Did you know the Florida Farm Bureau is supported by 147,000 member families covering 60 counties and is the largest agricultural organization in Florida? Members receive a number of valuable benefits, including low rates and substantial discounts on loans, personal, life and car insurance, merchandise, travel and other services. Membership is also not limited to farmers.
The Florida Farm Bureau has served our state for 72 years with a mission to increase the net income of farmers and ranchers and to improve the quality of rural life. Agriculture makes the second biggest economic impact on Florida’s economy, following tourism. When tourism was curtailed following the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, the state’s agriculture industry played a role in stabilizing the state’s economy.
The Florida Farm Bureau attributes some of the success to the fact that food is essential in life, and therefore agriculture doesn’t get the big up-and-down swings experienced by other segments of the economy. In 2002, Florida Farm Bureau and the Florida Department of Agriculture mounted a joint campaign aimed at increasing public awareness of agriculture. By 2008, a survey of residents showed that at least 1/3 of Floridians recalled having heard news about Florida agriculture.
The Florida Farm Bureau provides many important programs to Florida communities. They include CARES – County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship, Young Farmers and Ranchers, From the Field to the Hill and many others. You can learn more about this important Florida asset at http://www.floridafarmbureau.org/.
