board members need to have this appreciation and awareness of Farm Bureau to effectively work together." Summary for objective two From the qualitative interviews with the state leaders of Florida Farm Bureau four theme areas emerged. These theme areas were leadership, political process, effective boards, and knowledge of Farm Bureau. From these interviews, competencies were derived and placed into the theme area they represented. These competencies were then used in the county board member survey instrument. Objective Three Measure the Extent to Which County Farm Bureau Members Practice the Leadership Expectations Held by State Farm Bureau Leaders and the Level of Importance They Assign to Those Skills A random sample of 280 county board members out of a total of 666 county Farm Bureau board members of the Florida Farm Bureau was sent a researcher-designed questionnaire (Appendix D), which reflected the competencies that were deemed important by the qualitative interviews of the state leadership of the FFBF. The competencies were divided into four sections: leadership, political process, effective boards, and knowledge of Farm Bureau. This instrument was developed using the Borich needs assessment model, which assessed the respondents' perceptions about the importance of each item or competency and their proficiency (or ability) to apply this skill or knowledge. By analyzing the perceived importance and proficiency about a particular topic, individuals will learn the actual need for further education or programming efforts (Waters & Haskell, 1989). A Likert-type scale from one to seven was located on the side of each competency, on the left survey participants were asked to rank how important they