Utah Farm Bureau members elect leaders at annual convention in Provo

Members of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation (UFBF) chose Cache County farmer Valjay Rigby as their president during their recent annual convention in Provo. Delegates representing all of Utah’s 28 county farm bureaus were in attendance at the meeting.

“I am humbled at the opportunity to serve this great organization and our industry. I look forward to representing our members to keep agriculture and the Farm Bureau strong. It’s a significant responsibility given the challenging nature of our industry, but I know that I and our other Farm Bureau leaders are up to the task,” Rigby said. “Farm Bureau is strong in advocating for agriculture everywhere because it is a true grassroots organization. We advocate not simply what a board wants, but more importantly, what is best for farmers and ranchers across the state.”

Rigby is a fifth-generation farmer from Newton in Cache County, farming on land that was part of an original family homestead. He farms alongside his brother and his children, growing approximately 1,500 acres of alfalfa, safflower and small grains, as well as a beef cattle herd. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in information systems, both from Utah State University.

Logan Wilde, a sheep rancher from Croydon in Morgan County, was elected to the state board of directors for District 2, representing Morgan, Summit and Weber counties. Also elected to the board was Russ Kohler, a dairy farmer and cheesemaker from Midway, Wasatch County, for District 4 (Juab, Utah and Wasatch counties). Trevor Barnson, a rancher from Junction, Piute County, was re-elected to a two-year term on the board for District 6 (Garfield, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier and Wayne counties).

Dot Jensen of Box Elder County was re-elected to the board of directors in her role as chair of the state Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee. Also re-elected were Stacey Wangsgard of Cache County for District 1 (Box Elder, Cache and Rich counties), Delaney Nalder of Davis County for District 3 (Davis, Salt Lake and Tooele counties), Tiffany McConkie of Duchesne County for District 5 (Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, San Juan and Uintah counties) and Jennifer Marshall of Beaver County for District 7 (Beaver, Iron, Kane, Millard and Washington counties).

Brady and Amanda Spackman of Cache County were elected as the new chairs for the state Young Farmer & Rancher Committee. Four couples were elected to serve on the State YF&R Committee, including Jared and Reganne Briggs of Rich County, Melvin and Jessica Pearson of Tooele County, Lee and Jayla Hanberg of Uintah County, and Andrew and Maryann Blake of Washington County.

Voting delegates also addressed a wide range of policy issues, including positions on water, wildlife, public land management and agritourism.

The Utah Farm Bureau is the largest general farm and ranch organization in the state, with more than 35,000 member families. It is affiliated with the American Farm Bureau Federation, the world’s largest general farm organization, with more than 6 million family members in 50 states and Puerto Rico.