Agriculture’s future is bright, and college students took advantage of opportunities to discuss its future during Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) annual Collegiate Discussion Meet.
Dylan Bacon of Texas A&M University-Commerce was named the winner of this year’s event.
Bacon and eight other college students from across the Lone Star State gathered in Waco at TFB’s state headquarters on Saturday, April 16.
“The Collegiate Discussion Meet is the presentation of innovative ideas on agricultural-related topics,” said Coleburn Davis, director of Organization Programs at TFB and the contest organizer. “The students discussed possibilities and shared ideas on the selected topics.”
Those topics ranged from natural resources to tax policies and food labels to agricultural data.
The event encourages problem-solving through cooperative discussion among young farmers and ranchers, Davis said.
The finalists held a 25-minute conversation on farmers driving the management of natural resources and were scored based on their speaking skills, effective problem-solving and cooperative communication with other contestants.
The finalists were Terren Moore, Tarleton State University; Lindsey Schmalriede, Texas A&M University; and Emilee Peterson, Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Others who participated included Sidney Bustamante, Tristen Carnley, Wylie Haile and Ross Vinson, all from Tarleton State University, and Austin Harrison from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
The contest winner took home a $1,500 cash prize and an expense-paid trip to represent Texas in the American Farm Bureau Collegiate Discussion Meet contest in February 2017. A $500 donation will also be made to the scholarship fund at the winner’s university.
The three runners-up each received a $500 cash award.