Achievement Award

The Achievement Award is one of three contests designed exclusively for young farmers engaged in agriculture. The Achievement Award recognizes and rewards outstanding young Farm Bureau members whose farm management techniques and commitment to their communities set a positive example for others involved in production agriculture. Applications must be submitted via the online application portal.

NOTE- The Indiana Farm Bureau Achievement Award application varies slightly from the American Farm Bureau application. The winner of the state contest will be required to complete the AFBF application before the December deadline. 

Click here to apply

Basic eligibility requirements

• Must be a voting member of Indiana Farm Bureau.
• Between the ages of 18 and 35 as of January 31, 2026.
• An Indiana resident engaged in the production of ag products in Indiana.
• Earn the majority of gross income from production agriculture.

Sponsors

The state winner(s) receive:

• $6,000 cash prize courtesy of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.
• $5,000 cash prize courtesy of our generous sponsors.
• David L. Leising Memorial Award.
• All expenses paid trip to AFBF Annual Convention in Anaheim, California (Jan. 9-14, 2026).
• Two runners-up will receive a $1,000 cash prize from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance

Deadline

All applications must be submitted via the online portal on or before May 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Scanned or emailed entries will not be accepted or qualify as a submission. A copy of the Achievement Award application is available to download so that you may preview the questions. If you use this document, you must paste your answers into the online version of the application to submit. 

The application is available to download, but applications must be submitted using the online portal above.

Downloadable Assets:

• Achievement Award Application - PDF Version
• Achievement Award Financial Page - Indiana Version
• Achievement Award Rubric

Helpful entry form & application guidelines

• Do not use 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 entry form and application should be completed in first person narrative (i.e. I, me, we, us), but proper names of the applicant(s) may not be used. Couple applications should follow these instructions: For personal statements, put (A1) or (A2) at the beginning of the paragraph/sentence to denote which applicant is “speaking,” and for joint statements, simply use the word “we.” Applicants must use (A1)/(A2) to denote each applicant’s involvement for all of question 6.
• Do not use abbreviations or acronyms.

Judging

• The entry form and application of each entry will be coded upon receipt by INFB. The applicant’s name and county will not be revealed to the judges until judging is completed.
• A panel of three qualified judges will select the state winner and finalists. The top three competitors will be interviewed by the same three judges who reviewed the written applications.
• Interviews will be up to 20 minutes in length and are intended to clear up any “gray areas” which may arise from the written application.
• Find the Achievement Award scoring rubric in the downloadable assets section above.