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New York Farm Bureau News Bytes
#1: Interview with Christain Lewis on Young Farmers and Ranchers - 1/28/2026
00:21:53
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- [00:12]
Interviewer
Welcome. We're here with Christian Lewis of Angelica, New York. Christian serves as the Allegheny County Young Farmers and Ranchers Chair. So maybe you could tell us a little bit about that.
- [00:22]
Christian Lewis
Yeah. Good morning. So my name is Christian Lewis. I grew up here in Allegheny County. I was involved in 4H my entire life. And a lot of the individuals who are on the Cornell Cooperative Extension Board and involved in ag businesses in the county knew me from that. So about 10 years ago, I was voluntold to be at a county annual meeting dinner. I showed up when I walked in the door, Nora Carnes, wonderful lady, she walked up to me and she says, great to see you here. Do you have your speech ready? And I was like, are you joking? Don't have a speech? So I went up and just talked about who I was and how I'd been involved in the ag industry up until that time and was voted in and filled for 10 years now I've been the young farmer rancher chairperson. And I just got involved with this on the state committee as District 1 representative about two years ago. I believe this is my second term. So it's been an interesting couple of years.
- [01:15]
Interviewer
Okay, so you just like, flew right in the door. So tell us about life here at Blue Ruin Ranch.
- [01:22]
Christian Lewis
So the farm, we're situated along the Genesee river here in Allegheny County. The farm was bought by Daniel Webster Chamberlain in 1912. He was. The home farmstead is a couple acres up the road from here. And it was passed down through a couple generations. Rollo Chamberlain, Daniel's son, bought the acres that we use for rotational grazing in 1927 or 1947. Sorry. And then from there it's been passed down and worked on to its current owner, which is Mr. Robert Chamberlain. He's taken on the. The big task of mentoring me in a lot of this beef farming and ranching. We currently run about 160, 165head of Red Devon cattle. We, we are 100% grass fed. There haven't been any chemicals in the property in a few years. So we try to be as natural as we can. We've got a little under 600 acres here. 200 to 300 of it is completely rotationally grazed. So we have a rotational grazing system that was put in and we use some soil and water contributions to do that. And we throughout the summer, every couple of days, depending on how the grass is doing and the weather and conditions. You know, most farmers look at those things. We rotate the cattle, then we raise them up. It's a cow calf operation. So we have a standing herd that's about 120 cows and they calve in the spring. We shoot to calve around the end of March, beginning of April. We have like a month long calving window and then we raise those calves up to be 3, 4, 500 pound weights. And then from there we either send to other individuals who are grass fed. Lately the big push for us has been that there are individuals who have direct consumer beef. And let's say they have orders for 30, 30 steers a year. Well, their operation, because of limitations, space or whatever it may be, they can only raise 20 or so head of steers that year. So they come to us knowing that we are pretty natural as can be and we have a good starting base for them to continue on with their customers. So they'll buy 10 or so head from us to help fill out their orders. And then occasionally we'll sell. We'll sell a couple head to individuals across the U.S. we've shipped some as far as Vermont, Michigan, all over Pennsylvania and wherever else may be. And we keep on hand. We have three registered Devon bulls. So we try to keep the red Devon line continuing. They're a good cow for us. They're a medium sized cow that does well on grass. We don't have a lot of input. Everything here we have. We feed baleage, hay, haylage. We do have some molasses being thrown in there as a natural supplement for them, but they calve easy. I'm not spending all my time out in the weather dealing with them. They maintain their condition really well in this type of weather. This area where they're from is pretty similar to this climate here. So they're good cattle for us. But yeah, we hope that in the next couple years we can expand the herd and keep going from there. Great.
- [04:17]
Interviewer
You mentioned soil and water. I know you're also involved in the Soil and Water Conservation District. So what do you do for them?
