Introduction/Farm-Ranch
Blake Hurst of Westboro, Missouri, became the 14th president of Missouri Farm Bureau Federation on December 7, 2010. Hurst raises corn and soybeans with his father, brothers, nephews and sons-in-law. He and his wife, Julie, also operate a wholesale greenhouse business with their daughter, Lee, and sons-in-law Ryan Harms and Matt Schlueter. The family raises flowers on two acres of greenhouses and employs up to 15 people during peak season selling bedding plants in a four-state area.
Farm Bureau Background, roles, associations, affiliations
Before his election as president of Missouri Farm Bureau, Hurst represented northwest Missouri on the organization’s board of directors for eight years and served as vice president another seven years. Hurst’s first leadership role in Farm Bureau was as chairman on the Missouri Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher Committee in 1985. He is now a member of the American Farm Bureau board of directors and serves on a number of boards and committees outside of Farm Bureau.
Education/interests/activism
Hurst is an alumnus of the University of Missouri, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in agriculture from the School of Agriculture (now the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources). He has become a well-known author and activist for agriculture. As a freelance writer, his articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The American, Weekly Standard, Wilson’s Quarterly, Reader’s Digest and Today’s Farmer. He has a regular column in Missouri Farm Bureau Show Me magazine. Writing for the web magazine of the American Enterprise Institute, his article, “The Omnivore’s Delusion,” received more than 100,000 hits, earning the “Idea of the Day” feature on the New York Times website. Hurst has become a sought-after speaker for his ability to convey a farmer’s thoughts on food and agriculture with an intelligent, articulate wit. He has debated food policy in New York City and appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation.
Family
Blake and Julie Hurst have three grown children. Daughter, Lee, works on the family farm. Daughter, Ann, is development director for their local hospital, and son Ben, a former JAG Captain in the U.S. Army, is practicing law in Kansas City. The Hursts have six grandchildren.
Color Photo | B/W Photo
