Members of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Program elected Sherry Saylor, an Arizona row crop farmer, to a two-year term as chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee. Saylor and her husband, Rick, are partners in R&S Farms, where they grow cotton, wheat, alfalfa, and barley.

Saylor, pictured here on the right with outgoing chair Terry Gilbert of Kentucky, has been a Farm Bureau member since 1974 and is a former chair of the Arizona Women’s Leadership Committee. She was elected to serve on the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee in 1990 and most recently served as vice chair.

A graduate of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, Saylor also holds a master’s in counseling from the University of Phoenix. In addition to farming, she is currently the guidance counselor at Buckeye Elementary School, a position she has held for 28 years.

Saylor and the WLC members look forward to collaborating with other Farm Bureau committees and programs to advance the shared goal of furthering the cause of agriculture.

“It’s so important for those of us in agriculture to be transparent about what we do to produce food,” Saylor said. “We must commit to taking our messages to local, national and even global platforms.”

The year-round Our Food Link program is one avenue of outreach the AFB Women will be focusing on this year. Another is the Women in Ag Survey, which remains open for submissions until Feb. 20 and will help Farm Bureau gauge the needs and aspirations of women in agriculture.

During remarks at the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Women, outgoing chair Terry Gilbert told attendees that studies show that farm and ranch women are seen as credible information sources about the production of food, fiber and renewable fuels. She encouraged women to continue their efforts to forge connections with consumers and be open to responding to questions.

Committee member Isabella Chism of Indiana was elected for a two-year term as vice chair.

Lorenda Overman of North Carolina and Carol Guthrie of Idaho were elected to two-year terms on the committee. Deb Walsh of Indiana was nominated to fill a one-year term. Marieta Hauser of Kansas and Debbi Tanner of Connecticut were re-elected to two-year terms on the committee.

The AFBF delegate body will vote to approve the election of the five Women Leadership Committee members at the conclusion of the organization’s annual meeting.