- [04:23]
Christian Lewis
So I am the, I'm the Farm Bureau representative. So my job being involved on the, the county Soil and Water board is that I'm the voice for our farmers in those instances. So if we have individuals come through that, that would like to apply for funding or community match grants, something like that, A lot of the cases, some of our Farm Bureau members aren't aware that there's this funding available. So one of my jobs as a young farmer and the young farm ranch representative is to help connect the dots. So me being on that board allows me one not to know who they can talk to. But to know, kind of have an idea of what programs they might, might need to keep on their radar so I can pass that information along to them. Great.
- [05:06]
Interviewer
Speaking of being a member, I know you've been a Farm Bureau member for about 10 years now. So what does that mean to you to be a member of Farm Bureau?
- [05:14]
Christian Lewis
So I really, I'll be honest, I really didn't know what Farm Bureau was when I joined. I was just again voluntold to be on it, which I'm glad that I was after being involved in it for a couple years. What I've learned is that it's not a big push they have is the membership benefits. And there are a multitude of membership benefits and they apply to anyone. They apply to a lot of big time farms, but they also. Farm Bureau hasn't missed the small farmers. A lot of the benefits they have applied to our small farmers. But the other thing that happens is there's a lot of leadership opportunities. I had the chance to go speak in front of the Senate Ag Committee this year, which I would have never had the chance to do without Farm Bureau. They also have quite a few conferences and opportunities. I've been to Pennsylvania. I've had the opportunity to go to Ohio this past year and view their Farm Bureau programs. We also hold our own conference which we'll be holding in Syracuse in March. And that's a leadership conference as well as a conference to network and bring individuals together and hopefully help the next generation of farmers.
- [06:14]
Interviewer
Networking is what I was going to ask about next. So networking on both a local level and a state level, correct?
- [06:19]
Christian Lewis
Yeah. Yeah. So there are not many instances in which I'm 30 now, but when I joined I was 20 years old. And it's kind of daunting to go into a room with county legislators and other individuals and even higher ups when it comes to politicians. And Farm Bureau helps to bridge that gap. They also me being involved in the, the beef industry, I don't have a whole lot of experience with dairy. Granted, as a kid in western New York I milk cows and I was in high school, but that's about it. I was doing the grunt work. I wasn't behind the scenes. So Farm Bureau allows me to get a broader view of what individuals across the industry are dealing with. Not just, not just a select, a select group that I'm in, but I can help hopefully do justice and speak for the collective, not just the individuals that are in my industry.
- [07:09]
Interviewer
Right. And there's always the exchange of ideas that happens at these types of Meetings.
- [07:12]
Christian Lewis
Too, all kinds of stuff. If you go to a conference in Pennsylvania, I mean, they have like, they have the young ag professionals, so they. They have a bunch of individuals who are involved. But that's a different idea. That's. That that's been passed through New York State, and there's just all kinds of different ag ideas that you wouldn't think of that someone might do 300 miles away, but you wouldn't hear about unless you're talking with them face to face right now.
- [07:35]
Interviewer
I told you were instrumental in getting the Farm Bureau chapter set up at Alfred State College. Tell us how that happened.
- [07:41]
Christian Lewis
Well, instrumental is a fun word. So again, I was involved in 4H for years, and a lot of the professors who are teaching over there had known me through 4H. And one of the conversations that was had was one day I was helping to judge a. I think it was a collegiate showmanship. Over at Alfred State. We had a conversation about they don't have a collegiate FFA anymore. And they were like, well, we really have to do something. There's got to be another ag program. And I was like, oh, Farm Bureau has a collegiate Farm Bureau. We should really sit down and talk about that. So I really. I was just making phone calls back and forth and sending emails. It wasn't a whole lot of boots on the ground work. I've been to a couple meetings. Pat Elsheman is the advisor for the Collegiate Farm Bureau over there at Alfred State, and she's done a wonderful job. I believe they have close to 20 some something attendees coming to our conference in Syracuse, and she's constantly welcoming new members. They had individuals. This is the first time in quite a few years that we've had an individual compete for the discussion, meet for the YFR competitions at the collegiate level. And they sent an individual from Alfred State to compete this year. She placed second, did wonderful. So we're hoping to see the program expand, and I'd love to see it in some other different schools in the area. Great.
