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Texas Agriculture Archive
November 18, 2005
Waco site of Texas Farm
Bureau convention
December marks the 72nd consecutive year that Texas Farm Bureau voting delegates have come together to celebrate successes and conduct business aimed at making agriculture more profitable and improving rural life.
The site of this year's TFB state convention, slated for Dec. 3-5, is Waco, the state headquarters of Texas' largest general farm organization for more than half a century.
"Farm Bureau is almost unique in that the policy we develop at this meeting is not an endorsement of decisions already made, but the beginning of our game plan for 2006," said TFB President Kenneth Dierschke, a cotton and grain farmer from San Angelo. "With Farm Bureau, those decisions are in our hands, those of the farm and ranch families of Texas. That's the way it should be and will always be in our organization."
All events will be held at the Waco Convention Center.
Registration for the state convention, along with TFB Member Services exhibits, begins at 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 3. The TFB Free Enterprise Speech Contest, in which high school youths that won their district meetings, compete for scholarships at 10 a.m. At 1 p.m. that day, finalists in the Young Farmer & Rancher's Discussion Meet will participate in a problem-solving forum that seeks to address issues confronting modern agricultural producers. At the same time, in another location within the convention center, talented youths who emerged as winners in their respective districts will compete for scholarships in TFB's Talent Find Contest. The day's activities will culminate at 3 p.m., with a scholarship pageant that concludes with the crowning of the new Miss Texas Farm Bureau.
Registration and the Member Services exhibits resume in the convention center at 9:30 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 4. County delegation photos will also be taken starting at that time.
An important Sunday activity, devoted to raising scholarship funds for TFB collegebound, and enrolled, students majoring in agriculture, is the YF&R Committee's Silent Auction. The one-day auction gives attendees an opportunity to bid on items ranging from citrus, candy, nuts, and fruit baskets to crafts, toys, tools, hunting gear, home furnishings, apparel, cutlery, holiday decorations, CDs, books, and more. Also, a portion of this year's proceeds will go directly to help Texas farm families that were victims of Hurricane Rita.
The opening session of the convention begins at 1 p.m. with a devotional. Highlighting the session will be recognition of county Farm Bureau membership gains and other achievements; the presentation of Pioneer Awards to inductees or their family representatives; and the selection of the Outstanding Young Farmer & Rancher for 2005.
District caucuses are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Sunday, followed by a delegate dinner at 6 p.m. The evening agenda includes the president's annual address, secretary-treasurer's report and an administrative report.
On Monday, Dec. 5, registration and county delegation pictures begin at 7:30 a.m. in the convention center. The business session will be called to order at 8 a.m. sharp for consideration of by-laws. The ladies luncheon and delegate luncheon run concurrently at 11:45 a.m. Registration closes at noon on this, the final day, of the convention.
Complete consideration of resolutions, election of directors, and the election of the TFB president are important matters on the docket for the session that resumes at 1:30 p.m., Monday. The annual meeting concludes with the adjournment of the business session at approximately 5 p.m.
