Layton » Utah Farm Bureau President Leland Hogan told members to get involved in politics and their communities, and to hone their own leadership skills by staying active in the state's largest general farming organization.

"Look around the Farm Bureau to find qualified candidates," said Hogan during the group's convention at the Davis Conference Center attended by 450 members. "And if you go outside the Farm Bureau, get them to become a member."

Farm Bureau membership has reached an all time high since its founding in 1916, said Hogan. Today, some 27,300 families are members of the organization, which provides public policy advocacy, product discounts and insurance rates.

Some politicians got their start in their local farm bureaus, including state Rep. Kerry Gibson, an Ogden dairy and crop farmer, who will address the convention during closing ceremonies today.

Hogan was reelected to another two-year term as president, a position he has held since November 2001. He runs a cow-calf and alfalfa farm in Tooele County.

Summit County rancher Rowdy Fitzgerald said the organization is important because it pushes legislation that protects farmers, such as private property and water rights and environmental laws that could make it difficult for farmers to stay in business.

"Our best chance is to stand together," said Fitzgerald.

Hogan said U.S. agriculture is so successful that most Americans have no farming experience or knowledge about the relationship between food and the land. Hogan said he struggles to teach his own grandchildren where food comes from, adding, "they think it comes from the grocery store."