- [08:53]
Interviewer
You also mentioned earlier that you testified in front of the New York Assembly Ag Committee, which was last fall.
- [08:58]
Christian Lewis
Yup.
- [08:59]
Interviewer
I understand that was a hearing on emerging fall farmers. What was that all about?
- [09:02]
Christian Lewis
So Rich called me. And I had a feeling when Rich called me, I was thinking, you know, there's something up with this. He's gonna ring me into something. So Rich called and he explained. He said, look, Christian, there's a chance for us to go speak in front of these individuals. Would you be interested? And I said, rich, if you want Me to Buddy. I'd be more than happy to. So we went up, and Farm Bill was great explaining what we were going into, because I was. At first, I was kind of flying blind. And then Renee, she reached out and she said, look, this is what we're doing. These are a few of the talking points you could hit. But we want your own testimony. We want to know how these programs have affected you. What does ag mean to you? And we were the only individuals. They had a lot of people that were there to testify. But I really think that in listening to other individuals and their testimony, that myself, Rich demeyere and Quaid Kirk were the only ones who were boots on the ground dealing with cow shit every day. And so it meant something different to the individuals who are in front of us, I think, to hear from people who are trying to get in the industry. And it meant a lot that Farm Bureau could help bridge that gap, because, again, I wouldn't have never had the opportunity to do that without Farm Bureau. The main goal of it was they just wanted to see where ag in New York State is going. I mean, the average age of the farmer now is 57 years old. The average age of a Rancher across the US is 62, I believe. So the industry. We don't want to see this industry die because you have 2% of the nation feeding the other 98%. I mean, if farmers go out, everyone else does too. So there are a multitude of funding opportunities available. And they were looking to see. Looking to listen and see how they can help individuals gain that funding, what other things they could offer. And it was. It was a good opportunity. I'm more than happy. I was happy I was able to do it and be more than happy to do it again one day, hopefully.
- [10:50]
Interviewer
And it sounds like it's easier than you might have. You know, testifying might sound a little.
- [10:54]
Christian Lewis
Daunting at first, but, yeah, it was. And I'm a very. I'm a very straightforward individual. I like to think that was. When Rich called me and asked about it, I was like, rich, are you sure? But they were easy to talk to. It wasn't as terrifying. It's. You have this idea that they're up in front of you, and it's just interesting to talk to them. It can be a little. Little scary at times, but once you get in there and you. You talk with passion and focus, and you're cool, calm, and collected when having conversation with them, it's just like having conversation right now. I mean, they're there to Listen, they really do care and they're trying to do the best for individuals across the state because again, without us, no one else is keeping going.
- [11:33]
Interviewer
I mean, we say this about our farm tours too, at Farm Bureau, that legislators do need to hear from real farmers to understand what it is they're talking about when they're passing all of these bills. So that's great. I understand you have quite a TikTok following and you got some great feedback after that.
- [11:48]
Christian Lewis
I did, I did. So I made, I've got, I don't know, 70,000 something followers on TikTok, and I just posted one of the videos and it was cool because the usual group of individuals who would comment on things wasn't. It was individuals involved in the ag industry across the state. And I'm a member of the U.S. cattlemen's Association. I try to help out with the bee producers when needed. And a lot of the people that were on there were happy to hear that there's individuals who are still fighting for them. Even, you know, we don't. When you think of New York State, you don't think of beef cattle. But when you have someone up there saying, look, we need more producers, we need more processors, we need more funding, it helps to spread the battle out and hopefully spread the wealth some so that, you know, we can see more things happen in New York State that are beneficial.
- [12:31]
Interviewer
Right, right. So back to young people in Farm Bureau. Why is it so important to engage young people, people in Farm Bureau?
