By Corryn La Rue
The Utah Farm Bureau Federation will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary at 6 p.m. on Dec. 5. The UFBF will be reenacting the first meeting of the federation at the exact location where it all began, at the old Hotel Utah, now known as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The celebration will be an open house, starting with the reenactment and followed by a reception.
“For the reception that night, we’ve invited young and old,” said Spencer Gibbons, the northern regional manager of UFBF. “We invited those who have been involved in the organization just about as long as anyone can remember, as well as those who just joined up. We are really excited about this.”
The actual anniversary is on Dec. 4, but the UFBF wanted to hold the celebration a day later, allowing more guests to make it to the event.
Among those attending the celebration is long-time employee John Keeler. Keeler has dedicated 42 years of his life with the UFBF, representing Utah’s agriculture community.
Keeler has been a field man in the southwest counties since 1980, and has worked directly with the county farm bureaus.
“I was the newest employee at the time, and what was rewarding was how well they accepted me and showed me the ropes,” Keeler said.
The UFBF was organized by a group of sugar beet farmers who were trying to figure out a way to reduce the volatility in their markets. The farmers created the organization to help them market their commodities. Over the past 100 years, it has developed into the largest general agricultural organization in Utah.
In 1939, the UFBF established the Young Farmers Program. It developed into the Utah Young Farmer and Rancher Program. It was established to provide leadership development and opportunities for young members, by offering training to them.
The federation has reached out to schools across Utah to promote agriculture education. This includes the "Agriculture in the Classroom" initiative. Every year USU agriculture communication students volunteer with “Agriculture in the Classroom."
The UFBF has served farmers in Utah. As it celebrates its 100-year anniversary, Gibbons said the federation is looking forward to the next 100 years.
“My favorite thing about the farm bureau is the people that I work for and work with,” Keeler said. “Farmers and ranchers are really down-to-earth people, and they have a great sense of hope. They are always hoping for a better year. That’s really the thing that I have enjoyed the most.”
