2024 County Activities of Excellence
0
Days Left
to Enter

Now celebrating 105 years, American Farm Bureau has served farmers and ranchers across the country as the Voice of Agriculture®. The innovative, action-oriented programs developed by county Farm Bureaus are a huge part of the overall success of the Farm Bureau. The AFBF County Activities of Excellence (CAE) Awards are designed to celebrate unique volunteer-driven programming at the local level. We aim to recognize and share successful county Farm Bureau programs and activities to help generate even more grassroots activity. The CAE program categorizes activities into the following areas: Education and Ag Promotion, Member Services, Public Relations and Information, Leadership Development, Policy Implementation, and Safety.
Up to 24 county Farm Bureau activities from across the nation will be selected to display in the Trade Show at the American Farm Bureau Convention. Individual county activities and multi-county collaborative activities selected will receive $2,250 toward expenses incurred to participate in the CAE program at the American Farm Bureau Convention as well as four free convention registrations.

Awards are judged based on the following membership groups:
-Up to 1,000 members
-1,001-3,000 members
-3,001-5,000 members
-5,001 + members
-Multi-county activities

1. County Farm Bureau applications must be submitted no later than Friday, September 1, 2023 at 5PM EST.
The link for the web-based application can be found at https://www.fb.org/initiative/county-activities-of-excellence.
2. Each application is required to upload a minimum of two high-resolution photographs of the activity. These photos may be used in the future for promotional material. These photos must not have any state or county identifiers in them.
3. Only one entry per county per year may be submitted by a county Farm Bureau either as an individual entry or as a part of a multi-county entry, but not both. The activity must have been conducted between the dates of September 1, 2022-August 31, 2023.
4. Entries will be evaluated solely on the contents of the on-line entry form. Only those entries approved by the state Farm Bureau CAE coordinator will be advanced for judging. State CAE coordinators will have the final say in advancing applications from their state for judging. Applications that contain the name or visual of the state or county (e.g. state map outline) will not be eligible for selection, including contents in both the written application and photos.
5. Entries must be approved by the state CAE coordinator no later than September 13, 2023. The coordinator must verify county membership numbers.
6. By submitting an entry, county Farm Bureaus and their representatives agree to participate in publicity and advertising efforts of AFBF as it relates to the CAE award program. However, entry does not guarantee publication.
7. AFBF will announce counties selected to participate by October 6, 2023.
8. A minimum of three counties in each membership category up to 24 individual county activities, including up to four multi-county collaborative activities, will be recognized. The county activities selected to display in the 2024 Trade Show will receive four complimentary registrations to the American Farm Bureau Convention, a complimentary 10’ x 10’ booth space, and a cash stipend of $2,250 to be applied toward the cost of travel and trade show exhibit. The awards will be presented only if the counties receiving recognition exhibit in the Trade Show, and stipends will be distributed following Convention attendance.
9. For county activities selected by AFBF, it is the county Farm Bureau’s responsibility to prepare and deliver exhibit materials to the Trade Show and set up, staff, and dismantle the activity booth in Salt Lake City, Utah. The county Farm Bureau is responsible for all logistics and expenses related to shipping, transportation, hotels, etc.
10. AFBF is not responsible for loss or damage of materials.
11. County Farm Bureaus that have been selected to display at two consecutive Trade Shows will be ineligible in the third year.
12. Once an activity submitted by an individual county or multi-county applicant receives a CAE award, that activity becomes ineligible for future award consideration from the same county or multi-county applicant.
13. For every three applications a state Farm Bureau submits, they must provide one judge for the evaluation process, up to ten judges. State CAE Coordinators will automatically be designated as judges. See the table below.