SANDY, Utah. December 2, 2019 – Riggin and Laura Holmgren of Box Elder County were named the winners of the Utah Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher ‘Achievement Award’. The award was presented at the recent Utah Farm Bureau Annual Convention and is considered the top honor for young farmers and ranchers in Utah. 

The Achievement Award is a competition that recognizes those young farmers and ranchers that have excelled in their farming or ranching operations and honed their leadership abilities to superiority.

“We were excited and honored to win this award,” said Laura Holmgren. “We feel Farm Bureau has done a great job in advocating to young adults like ourselves the importance of keeping our great way of life productive and sustainable. We’re excited to represent our county and state at the national level.” 

The contestants are evaluated on a combination of their farming business management and financial growth, Farm Bureau leadership and other industry leadership. More specifically, the judges look for excellence in management, growth and scope of the enterprise and self-initiative that are displayed throughout the business.

The Holmgren family has been farming and ranching in the Bear River Valley for six generations. Riggin has worked to diversify the family’s farming business, recently completing his fifth year of growing onions. Laura graduated from Utah State University in 2016 with a degree in agriculture and now works for USU Extension. 

(Pictured above, from left to right: Riggin & Laura Holmgren, Jake Israelsen & Lance Zollinger from Cache Valley Bank, and Ron Gibson, President of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation)

The Holmgrens, representing the South Box Elder County Farm Bureau, competed with three other finalists from around the state for the award. They received a 2019 John Deere Gator ATV courtesy of Cache Valley Bank and Stotz Equipment, an insurance policy for the ATV from Farm Bureau Financial Services, and an expense-paid trip in January to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting in Austin, Texas.

“We feel fortunate to live in this great part of our state and to interact with many great farmers and ranchers and look forward to learning from others across the country,” said Riggin Holmgren. 

Riggin and Laura will compete at the American Farm Bureau annual convention against Achievement Award winners from across the nation. In 2020, the national winner of the Achievement Award will receive a new 2020 Ford vehicle (up to a value of $35,000) and paid registration to the AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky courtesy of Ford. The runner-up will receive a Case IH Farmall 50A tractor, third place finalists will receive a Case IH 40” Combination Roll Cabinet & Top Chest and a $500 parts card, as well as $2,200 of Stanley Black & Decker merchandise, and Fourth Place receives a Case IH 40” Combination Roll Cabinet & Top Chest and a $500 parts card.