Outstanding Young Farm Family Contest

Purpose

Recognize young farmers for their achievements in production agriculture and leadership.

Background

The Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation (KFBF) annually conducts the Outstanding Young Farm Family Contest. County Farm Bureaus are encouraged to promote this activity within their county. Selection of the winning OYFF competitor is based on his/her efforts in production agriculture and leadership achievement. Participation in this program with individual recognition and the resulting publicity will help build the organization. The ideal candidate(s) for the Outstanding Young Farm Family Contest is an individual or couple involved in production agriculture with a majority of his/her gross income subject to farm and/or ranch risks. The KFBF Young Farmer Committee and the KFBF Leadership, and staff will coordinate the program at the state contest.

Information about the Outstanding Young Farm Family applicant is requested on the entry form. ALL INFORMATION IS HANDLED IN STRICT CONFIDENCE AND IS DESTROYED AFTER JUDGING IS COMPLETED.

Eligibility

The ideal candidate(s) for the Outstanding Young Farm Family Contest is an individual or couple involved in production agriculture with a majority of his/her gross income subject to farm and/or ranch risks.

• An applicant can be either an individual or a couple that is married. Applicant may choose to apply individually, rather than as a couple.
• Applicant(s) shall be a Farm Bureau member(s) between the ages of 18 and 35 in good standing with his/her county Farm Bureau. The individual or spouse/spousal-equivalent shall have reached his/her 18th birthday at the time he/she qualifies for the national competition and shall not have reached his/her 36th birthday by Jan. 31, 2026.
• Applicant(s) must be actively engaged in farming and/or ranching, with the majority of his/her gross income coming from production agriculture. Applicant(s) must have at least three years of financial records showing that the majority of income came from production agriculture.
• Applicant(s) may only compete in one state KFB competition per year.
• Present members of the KFBF Young Farmers Committee and/or their spouse are not eligible to compete.
• Previous AFBF Achievement Award competitors are not eligible to compete.
• Current employees or agents of county, state, and/or the Kentucky Farm Bureau organizations and their affiliates are not eligible to compete. An affiliate is defined as an entity owned or controlled in whole or in part by another entity through, for example, ownership (including partial ownership) or positions on the board of directors. Past employees who were responsible for implementing any of the Young Farmer competitive events at the state or national level are ineligible.
• Counties will not be limited in the number of applicants they enter for this contest. If we receive more than one application from a county, the judges will choose a county winner. Each county OYFF winner will then be eligible for the district and state competition. Applicants for the Oustanding Young Farm Family contest may not apply for ther KFB Farmer of the Year program in the same year.

Entry Form & Application Guidelines

•  Do not use the applicant's name, the name of his/her state or county, or any names that may bring about the recognition or identification of the applicant's state beyond the entry form. The written versions of the application have a search feature to locate any identifiers.
• The entry form and application must be completed in first person narrative (i.e. I, me, we, etc.) for questions 1-9 and 13. "A1"/"A2" may not be used for questions 1-9. Applicants must use "A1"/"A2" to denote each applicant for all of questions 10-12.
• The Financial Success section must be typed and notarized; handwritten financial forms will be disqualified. If the notarization includes a state indentifier, such as a state name or seal, the identifier needs to be blacked out.
• Do not use abbreviations or acronyms, unless it has been spelled out once with the abbreviation in parentheses behind it. For example, United States Department of Education (USDE). AFBF, FB, and YF&R are acceptable to use throughout the application.
• The attached entry form and application is the information needed for the state contest. No hand-written entry forms or applications will be accepted.
• County Farm Bureaus have permission to reproduce the attached entry form for state-level competition or as a recruitment tool.
• It will be up to the judges' discretion to deduct points if applicants include activities before they were 18.

Note: Disregard of the guidelines will result in disqualification of the application

Judging

•  The entry form and application of each county entry will be coded upon receipt by KFBF. The applicant's name and county will not be revealed to the judges until judging is completed.
• Judging is based on the application sent to KFBF by the county Farm Bureau. An on farm interview will be conducted with the applicants that are selected to be in the top three during the KFBF Young Farmer Summer Outing.
• A panel of three qualified judges will select the state winners. The Top 3 competitors will be interviewed by the same three judges who reviewed the written applications.
• Interviews will be up to 2 hours in length and are intended to evaluate the competitor's command of the farm/ranch business and financials, familiarity of the contents of the application, and appreciation for the value of Farm Bureau (see rubric). In addition to the 5 points allocated for the interview, judges may alter scores from other sections based on what they learn during the interview.
• During the interview process, only the named applicant(s) on the entry form is permitted in the interview.

Scoring

• Personal Background - 10 points
• Scope of Farm/Ranch - 15 points
• Growth & Achievements - 25 points
• Management Decisions - 15 points
• Goals & Planning - 10 points
• Overcoming Challenges - 10 points
• Financial Success Part 1: Debt-to-Asset Ration and Profit - 25 points
• Financial Success Part 2: Analysis and Record Keeping - 15 points
• Financial Success Part 3: Off-Farm Income - 10 points
• Leadership Experience: Farm Bureau - 30 points
• Leadership Experience: Other Ag Organizations - 10 points
• Leadership Experience: Other - 10 points
• Leadership Growth and Development - 10 points
• Interview (Top 10 competitors only) - 5 points

TOTAL POINTS: 200

Deadline

The entry form and application must be submitted on or before 11:59 PM ET May 9, 2025. The application must be completed in this format to be considered for this award. Written applications will not be accepted.

The data below and throughout the application applies to you and your spouse/spousal-equivalent, if married. Please indicate "Applicant 1" (A1) and "Applicant 2" (A2) on questions 10-12.

I (we) hereby certify the information on this entry form and attached application to be accurate and true statements. KFBF DOES NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED INCORRECTLY BY A COUNTY FARM BUREAU OFFICE OR APPLICANT. KFBF reserves the right to use my (our) photos and/or any video footage for use in promoting Farm Bureau. The photos and/or video footage of the undersigned contestant(s) may also be available to Farm Bureau sponsors. By participating in the Event, I (we) warrant that I (we) fully and unconditionally agree to and accept the KFB official contest rules and decisions which are final and binding.

Please show your debt-to-asset ratio, including farm/ranch/personal debts and assets for each year requested.

Other Income Examples: farm bill payments, trade aid, conservation payments, net crop insurance benefits, and/or income derived from the marketing or selling of farm/ranch product/services such as specialty marketing, agritourism, etc. (do not include off-farm or other enterprises that are unrelated to the farm/ranch operation)

List Farm Bureau leadership roles, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant, including service on committees, boards, or as officers. Please include years and level of involvement (county, state, national). 

Example: A1 - Elected President of the County Farm Bureau Board of Directors (2018-2019)

List other agricultural leadership roles, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant, including service on committees, boards, or as officers (i.e. Farm Credit, Soil Conservation, Farm Service Agency, farm cooperatives, adult roles in 4-H or FFA)

Example: A1 and A2 - 4-H, Serves as a 4-H Livestock Club Leader (2013 - present)

List other community and non-agricultural leadership roles, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant, including service on committees, boards, or as officers (i.e. Chamber of Commerce, civic/service clubs, church, school, scouts, coaching, etc.)

Example: A1 - Local elementart school, served as Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President (2018-2020)