- [12:40]
Christian Lewis
For the same reason it's important to engage young individuals for the same reason that you have individuals involved in any other organization. We want to see, one, the organization continue, two, the purpose of New York Farm Bureau is to serve and strengthen agriculture, not diminish it. And three, you can't continue this lifestyle without sharing the knowledge. So Farm Bureau really takes care of all those through the policy making, through the conversations they have with legislators and politicians, they can help the voice of the New York farmer be heard. And then when it comes to networking, a lot of the stuff, I mean, heck, I didn't even know Rob Chamberlain was a person. And then I met him on the farm billboard, and here it is 10 years later. He's mentoring me and helping me on the farm and helped me with a plethora of knowledge I really would never have gotten anywhere else. I didn't go to college for this stuff. So learning these things, learning these things in the lifestyle I'm living now is 100% thanks to farm Bureau.
- [13:38]
Interviewer
That's great to hear, but it's not always easy. And you had talked to me earlier about Farmer State of Mind, which is an American Farm Bureau program. Tell us about how you got involved with that.
- [13:48]
Christian Lewis
So I wouldn't say involved. This is difficult. Farming in general is difficult. The industry, hate to say the industry is pitted against us, but it is. And people don't understand what you go through. They don't understand the long hours. My normal, my 9 to 5 job in the summer is running heavy equipment. When I leave the jobs at 5, I'm done. I don't have to worry about it. I go back the next day and I just do what I have to do. When you come home, it doesn't matter like you have to. This morning before you guys got here, I was scrambling to get things around for this podcast. And instead of just feeding cows, I had to go take a piton down and break the creek open because it was frozen over. I think it's 7 degrees outside right now, so the creek is frozen. I've had to break ice in a couple different places. And it takes a lot. You wonder about your self worth. You wonder if you're doing well. It's not just yourself that you're dependent upon. I mean, there's 164 animals or 65 animals that if something happened to Mr. Chamberlain, you know, someone's got to keep feeding them. So there was a point in, there was a point where you begin to doubt your worth on things. And if you really should continue, if this is the path that you're supposed to do, it's heavy, it's difficult to do at times. You don't want to talk to individuals, you don't want to talk to your family because you're a farmer, you're a rancher, you're a strong person. You do all this. You hold that mentality up. So AFBF has created this thing called Farmer State of Mind, which is a program that it doesn't matter. I called at 2 in the morning. I was really in a dark place. And you can call at 2 in the morning and someone will answer the phone and talk to you. They talked about your struggles. And it's individuals who. It's not some person sitting in an office in New York City. It's someone who at some point in their life has had a connection ag so they understand you. They talk you through things, they get you connected with someone who can help. And I really wasn't aware that afbf, I really wasn't aware that it was a huge program. I just happened to See it one day, and we were at the stake on this year, and Zippy brought it up, and I was like, I gotta. I gotta speak on this. I gotta. I gotta talk a little bit. So every chance I can to say, Every chance I have, I can say that, you know, I've used the program. It's beneficial. I don't ever want to see one of my friends or fellow farmers or whatever go through difficult times. They're going to. It's gonna happen. But the fact that AFBF has made a program available to farmers at no cost, at no commitment, that they can just call and say, hey, I'm having a rough time makes a big difference. And it's one of the benefits of Farm Bureau.
- [16:28]
Interviewer
We did see Zippy talk about his own personal. Very difficult personal experiences.
- [16:33]
Christian Lewis
He's, as the president, American Farm Bureau Federation. He's called and used it before himself. He'd stay. So, you know, if he's willing to do it, I mean, it's. Anyone can do it.
- [16:41]
Interviewer
And we appreciate the fact that you're talking about. It's obviously not easy to talk about, but it's so important to know that it's okay to talk about it.
- [16:47]
Christian Lewis
Yeah. Yeah. It's rough when you're. When you're, you know, 20 to 30. When you're 20 to 30 years old, life is rough. It's difficult. You're figuring out who you are and what you're doing and what you stand for and your morals, your ethics, everything. And you've, you know, family and friends, they don't disappear, but they distance or they do different things in life and relationships and everything change. And then you add farming onto that. You know, it takes a collective of people to help you out in those situations. And it's wonderful that AFBF has that program available.
- [17:16]
Interviewer
That's great. So, given that this is a difficult field to get into and that it might be somewhat difficult to encourage young people to get involved in farming, how does YFNR train the next generation of leaders?
