AFBF presented its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, to Sen. Orrin Hatch, and the Farm Bureau Founders Award to Dick Newpher during AFBF’s 100th Annual Convention in New Orleans on Sunday. 

AFBF established the Distinguished Service Award in 1928 to honor individuals who have devoted their careers to serving the national interest of American agriculture. The Farm Bureau Founders Award was established in January 2017 to recognize exemplary leadership, service or contributions to Farm Bureau by officers or employees of AFBF and state Farm Bureau organizations. 

Hatch is a longtime advocate in Congress for farmers and ranchers. His commitment to preserving public lands, cutting taxes, creating jobs and strengthening the economy has helped foster more prosperous rural communities across the country. 

Newpher, a Pennsylvania native, has long served as a Farm Bureau leader at the state and national levels. Starting out at Pennsylvania Farm Bureau as a field representative for Clearfield, his home county, he went on to serve as AFBF executive director of public policy and then executive vice president and treasurer of the organization and its affiliated companies.