Jeb Smith of St. Johns County named Achievement Award winner

(Daytona Beach, Fla.) – Jeb Smith, a St. Johns County farmer, had the pleasure of driving away from Florida Farm Bureau’s 2009 Annual Meeting with a new Dodge Ram Quad Cab truck, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company. Smith won this special prize after he was selected as the winner of Florida Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award competition.

Smith will also receive an all-expense paid trip to Seattle in January to represent the Sunshine State in the national competition at the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. The winner there will receive a new Dodge pickup truck and a 4x4 ATV.

Keith and Stephanie Shiver of Mayo and Stephen and Tracie Fulford of Monticello were the runners-up for this prestigious award.

The winner was announced during the President’s Celebration and Awards Ceremony during the Annual Meeting at the Hilton Oceanview Resort in Daytona Beach Oct. 29.

Smith, president of the Putnam-St. Johns County Farm Bureau, operates a diversified farm near Hastings. The farm is part of a Community Supported Agriculture initiative, producing 50 different kinds of organic vegetables for members. In addition to the CSA, Smith also produces sod and perennial peanut grass for hay and turf production and operates a spraying business.

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general-interest agricultural association with about 140,000 member-families statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, non-profit agricultural organization. More information about Florida Farm Bureau is available on the organization’s Web site, http://FloridaFarmBureau.org.