the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee.
Sumter County Farm Bureau earned recognition as a winner of the AFBF County Activities of Excellence. They were invited to present their “988 It’s OK” Mental Health Initiative at the convention's tradeshow.
Florida received additional accolades with a Leader Award while its Women’s Leadership Committee secured a Challenge Award. These awards are given when board members or committees meet specific donation criteria to support the Foundation for Agriculture. Broward County Farm Bureau was highlighted with the County Leaders Award for maintaining 31 years of consecutive donations.
During the convention, Florida delegates voted on policies that will direct their activities in 2025. The topics included electronic animal identification, web-based chemical labeling, and risk management disaster programs.