In January, 1931, Clarke County Farm Bureau was chartered and became a member of Mississippi Farm Bureau. At a Farm Bureau meeting in 1938, attended by over 350 farmers, Clarke County Power Cooperative was organized and a charter was granted for the purpose of obtaining TVA electric power for Clarke County. Several communities in the county formed their own local Farm Bureau units and met independently each month. School buses were used to bring farmers from all over the county to the county-wide annual meeting each year.
Clarke County Farm Bureau currently has an enrollment of over 1,100 members. Our current board consists of Mike Kennedy, Jonathan Cranford, Phil Nichols, Barbara Williams, Chess Brewer, Rase Powe, Elliot Phillips, Ryan Smith and Tony Fleming. Jon Kilgore is our Regional Manager. Tommy Scott is the Farm Bureau Insurance Agency Manager, assisted by Agent David Stearns. Tammy Kennedy Dearman is the County Membership Secretary and Customer Service Representative. We have active participation in Beef, Forestry, Poultry, Corn and Feed Grain commodities in our county. This is but a small part of the commodities provided by Mississippi as a whole.
We have a very dedicated Women’s Committee Chair, Barbara Williams, who each year gets involved with the schools promoting the coloring contest, poster contest, art contest, statewide photo contest, as well as the numerous scholarship opportunities available.
We are extremely proud of the Ag in the Classroom program Farm Bureau offers each year. We are fortunate to have teachers excited every year about registering for this educational program. This is a wonderful tool for reaching huge numbers of children and educating them on where their food comes from and informing them at a young age of the importance of the family farm.
We strive to promote agriculture of all kinds and sincerely believe our youth are the future of agriculture in our state. That is why we support our 4-H members each year at the annual Livestock Show and Sale. By paying a supplement, we assist every member of 4-H with the purchase an animal each year. Our Board members and Agents also help grill for the Livestock Show concession stand. Our members have children involved in all the programs 4-H offers and we feel it is well worth the time and money we invest in these future farmers and land owners.
Farm Bureau also offers a line of safety programs free of charge to civic groups, our area schools and the Clarke County Career and Technology Center.
No matter what tomorrow brings our way, agriculture is a way of life that we as a nation cannot afford to lose. We feel it is more important now than ever before to work together toward a better way of life that will remain strong for future generations of farmers and land owners.
You can help us reach that goal by staying aware of all legislation that affects our farmers and agriculture in general. Ultimately, it affects each of us.
If you are interested in becoming a member of Farm Bureau or would like more information on programs offered by Farm Bureau, visit www.msfb.org or your local Clarke County Farm Bureau at 120 Carlson Ave, Quitman. We can be reached at 601-776-6977.
