AS I WRITE this column, Polk County Agri-Fest is in full swing! Our special guests are the 6,000 fourth-grade students who visit Agri-Fest each year, but we are also pleased that U.S. Congressman Daniel Webster and Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick have been able to join us this year to experience Agri-Fest first hand. I’d also like to say a special thank you to all of the volunteers who help make this 10-day event possible each year.
Ag Literacy Day will take place on April 21. This annual reading event is a chance for farmers, ranchers, University of Florida IFAS extension and 4-H agents, Master Gardeners, FFA teachers and students, and agriculture industry representatives to go into elementary classrooms and read a nonfiction children’s book about Florida’s livestock and poultry industry to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. This year’s book is titled Drive Through Florida: Livestock and Poultry. We have many teachers who have requested readers. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ ON APRIL 21. YOU CAN SCHEDULE TO READ ANY DAY THROUGH THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. To sign up to read to a classroom, please contact Lori Kuehl at (863) 533-0561 or lorik@pcfb.org.
Representatives from Polk County Farm Bureau attended Florida Farm Bureau Days in Tallahassee on March 17 and 18. We met with the Polk delegation on legislative issues affecting agriculture businesses. I encourage our members to visit Florida Farm Bureau’s Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/flfb/home/ to track bills and stay involved in the legislative process. Mark your calendars to hear from our Polk delegation on bills that passed and failed during this session at our Legislative Wrap-Up Luncheon on Tuesday, June 9, at 11:30 a.m. at the W.H. Stuart Center in Bartow.
Young Farmer and Rancher Scholarship applications are now being accepted and are due to the Bartow office by Friday, May 15. Since the inception of the program, more than $14,000 in aid has been given to graduating high school seniors interested in a career in agriculture. For an application, visit the PCFB website at www.pcfb.org or contact Carole McKenzie at carolem@pcfb.org or (863) 533-0561.
Tickets to the May 8 Harvest Celebration Dinner are still available. Contact any PCFB board member or call the Bartow office at (863) 533-0561 to purchase tickets for this annual fundraising event.
Sincerely,
KYLE R. STORY
President
Polk County Farm Bureau
