November 17, 2006
The 73rd annual meeting of the Texas Farm Bureau will be held Dec. 2-4 at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington.
"Texas farmers and ranchers have experienced another difficult year. Most of our state has been beleaugered by one of the most devastating droughts in history. Our Gulf Coast and East Texas regions still struggle to recover from Hurricane Rita. The drought-baked landscape of Texas started burning last year and didn't stop until more than a million acres were consumed," said Texas Farm Bureau President Kenneth Dierschke. "The attention of our organization is what strengthens us in time of trial. The road back from the difficulty in 2006 begins in Arlington."
Dierschke said the policy developed at the annual meeting is unique in that it is not an endorsement of decisions already made, but the beginning of the state's largest farm organization's game plan for 2007.
"Those decisions that guide Texas Farm Bureau are in the hands of the farmers and ranchers of the Lone Star State," he said. "That's the way things should be and will always be with our organization."
All events will be held at the Arlington Convention Center.
Registration for the state convention, along with TFB Member Services exhibits, begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. The TFB Free Enterprise Speech Contest, in which high school youths who 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. 3.
An important Sunday activity, devoted to raising scholarship funds for TFB college bound, 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.
The opening session of the convention begins at 1 p.m. with a devotional. Highlighting the session will be the president's message; 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 and Excellence in Agriculture award winners for 2006. District caucuses are scheduled for 4 p.m. A special concert by country singer Michael Martin Murphey will be held at 7 p.m.
On Monday, Dec. 4, 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 p.m., Monday. The annual meeting concludes with the adjournment of the business session that evening.