JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Dylan and Meredith Lange, of Dawn, won the Missouri Farm Bureau (MFB) Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) Excellence in Agriculture Award during the organization’s 103rd annual meeting December 5 at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Langes were recognized for their involvement in Farm Bureau, agriculture and their community by MFB President Blake Hurst during the annual YF&R breakfast. The couple received a $500 check from the MFB Foundation for Agriculture and a $500 check from Ford Motor Company.
They also won a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, to represent Missouri at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Contest this January. The contest is part of the AFBF Annual Meeting. There they will compete for the national prize of a new Ford truck and paid registration to the AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference in Reno, Nevada, courtesy of Country Financial. Runner up wins a Case IH Farmall 50A tractor from Case IH. Third and fourth place earn 40”combination roll top tool cabinets and a $500 parts card from Case IH, along with $2,000 of Stanley Black & Decker merchandise.
Dylan is the store manager for Sydenstricker Implement in Chillicothe and Meredith is a school counselor for grades Kindergarten through 12 at Southwest Livingston R-1. They are expecting their first child, a little girl, in March. After their day jobs, the couple works on Meredith’s family farm, helping Charles and Sherry Jones grow corn, soybeans, hay and beef cattle. Dylan and Meredith are actively involved in their church and community and enjoy hunting and fishing.
Second place in the contest went to Ethan and Leslie Durst, of Canton, in Lewis County. The couple received $200 and an expense-paid trip to the AFBF Annual Meeting. Placing third to win $100 were Jeremy and Amanda Griesbaum, of Taylor, in Marion County.
The Excellence in Agriculture Award is designed to recognize young farmers and ranchers who have not received a majority of their income from an owned production agriculture enterprise for the past three years.
