Farm Bureau chief: 'We could be a lot bigger'

By Brice Wallace 

Most CEOs of associations would be delighted to have best-ever balance sheets and best-ever membership numbers in their organizations.

But Dale Newton isn’t satisfied. Despite having those achievements at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, Newton believes the bureau’s membership figure is waaaaay below its potential.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Speaking recently at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s 102nd annual convention in Layton, Newton, the bureau’s CEO, said the bureau can grow that membership and build better connections with people throughout the state.

“Utah Farm Bureau has never been bigger than it is today,” he said, noting it had 34,199 members at the end of October, “and we’re a little bit bigger than that today, I’m sure. The balance sheet has never been bigger than it is today, but that doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels. We have an awesome responsibility ahead of us.”

Newton quoted the bureau’s mission statement, which calls for it “to inspire all Utah families to connect, succeed and grow through the miracle of agriculture.” And by “all families,” he means the 3.1 million people in the state who are not yet bureau members.

“We’ve got about 1 percent of the state, so the way I look at that is, there’s a little over 3 million people that I want as members of Utah Farm Bureau, and in the process of being members of farm bureau, we’re going to teach them about our mission statement; we’re going to teach them about the miracle of agriculture; we’re going to teach them how to connect, succeed and grow through that miracle of agriculture.

“You all have a wonderful opportunity every day, and I don’t know how many people appreciate it. That miracle of agriculture is awesome.  I think most people inherently know that and feel that. They just don’t recognize it. They just don’t give it much attention.”

Newton said the miracle is visible when watching a dormant-in-winter tree produce buds that become branches each spring. He felt it when he recently visited a dairy farm and saw a calf being born.

“That’s awesome. I’d never seen that before,” he said. “That’s the miracle of agriculture and you get to see that and feel it every day. Most people don’t. I know they see the grass turn green in the spring and I know they see the leaves come on the tree, but they don’t really think about it. We’ve got to teach them that that’s what they’re seeing: the miracle of agriculture.”

Newton grew up in Salt Lake City and graduated from the University of Utah. While he did not work on a farm as an adult, as a child he visited his grandparents’ farms in Mona and Levan.

Newton urged bureau members never to have the attitude of “I’m just a farmer, I’m just a rancher.”

“I’m here to tell you, coming at this from a little different perspective, don’t think that way. I don’t know if you know that everybody out there, with few exceptions, in the state of Utah, they admire what you do. They respect what you do, and I’ve learned to love what you do.

“So, when I look at those 3.1 million people and I’m trying to inspire them to connect with us and with each other and appreciate this miracle of agriculture, I know it is possible. I know it is possible because look at me. I came from a very different beginning point: from a city, from working in public accounting, from working in the insurance industry.”

Farmers and ranchers should be proud of what they do and understand that others admire and respect them, he said. “They might still have problems with the noise or the dust or some other issue,” Newton said. “That doesn’t mean we’re always going to agree on everything, but they admire what you do.”

During a panel discussion about county farm bureaus, Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, suggested a few ways for bureau members to connect with people throughout the state. It happened in his home state, when the Georgia Farm Bureau got involved and worked to recognize all of the high school sports teams that won state championships and county farm bureaus followed up by attending their booster club meetings and other activities.

“And people in the community saw farm bureau supporting their children and their activities. It doesn’t have to be sports; it could be band, it could be 4-H, it could be FFA. When those parents saw Farm Bureau helping their children, it would just ignite with other people saying, ‘Hey, I’m not a farmer, but they’re helping my children and they stand for the things I believe in and I’m going to be a member of that farm bureau.’

“And they pay their dues, and you send them a newsletter and let them they see all the good community stuff you do, they’ll pay their dues again next year.”{/mprestriction}