Montcalm County Farm Bureau honored three of its members with the organization’s inaugural Farmer of the Year and Farm Employee of the Year Awards at its 2023 Annual Meeting, Aug. 17 in Greenville. Modeled after Michigan Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Awards, Montcalm created the honors to recognize local farm leaders who have aged out of the Young Farmer program (ages 18-35.)
First in line was Rex Korson of Korson’s Tree Farms, which he’s run for the past 20 years while serving as an active member of the Michigan Christmas Tree Association, including three years as its president.
In addition to several state tree competitions, Korson has brought home Reserve Grand Champion honors at the national level. This was Korson’s first time attending a Farm Bureau event.
Next up was Jesse Jensen, who started a bee business just over a year ago with his wife Lauren. Jensen was active in Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer program and continues his involvement still, hosting on-farm educational events to demonstrate how honey is processed.
The Employee of the Year award went to Brandon Gibson, who raises dairy heifers for Mike Rasmussen’s farm.
“I can consistently count on Brandon to always give discretionary effort and a high level of detail to the duties he performs — too many to count!” said Rasmussen. “He brings another insight into day-to-day decisions and strategies and I respect his opinion.”
Each recipient received a certificate, metal Farm Bureau sign and formal recognition from Montcalm County Farm Bureau President Breann Bonga.
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