2019 LFBF YF&R Leadership Conference

Our 2019 LFBF YF&R Leadership Conference will be meeting at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Lafayette Airport(201 Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette, LA 70508; Phone 337-264-6044). This all-suite hotel is close to shopping, entertainment and historical sites. Complementary hot full breakfast is served daily. Feel at home with stylish studio accommodations and modern amenities such as free wireless internet access.

On Saturday, we will begin by serving a catered boxed lunch complete with a sandwich, chips, cookie, and a drink before boarding the bus for our tour destinations. Our first tour will be at Avery Island, home of Tabasco, where the McIlhenny family has made the sauce for over 5 generations. Built on a salt dome, it is a mysteriously beautiful place where the red peppers grow, the factory hums, and abundant wildlife can be seen in Jungle Gardens. Our final tour will take place at Conrad Rice Mill, the oldest rice mill in America. As one of the leading tourist attractions in the area, the Mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The leadership portion of the conference will take place at Rock’n’ Bowl de Lafayette. The keynote speaker will be Rob Sharkey, known in digital circles as The Shark Farmer, and he is not your average Illinois grain farmer. With the hog crash of ’98 in the rearview mirror, a turn-key outfitting business thriving, and a handful of acres demanding more time than is warranted, the only logical step was to launch a necessary – yet stupendously groundbreaking – podcast. Juxtapose his rough-around-the-edges persona with an unmatched ability to listen and relate to those spanning generations, time zones, and the rural/urban divide, and you have found the formula for an under-the-radar and out-of-the-box communicator. Rob will also join a panel of other local farmers to take your questions about the common struggles we all face in agriculture. We will cap off the conference with dinner, 2 ½ hours of bowling, and live music.

Rates for this conference are $215 (single occupancy) and $155 (double/triple/quadruple occupancy). This fee include meals, transportation, tours, entertainment, and lodging. THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2019! Registration for this event, and future events, will now be done online. You may register attendees for your parish at https://yfrleadership19.eventbrite.com. In order to prevent incurring fees, we have listed the event as free. You will notice that single and multiple occupancy costs are listed separately within that section. Therefore, you will not process payment via Eventbrite registration and instead send payment to the State Office just as it has been done in the past. No refunds will be permitted as guarantees are required for meals, hotel rooms, etc.

Farm Bureu’s young farmers and ranchers have worked the past 15 years to help provide food to those in need around the country through the Harvest for All campaign. More than 50 million Americans- that’s 1 in 6 – including nearly 17 million children, are food insecure, meaning they live at risk of hunger. Help the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers program by pledging a donation to our project with the Louisiana Food Bank Association or packing a backpack with the below list of recommended school supplies and healthy snacks. Each parish that makes a donation for this program will receive points in the Awards Book.

Assorted 1 ounce cereals, Band-Aids, beef ravioli, blunt tip scissors, chicken salad (3 ounce cans), classic color crayons, classic color wide tip markers, fun size Juicy Juice Punch, gallon/quart size Ziploc bags, glue sticks, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, Kleenex, mandarin oranges in gel, mini Teddy Bears/animal crackers (6 ounce), oat & honey chewy granola bars, notebooks, paper towels, peaches in gel, peanut butter (12 ounces), plain pencils, pudding cups, saltine crackers, squeeze jelly

The Farm Bureau YF&R Program is designed to surface new Farm Bureau leaders and involve them in Farm Bureau activities. This conference serves as a source of information and encouragement to established YF&R Committees as well as those beginning a program. All members of a Farm Bureau YF&R Committee, interested young farmers from 18-35 years of age, and parish Farm Bureau leaders are invited and encouraged to attend. Please encourage the members of your parish YF&R Committee or interested young farmers to attend this important conference.

Please feel free to contact Megan Gravois at megang@lfbf.org, 225-922-6213 or Niki Clarke at nikic@lfbf.org, 225-922-6314 with any questions that you may have. We are looking forward to a great conference in January!