By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Several Texans will compete in the 2024 American Farm Bureau Convention set for Jan. 19-24 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Cassidy and Hailey Hayes of Calhoun County
The Calhoun County couple will represent Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) in the Achievement Award competition. This contest recognizes the accomplishments of young agricultural leaders between 18 and 35 who actively earn a living from farming or ranching.

Cassidy and Hailey grow corn, cotton and soybeans in Calhoun and Victoria counties. They also raise show pigs and have a small cattle herd.

In addition to farming and ranching, Cassidy is also a corn seed dealer and judges livestock shows across the nation. Hailey is the Agriculture and Natural Resources AgriLife Extension Agent in Calhoun County.

Cassidy serves as the Calhoun County Farm Bureau president. Hailey was a member of TFB’s AgLead XV and now serves on the Young Farmer & Rancher (YF&R) Advisory Committee. The couple are both involved in state YF&R events and county activities.

Cody Berry of Angelina County
Berry is the TFB representative in the Excellence in Agriculture competition. This contest is designed for young farmers and ranchers ages 18 to 35 who are involved in agriculture but do not earn their primary income from a farm or ranch enterprise.

As a high school agricultural science teacher and FFA advisor at Hudson ISD, Berry helps students learn through hands-on activities in the shop and various projects. He teaches agricultural mechanics, advanced welding and agricultural equipment and design.

He is an active Angelina County Farm Bureau board member and serves as the YF&R chair and on several committees. Berry previously represented District 9 on TFB’s YF&R Advisory Committee.

Berry and his wife, Madisyn, own land in Angelina County where they recently harvested their first timber crop.

Kaleb McLaurin of Madison County
McLaurin will represent TFB in the Young Farmer & Rancher Discussion Meet. Through this contest, McLaurin will discuss agricultural issues facing farmers and ranchers across the nation and potential solutions to those problems.

McLaurin is the senior manager of Industry Relations for the Texas Beef Council. In this role, he leads industry relations and collections/compliance efforts across the state.

River McTasney, Smooth Ag Solutions
Smooth Ag Solutions, founded by River McTasney, placed in the top 10 semi-finalists of the 2024 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. The agricultural technology startup creates automated pasture management and livestock monitoring solutions.

The company’s autonomous cattle feeder, the V1 Ranch Rover, helped the young entrepreneur place in the top 10 of the national contest. The autonomous feeder was designed to help with decreased labor availability and allow ranchers to be more efficient and data driven.

The robot is powered by an internal combustion engine and equipped with a trip hopper that can hold up to one ton of feed. The Ranch Rover runs off real-time kinematic positioning, allowing the rancher to build geo-fence parameters and set feed times through the GPS.

American Farm Bureau Convention information
For more information about the American Farm Bureau Convention, visit annualconvention.fb.org.