COLUMBUS – Jeff Adams of Urbana is one of 19 farmers and agribusiness professionals who recently graduated from Ohio Farm Bureau’s AgriPOWER Institute, Class VII. Adams farms 2,040 acres of seed beans and 1,980 acres of corn on Adams Brothers Farm with his father and uncle. He has served on the Ohio Soybean Association’s board and the American Soybean Association’s advocacy communications team and is a member of the Champaign County Farm Bureau.

Ohio Farm Bureau launched AgriPOWER in 2008. It is an elite training program designed to help participants become leaders and advocates for agriculture. The yearlong program consists of seven two-to-three-day training sessions that focus on public policy issues confronting agriculture and the food industry.

Topics covered include public policy issues facing local communities, the state of Ohio, the nation and the world. Specific sessions help class members develop skills to become effective leaders and advocates, including spokesperson and media training, etiquette training, social networking, communications and more. One of the institute programs was held in Washington, D.C. to help class members understand national and global issues.

In addition to Ohio Farm Bureau, AgriPOWER partners include Nationwide Insurance, Ohio Soybean Council, Southern Ohio Agricultural & Community Development Foundation, Farm Credit Mid-America, Ohio Pork Council, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Beef Council, Farm and Dairy, Cargill, Ag Credit, AgriPOWER alumni, and Farm Bureaus in Brown, Fayette, Licking and Union counties.

Applications for the next class, Class VIII, are due April 15.