Tonight, in Winterset at the Jackson Building, the Madison County Farm Bureau will host its Annual Membership Appreciation Dinner.  In doing so we will mark 100 years of existence.  This morning the county caught a widespread drink, and I can’t think of a more fitting birthday present.

The organization began with the idea that strength was to be found in our coming together, which we could use to advocate for the way of life we have been blessed with and share in.  Along the way they built stronger relationships with those around them.  Some of those relationships pulled them away from their former selves and closer to the people we are all called to be.  As it was then, so it is now.

In going down the list of individuals who served as presidents of the organization, one sees the years that correspond to wars, droughts, a depression, and a farm crisis.  It calls to mind the anxiety of those present moments, which now belong to the past.  It does so as many of us today wait on pins and needles for our next rain.

Just as far back go the issues of conservation, regulation, property rights, and taxes.  As we have moved from farming with horses to global positioning systems to big data, we have picked up some new ones.  Ahead lie questions, just as they always have.

Will the state take the lead in developing a dedicated source of water quality funding?  Can we move from a regulatory to a collaborative approach on the fundamental concerns we all share?  How do we best navigate with the inherent risk associated with farming?  How do we connect with a consumer increasingly removed from agriculture?  How do we keep our members informed?

Many groups seem based on the idea that the solution is something to be provided by someone, somewhere.  The grassroots nature of Farm Bureau has maintained that to find solutions we need to bring people together to talk about their concerns, to share their thoughts and ideas, and make use of the best information available to collectively chart a course forward.  In marking our 100th birthday, we celebrate 100 years of being able to keep that perspective, and 100 years of bringing in folks from across the county to do that.

I am a poor predictor of the future.  I will predict, however, that strength will continue to be found in our coming together.  In doing so we will continue charting the course forward.  In doing so we will continue to enrich our lives.