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CONTACT INFORMATION:STATE FARM BUREAU PRESIDENT FIRST VICE PRESIDENT SECOND VICE PRESIDENT NEW CASTLE COUNTY PRESIDENT KENT COUNTY PRESIDENT SUSSEX COUNTY PRESIDENT STAFF ADMINISTRATOR SECRETARY/TREASURER BENEFITS COORDINATOR PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT SPECIALIST
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President: L. Edward Jestice, Jr.- L. Edward “Ed” Jestice, Jr. was elected President of the Delaware State Farm Bureau on November 27, 2006. He has been in a leadership position within the state organization since 1994, moving from Sussex County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, to Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee chairman, to Sussex County Farm Bureau Vice President, to State Farm Bureau Second Vice President, to President. His family has 12 commercial poultry houses in production and 1,000 acres growing corn, soybeans, wheat and barley. He created Chickberry Farm for agri-tourism, earning statewide recognition. He and his wife, Robin, have two children: Chris and Melinda. The family is very active in the community with church, the local school board, and other agricultural organizations.
First Vice: President Bruce R. Walton- Bruce Walton was an owner, operator, and partner of Fifer Farms for 30 years before retirement. He and his wife, Patricia, are very involved in Delaware Farm Bureau and in the community. He has been on several state committees for the advancement of agriculture, along with being involved with the local school board, the NRA, and his local Baptist church. He was the Deputy Principal Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture for Delaware from 1998 to 2005. After serving as the Kent County Farm Bureau President for several years he became the State’s First Vice President in 2007. He also had a very admirable career in the military.
Second Vice President: James Mitchell- The Mitchell family has owned the farm where James and his wife, Janet, currently reside for over 200 years. James is the seventh generation to operate the farm. His parents, Joe and Kathy, and his sister, Debbie, all also assist him with the farm labor. His wife, Janet, is a small animal veterinarian. He and Janet started the Woodside Farm Creamery is 1998. They sell ice cream and fudge products made from the dairy from their own Jersey dairy herd. They also have installed solar panels for greener energy to run the creamery. Their main field crop is hay for the dairy herd.
New Castle County Vice President: Gary C. Warren- Gary Warren is a fourth generation farmer. He and his wife, Gale, presently own and operate Delawarren Farms, where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat, timothy and grass hay. He also bales straw to sell for soil erosion control. He previously operated a dairy farm. Gary is a full-time farmer. His wife and oldest daughter, Misty, pitch in when needed. His youngest daughter, Molly, helps with hay and straw during baling season. He began his county presidency in November of 2006, and has been involved with several task forces and committees dealing with agricultural issues within the state.
Kent County President: Ted Bobola, Jr.- Within three years of joining Delaware Farm Bureau, Ted “Teddy” Bobola, Jr. became a Kent County Director and participated in the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. He and Maria, his wife, attended the Leadership Conferences for the next few years. In 1990, he received the YF&R Achievement Award. He competed at the National Conference which was held in Phoenix, AZ. In 1991, he became the State Director for Delaware Farm Bureau. In 1992, he was elected State Chair of the YF&R Committee. His service as the State’s First Vice President began in 1998 and lasted eight years. Upon completion of his term, he was elected Kent County President and has served as such ever since. His family, including his wife, Maria, his two sons, Teddy and Andrew, and himself, now tills around 1,100 acres. They run greenhouses, a 88,000 broiler operation, and the family florist shop.
Sussex County President: Guy E. Phillips- As a young man, Guy Phillips moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware in 1965, but returned each summer to help his grandfather with the farm. During high school and college, he helped local farmers part-time. He graduated from college in 1975 and taught Ag Education for a year. He then moved back to Sussex County to farm part-time, until 1995, when he started farming full-time. His wife, Nancy, and his son, Dale, also help him with the farming operation. He now farms his own land, his in-laws’ land, and he also rents several other farms, as well as operating two poultry houses. He has also been involved in several task forces and committees at the state level.
State Women’s Committee Chairwoman: Barbara Sapp- Barbara Sapp grew up on a poultry farm, later moving to a dairy farm. The dairy farm later converted to a grain and vegetable operation. Her family, including her husband, Richard, Richard Jr., Michele, Richard III, herself, two full-time employees and a handful of seasonal employees now run the family operation. She has been a member of Farm Bureau since 1964-65 and was involved in Young Farmers and Ranchers. She held the Sussex County Women’s Chair and served on the County and State Boards for six years. She then took over the State Women’s Chair, remaining on the State and County Boards until her transition to Executive Committee for two years.
Committee Chairman: Dale Phillips- Dale Phillips, son of Guy Phillips, is currently the State Young Farmers and Ranchers Chairman. In 2007 he began his leadership involvement in the YF&R committee at the county level in Sussex. In 2005, he was the Sussex County Farm Bureau Director. That year, he also joined forces with his father to farm their own land, his grandparents’ land, the farms they rent, and the two poultry houses they run.