Have you ever considered nominating someone to be a Master Farmer?
Maybe your parents, a sibling, your neighbors, a friend or a colleague? Someone you’ve served with on a board, or someone you’ve long looked up to?
Prairie Farmer’s Master Farmer program is a grassroots program. That means every nomination received comes from you, the readers. You all look around and see someone doing great work in producing food and fiber while serving their community and raising their family, and you nominate them.
Don’t forget: You can also apply on your own, effectively nominating yourself. Many farmers submit their own names each year.
You can nominate or apply as an individual, as a husband and wife, or even as siblings.
Over the years, Prairie Farmer has judged a lot of nomination forms. Here’s what works:
Be thorough. In the sections asking about farm history and growth, more information is better than less. Share how the individual(s) got started and show how the operation has progressed.
Be specific. The more details you can provide, the better the judges will like it.
Get information. Nominating someone in secret is a fantastic surprise, but it’s also tricky to do unless you have firsthand knowledge of the operation. The best secret nominations come from a child, spouse or sibling with intimate knowledge of the farm.
Get help. You’ll need at least 10 recommendation letters to support your nomination. These letters tell the story of your nominee and are incredibly helpful to the judges.
Think broadly. When listing community and industry work, consider the nominee’s entire body of work. For spouses or siblings, list both individuals’ activities, noting who did what.
Start early. It’s not a quick process to nominate a Master Farmer. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime award, with an application that reflects an entire career.
Find the application
Find the 2020 application at FarmProgress.com. Down-load it, fill it out and send it in, complete with letters of support, by Sept. 9. Email [email protected] for more information or to have a form sent to you.
Judging thanks
Prairie Farmer is grateful to the 2019 panel of judges for sorting through and selecting this year’s Master Farmers.
Karen Corrigan, McGillicuddy Corrigan Agronomics
Robert Easter, president emeritus, University of Illinois
Linnea Kooistra, 2011 Master Farmer
Steve Myers, Busey Ag Services
Dwight Raab, Illinois FBFM
Holly Spangler, editor, Prairie Farmer
About the Author(s)
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