Membership grows through county Farm Bureaus
(FRISCO, Texas)—County Farm Bureaus across the Lone Star State were recognized for membership achievements during the Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) 84th Annual Meeting Dec. 3 at the Frisco Conference Center.
“Membership matters for Texas Farm Bureau. It’s the foundation of our organization, and our growth fuels our influence in Austin, Washington, D.C. and with the people of Texas,” TFB President Russell Boening said. “We’ve had 17 consecutive years of membership growth thanks to the efforts of our county Farm Bureaus. Together, we are growing a bigger and brighter Texas and a better understanding of agriculture.”
Statewide, Farm Bureau membership showed a gain of 730 for a total of 519,849 member-families. Of the 206 organized county Farm Bureaus, 139 counties recorded a membership gain this year.
County Farm Bureaus signing the most new members included the following: Brazoria-Galveston County, 1,825; Collin County, 1,686; Fort Bend County, 1,459; Harris County, 1,354; McLennan County, 1,291; Jefferson County, 1,192; Ellis County, 1,120; Bell County, 978; Grayson County, 970; and Bexar County, 868.
County Farm Bureaus reporting the largest total membership gain included the following: McLennan County, 309; Smith County, 272; Grayson County, 231; Bowie County, 203; Gregg County, 178; Wichita County, 155; Anderson County, 153; Gonzales County, 150; Comal County, 139; and Lamar County, 139.
The highest membership renewal percentages were achieved by the following: Dickens County, 99.01 percent; Mason County, 94.20 percent; Motley County, 93.58 percent; Cottle-King County, 93.51 percent; Collingsworth County, 93.44 percent; Hudspeth County, 93.11 percent; Gillespie County, 93.09 percent; Mills County, 93.09 percent; Crosby County, 93.05 percent; and Kendall County, 92.95 percent.
County Farm Bureaus with the largest membership include: Collin County, 13,111; Brazoria-Galveston County, 12,521; Fort Bend County, 10,926; Jefferson County, 9,769; Ellis County, 8,746; Harris County, 8,587; McLennan County, 8,313; Bell County 7,277; Bexar County 7,140; and Kaufmann County, 6,610.
County Farm Bureaus with the longest continuous gain in membership include: DeWitt County, 68 years; Franklin County, 37 years; Erath County, 31 years; Henderson County, 28 years; and the following were recognized for 26 years: Atascosa County, Bell County, Comal County, Gillespie County, Hill County, Medina County, Navarro County and Tyler County.