Stay Informed

Indiana Farm Bureau’s strategic plan, which has just concluded its first year, helps keep the organization on track for achieving its goals of protecting and enhancing the future of agriculture and Indiana communities.

The strategic plan focuses on four “pillars,” or areas of concentration, said Megan Ritter, INFB senior executive director of administration:

• Working together we will advocate.
• Working together we will engage.
• Working together we will add value by sharing knowledge.
• Working together we will innovate and grow.

“We’re using more meaningful metrics so we know whether we’re making progress,” Ritter said. “Without metrics, it all becomes anecdotal – someone’s impression that we’re doing the right thing. But with honest, accountable metrics, we can use that information to ensure we listen, prioritize and unify our efforts to proactively support the interests of the ag ecosystem.

“What members will hopefully see is an organization that is anticipating the challenges they face and leading efforts to address them,” said Ritter.

As INFB enters the second year of its strategic plan, it’s important to remember how far the organization has come in just one year.

“I am seeing an organization that is making progress,” said Scott Caine, president of Aimpoint Research, a global strategic intelligence firm specializing in agriculture and food issues that has helped guide INFB through the strategic planning process.

“Lots of organizations collect data, but they don’t always use it to figure out if they’re doing better,” Caine added. But at INFB, “I am thrilled to see we have increased member engagement, that we see more people attending events and that we’re driving toward those things that are most important. The reason we know this is that we’re tracking the data and using it.

“It’s pretty clear that INFB is getting much better at doing all that,” he added.

Another key component of this plan is working together at all levels. A series of “think tanks,” consisting of groups of representative county Farm Bureau leaders, has been important in that effort.

INFB is addressing topics in a more open way “from the board of directors back down to the membership,” Caine said.

“It’s a two-way conversation,” he added.

By focusing on adding value to membership and asking more members of the agriculture community to be part of our efforts, Farm Bureau is working to strengthen the viability of Indiana agriculture, Ritter said.

Another success is INFB’s efforts to understand the issues important to members. More than 1,200 members participated in the spring survey, and more than 2,200 participated in the fall survey. These surveys will continue next year.

“These surveys help INFB understand issues that are on members’ minds and what they see coming down the pike for agriculture and agribusiness,” Ritter said.