- [17:29]
Christian Lewis
Okay, so what I've learned is that, one, we're not just a society. We're not just a group of people. It's a family of individuals. Like, there's not a single person in my phone that I met through Farm Bureau that I couldn't call and say, hey, one, I'm having an issue with this, or two, I don't know how to do this. Can you help me through it? And if they don't know how to help me, they'll find someone who can help me. Do it. So they don't leave you hanging. They don't just go, oh, well, here, look at this YouTube video, or call this number or whatever they say, this is the person, this is the experience they've had. You know, we can help you out with that way. The other thing is that when it comes to conferences and whatever else may be, we try to find, when we're planning conferences, we try to find the knowledge that individuals need. So it's not, it's not. Nothing against the state office, but it's not the state office doing all the planning. I mean, they really. It's our committee that's responsible for planning these, because the state office has an idea of what we need, but we're the individuals that know what we need, what we want to do, where we want to go with things, what's going to help us. So young people who are involved in, who are just getting involved in the YF and R program, they're trying to figure out succession planning or funding or lifestyle stuff, they can come these conferences and talk to people who are doing it or have done it, who are figuring out themselves and go, okay, I can go talk to someone who's getting involved in the beef industry and go, you know, I have a problem. I want to transfer into regenerative agriculture. How do I do that? I go, wow, cool. I've, you know, we've, we're pretty well regenerative here. We do bale grazing and, and frost seeding and stuff. With what we have the cows right now, I mean, we can see them out the window here. We rolled out hay for them. They're pounding the, the hay into the ground. This gives them something to lay on. They're reseeding everything. They're getting native grasses apart. I wouldn't have that information if it wasn't involved in Farm Bureau, but I also wouldn't be able to pass along to someone else who's getting involved if it wasn't for Farm Bureau. So it connects a lot of individuals to the information that they're trying to find with real life people, not just something on a screen.
- [19:34]
Interviewer
So, speaking of connections, the next conference, which is coming right up, Break the mold, build the legacy. 3-21-22 in the Syracuse area. So I assume you'll be playing a large role in that.
- [19:47]
Christian Lewis
I don't know if it's a large role, but I mean, I'll be there. Emily Olms has done a wonderful job. She's. She's worked closely with Bailey in the state office about getting a lot of stuff scheduled. We have a bunch of different, a bunch of different things that we're doing, a couple different tours. We're touring the Fairlife facility. I believe it's the Anheuser Busch plant. We're having a casino night just for, just for a break the mold. We don't want to talk. We don't want everyone to just feel like they have to just talk ag. Like you go to some of these conferences and that's. You feel like it's shoved down your throat that you just have to talk Farming and cows and plows. We just want to meet and talk with you and see who you are and just, you know, get to know you. And then on top of that, we have a couple other like we have a couple panels when it comes to succession planning. We have a couple panels of just talking to some older farmers who have been involved in the industry and just picking their brain to see what they, what they know and what we don't know, what we can learn.
- [20:36]
Interviewer
Right. So this conference isn't people just talking at you. This conference is people.
- [20:40]
Christian Lewis
It's interactive. And we're going to pass the mic around the room and you can talk and ask your questions and walk up to any of us who are on the board and say, hey, you know, I don't want to ask this question. Will you ask? I'll be more than happy to ask a question. I've got no problem taking a mic and talking to people so I can tell.
- [20:56]
Interviewer
Well, registration is open, so sign up today. Go to nyfb.org events taking place March 21 to 22. Break the mold, Build the legacy. Christian, it was a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us today.
- [21:11]
Christian Lewis
Yeah, I appreciate it.
- [21:13]
Narrator
For generations, New York's farms have been the backbone of our state, feeding our families and fueling our economy. And for over 100 years, New York Farm Bureau has been the voice of agriculture, advocating for the hard working men and women who cultivate our land. You can be part of a powerful movement protecting our farms, supporting, supporting rural communities and growing a stronger New York. There's no better time to be a member. Join today@nyfb.org or call 1-800-342-4143 and press 0.