During this year’s American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) convention, members of the AFBF Young Farmer and Rancher (YF&R) Committee elected a new executive team including its vice chair, Heather Graham of Wolfe County.

Heather and her husband Reed began their service on the committee last year and have been instrumental in Kentucky Farm Bureau's Young Farmer State programs for many years including Heather serving as state committee chair in 2021.

She said it’s important to keep young people on the farm and in the industry.

“It's an honor to be chosen as vice-chair for this committee,” she said. “But, more importantly, we've got to bring young people back to the farms. We've got to have somebody growing the food, and the crops that clothe and fuel us. If we don't bring people back to the farms and ranches, we won't have the things we need to survive.”

One of her main responsibilities as vice-chair will have an international connection to it. She will work with young farmers to our north.

“The YF&R Committee has had connections with a young farmer group in Canada and I will be responsible for making those contacts, helping to build those relationships, and learning about agriculture across the border,” she said.  “Farm Bureau is definitely well-respected across the globe.”

A good example of that is a virtual meeting held recently between the AFBF YF&R committee and a group of Japanese young farmers.

“That was a very interesting call for them and us,” Graham said. “They learned about agriculture in the U.S., and we shared issues that we all have. Our country is not the only one with a growing population and that means farmland is being consumed by urban development while the number of farmers is reducing, worldwide. We need to make sure that we are working together and learning from each other as we continue to feed the world.”

As Graham, who is also the ag extension agent in Wolfe County,  embarks on a busy year of events, she has solid advice for other young farmers.

“I have a sign hanging in my office that says, ‘Farming is not just a job, it's a way of life.’ Not every day is sunshine and roses but, at its core, it truly is a way of life and one we have to persevere,” she said.