BY REBECCA FRENCH SMITH

When you’re young, birthdays are for presents, but as you get older, they become more about reflection. Even so, there are always aspects to get excited about. Celebrating its 100th birthday this month, Missouri Farm Bureau (MFB) has much on which to reflect but even more to look forward to with great anticipation.

A century is a significant milestone for a company given most fall by the wayside in considerably less time. In fact, over the last five decades, the longevity of an S&P 500 company has dwindled from an average of 60 years to about 18, according to the Harvard Business Review. MFB has endured.

On March 24, 1915, 10 Missouri county Farm Bureaus, among the first in the nation, met and organized the very first state Farm Bureau in the country. Since it began, MFB has addressed important issues of the day. From supporting funding for badly needed road improvements in the early 1920s to the passage of Constitutional Amendment #1 last year, MFB keeps a watchful eye on issues that affect members and takes action to effect positive change.

We have garnered electricity for rural residents, lobbied for the building of rural hospitals, advocated for property tax reform and voter-approved tax increases, stood up for landowners in a variety of eminent domain and property rights issues and more. In 2015, we’re telling the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers “That’s enough!” They need to abandon the proposed “Waters of the U.S.” rule.

Whew! We’ve been busy!

Endurance, however, is not complicated nor is it chaotic as the long list of issues and benefits we’ve targeted might suggest. It’s actually pretty simple: Stay focused on what’s important and adapt to change. What has been important to MFB for the last century is our members, farmers and rural Missourians. That focus has guided MFB and kept it strong. That focus has benefitted Missourians beyond the farm, and it continues to inspire members to tackle new issues and changes that arise with ingenuity and integrity.

Suffice it to say, we’re just getting started. It hasn’t always been easy, but as any farmer would tell you, it’s always been worth it. Here’s to the next chapter in our story.

Rebecca French Smith, of Columbia, Mo., is a multimedia specialist for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.