Ohio Farm Bureau and Ohio's Electric Cooperatives are forming a new partnership as the two continue their long history of strengthening the state’s agricultural and rural communities. Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives is a not-for-profit, member-owned utility and trade association that serves 25 electric co-ops and their consumer-members throughout the state.

Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives is making a $25,000 donation to Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation's Fisher Fund for Lifelong Learning, spread out over five years. The Fisher Fund’s two signature projects, the ExploreAg and Youth Pathways to Careers in Agriculture programs, are helping introduce students to, and prepare them for, careers in agriculture, food and natural resources.

OFB roots

“We’re delighted to further our partnership with the Ohio Farm Bureau,” says Doug Miller, Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives vice president of statewide services and an Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation board member. “The ExploreAg program harkens to our roots, when Ohio Farm Bureau was instrumental in bringing electricity, as well as electric cooperatives, to bucolic Ohio. Not only will our contribution foster expansion of the STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] curriculum into nontraditional agricultural vocations, but we expect that doing so will both maintain talent and attract young professionals to the rural landscape.”

Chris Baker, Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation’s executive director, adds, “It’s exciting that Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives is supporting our efforts to find ways to attract young people to high-demand careers in food, agriculture and energy. Through programs like ExploreAg, we believe there is significant promise in tying young people’s passions for science and technology with real career opportunities that exist in their communities. Working together, we can inspire the next generation of innovators and leaders in our industries and have a positive impact on the availability of food and energy for the future.”

Founded in 1985, Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable, nonprofit organization. The foundation funds programming in four priority areas: cultivating an interest in agriculture, investing in tomorrow’s leaders, driving economic growth and promoting environmental stewardship and conservation.

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