Mason County couple receives Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture Award.

Seth, right, and Lyndsay Earl with a representative from Michigan Cat.

Mason County couple receives Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture Award.

#MasonCountyAgriculture.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

GRAND RAPIDS — Seth and Lyndsay Earl of Hamlin Township were awarded the Michigan Farm Bureau’s Excellence in Agriculture Award Tuesday night during the organization’s annual state meeting at DeVos Place Convention Center. The award was part of the Farm Bureau’s young farmer leadership awards.

The husband-wife team were selected from five nominees from across the state. Seth, 32, is president of Mason County Farm Bureau, and winner of the 2016 State Young Farmer Discussion Meet, while Lyndsay 29, serves as young farmer chair of Mason County Farm Bureau.

Lyndsay grew up on her family’s farm, Stakenas Farms, in Free Soil Township while Seth grew up in southern Michigan, the son of an agricultural educator who also farmed. She works for the Michigan Milk Producers Association while he works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In their involvement in promoting agriculture in Mason County, they help organize Ludington Friday Night Live events, where farmers offer samples of local agricultural commodities and bring farm animals for children to pet.

The winner is this category receives: a Michigan CAT Skidsteer three-month lease; a $1,000 AgroLiquid gift certificate; and a trip to the 2017 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in Phoenix to compete in the national Young Farmers and Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Awards, sponsored by the Michigan Foundation for Agriculture.