Ohio Farm Bureau Federation honored three individuals and groups for their incredible contributions to agriculture and Ohio Farm Bureau. The 2025 Distinguished Service Award recipients are Craig Adams of Highland County, Mike Townsley of Franklin County and the families who have hosted the Blanchard River Demonstration Farms: Kellogg Farms of Hardin County, Kurt Farms of Hardin County and Stateler Family Farms of Hancock County. The honorees were recognized Dec. 11 at the 107th annual meeting of Ohio Farm Bureau in Columbus.
Craig Adams of Highland County
Adams is a former Ohio Farm Bureau state trustee, Nationwide board member and former chairman of United Producers. His service on the OFBF board included several key roles, such as serving on the Executive Committee, chairing the Public Policy Committee and the Agriculture for Good Government Political Action Committee, and representing OFBF at a White House forum focused on the developing Cuban trade market. He also served on the Ohio Livestock Coalition, a statewide trade organization made up of agriculture organizations and individual farmers committed to advancing environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable livestock farming practices.
As chairman, Adams led United Producers to become one of the largest livestock marketing cooperatives in the country and continues to be a part of many statewide commodity organizations and local boards. He, and his wife Kim, run Adams Farms, which specializes in food-grade corn and other row crops as well as livestock.
Mike Townsley of Franklin County
Townsley is the former CEO and chairman of Bob Evans Farms. In his role, Townsley helped grow the company into the nation’s leading producer of refrigerated products and maintained a strong focus on community engagement and partnerships with agricultural producers. Townsley is widely respected for his leadership in the food and meat processing industries and his dedication to strengthening the ties between agriculture and consumers. He is a previous board member of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation and as president, spearheaded the early efforts to strengthen the alignment between the foundation and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
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