Jon Hegeman of White Plains, Alabama was elected as the new chairman of the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers committee at the convention in San Diego. He will take over as chairman in February and serve for one year, also serving a one-year term on the AFBF board of directors.
Hegeman and his wife Amy are first generation farmers who operate a commercial greenhouse that serves as a contract facility to several larger greenhouse operations along the eastern United States. Jon and Amy also have a young daughter who is almost three years old. “The best way to look at Young Farmers is our way to promote advocates for our organization,” said Jon. “We want to create leaders.”
Jon’s parents were missionaries and he knew he wanted to be in agriculture as he grew up in the Dominican Republic. “Watching the cattle ranchers behind us and the sugarcane fields,” he said. “It’s always been in my blood and I just didn’t know what aspect of agriculture I wanted to be in.”
The YF&R program includes men and women between the ages of 18 and 35. The program’s goals are to help younger Farm Bureau members learn more about agriculture, network with other farmers and realize their full potential as leaders in agriculture and Farm Bureau.
Interview with new AFBF YF&R chair Jon Hegeman