After nearly 800 new members were signed up during the March membership campaign, and another 430 in April and May, another 80 new members joined Farm Bureau in May and June in response to a special limited-time offer authorized by the New York Farm Bureau board of directors in April.

“We were having good success with our annual March membership campaign,” says Fred Perrin, New York Farm Bureau’s director of member relations, “but we knew there were prospects ‘out there’ who were having a tough time financially. We couldn’t just give up on them.”

Because of the cost-price squeeze many farmers were in—especially dairy farmers— Farm Bureau leaders knew they had to find a meaningful way to simultaneously help them and encourage them to join Farm Bureau.

The first part of the Farm Bureau response came with the historic budget agreement between Governor Spitzer and the state legislature, a budget that included $30 million in direct relief to dairy farmers.

Farm Bureau had lobbied hard for this “dairy investment” by New York State, acting on a December State Annual Meeting resolution that expressly called for it.

“This was money that was quickly spent in upstate’s small towns to pay old bills that had been piling up in farm offices,” says Perrin. “And we’ve been hearing many kind comments from grateful dairy farmers.”

The second part came with the decision by the NYFB board of directors to authorize the offering of the special “ninety-nine-dollar- deal” on membership. Throughout the months of May and June, a membership could be purchased that would be in effect for the balance of 2007 and all of 2008.

Many of the 79 new members enrolled on this basis were signed up by Farm Bureau field advisors making “house calls.”

The Board also approved full backing by NYFB with staff, literature, incentives, and marketing assistance for any county Farm Bureau membership campaign in a month other than March. Some county Farm Bureaus had expressed a preference for doing their campaign in a different month.

In related news, dairy farmer, John Fidler, of Delanson, N.Y., has been reappointed chairman of the state Farm Bureau membership committee. In looking ahead at the coming efforts to keep Farm Bureau membership numbers strong, Fidler said, “Our focus will continue to be on farmer-members.”

He knows of which he speaks. His county Farm Bureau—Montgomery County—tops the state Farm Bureau rankings for the new “Farm Bureau Cup.” It will be awarded to the county that ranks highest in a number of membership categories. As of June 15, the top ten counties were: Montgomery (24 points); Ontario (35); Wayne (38); Seneca (49); Jefferson (50); Columbia (59); Orleans (60); Schoharie (67); Chenango (69); and Saratoga (69), with the low score winning.