Manchester’s Joe Packard is new County Farm Bureau President

Joe Packard, of Manchester, is Washtenaw County’s new Farm Bureau President. He succeeds Grant Reiff, also of Manchester.

submitted by Kathleen Siler, Washtenaw County Farm Bureau

During its September meeting, the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau board of directors elected Joe Packard as county president. Packard succeeds Grant Reiff, who stepped down from the board in September.

Joe was born in Midland, Michigan where both of his parents worked for Dow Chemical. When he was nine years old his folks moved him and his younger sister to a suburb of Rochester, New York. He graduated from high school in 2007 as a member of the National Honor Society, high school honor roll, and captain of the varsity swimming, soccer, and lacrosse teams. Joe continued his swimming career, competitively, while pursing a degree at Michigan State University with dreams he had since he was six years old of becoming a small animal veterinarian. Joe pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science. During his junior year, Joe realized that while he still wanted to work with animals; he was becoming less thrilled with the idea of spending an additional four years in vet school. Then, in 2012, with no idea as to which area of animal expertise he wanted to pursue, Joe took a study abroad trip to the Netherlands, focusing on dairy stewardship. Among his fellow students on that trip, he met a beautiful woman from a dairy farm in the Manchester area who loved talking about her passion for animal agriculture. Joe had no previous knowledge or background in agriculture, so the stories and experiences she shared captivated him. It was this woman’s passion for Agriculture promotion that sparked Joe’s realization that he somehow belonged in production agriculture. Four years later, in 2016, in the shadow of Beaumont Tower on MSU’s campus, Joe proposed to Katelyn Horning, the young woman who captured his heart in the Netherlands. They have been happily married and promoting Agriculture together for the past two and a half years.

Joe works for a dairy cooperative, where he services approximately 100 farms across southeastern Michigan, northeastern Indiana, and northwestern Ohio as a membership representative and milking systems specialist. He performs on-farm inspections to help milk producers maintain Grade A compliance, as well as troubleshooting milking systems to ensure that equipment is functioning, cleaning, and sanitizing properly. When his professional work allows, Joe enjoys assisting with farming activities on Katelyn’s family’s centennial dairy farm.

A member of Farm Bureau for just three years, Joe is already heavily involved at both the county and state level. He has served on the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau Board of Directors for two years. He is also a member of the county Grant Writing and Awards Committee. At the state level, Joe is a member of the Grant Review Committee, and was recently appointed as one of two State Young Farmer Committee members serving District 3 that includes Wayne, Washtenaw, Monroe, Livingston and Oakland countries. For the past three years, Joe has competed in the district and state Young Farmer discussion meet that addresses issues affecting farmers and Agriculture. He was selected as a sweet sixteen finalist his first year competing at the state level, and advanced to the final round this past year. He looks forward to continued success in this year’s state discussion meet.

Joe is deeply honored to be elected to the position of Washtenaw County Farm Bureau President, and vows to be a servant of the organization’s dedicated and hard-working members in Washtenaw County. He can always be reached through the county Farm Bureau office at 734-429-1420.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.