A Berrien County farmer has been honored with the American Farm Bureau’s Excellence in Agriculture Award.
Tera Baker of Three Oaks owns a cash cropping farm and precision agriculture dealership with her husband. She was in California this week for the 107th American Farm Bureau Convention, where she was handed the award by the Farm Bureau Federation President.
The bureau says Baker presented her story to panels of judges, outlining how her daughter changed how she and her husband, Shawn, manage their farm. She says she decided to compete to set a good example.
“How can we pull this back home? How can we get this story in front of other young farmers and ranchers around Michigan? So I think that this is the chapter one of a pretty exciting journey of trying to go and hype up those next contestants for Michigan,” Baker said in a promotional video.
Baker reflected on how the conversations have evolved through the competition process, focusing on how her story can impact young farmers back in Michigan.
“The next generation can’t live by the same rules in the same world that our uppers may have had. So I want to be that example for my daughter that I wasn’t afraid to do it. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. But ultimately, Mommy tried.”
Baker is no stranger to the national stage, having won second place in the YF Discussion Meet at the 2019 American Farm Bureau Convention. Her presentation at the competition this year had the theme, “Disrupt, Build, and Futureproof,” reflecting what a lot of young farmers are now doing.
As the national winner, Baker receives $35,000 in credit toward a new Ford vehicle and paid registration to the next Young Farmer and Rancher Conference.
