By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist
High school students who are members of Texas 4-H or Texas FFA are eligible to participate in the 2023 Speak Out For Agriculture (SOFA) Challenge.
This is the third year for the contest, which is sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) and hosted by the Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo.
Students should be interested in agriculture, membership organization involvement or public policy.
“SOFA is different than any other contest offered to 4-H and FFA members as it combines stand-and-deliver and discussion formats into one contest. This allows students to use skills they have developed through other contests in a way that’s applicable to a real-world scenario,” McKenna Bush, TFB Youth Outreach coordinator, said.
The contest gives students an opportunity to develop problem-solving and communication skills, while also learning more about agriculture.
The challenge will help students stimulate logical thinking and foster a desire for accurate information, and it helps students network with their peers from across the state.
“The topics will challenge the students to think about issues facing agriculture and to develop solutions to those problems,” Bush said. “Plus, it’s an opportunity to receive feedback from industry representatives and learn how to incorporate those suggestions into their communication styles.”
The challenge includes an oral reasons style competition and a discussion meet style competition.
The first two rounds are the oral reasons competition where all participants will be asked a pre-selected question. Students will have time to prepare their response and deliver a 90-second answer to the judges.
Scores from rounds one and two will be used to determine the Sweet 16, which is a discussion meet style competition.
In the Sweet 16 round, contestants will participate in a discussion for 20 minutes on another topic. The final round will be a 25-minute discussion on one of the remaining topics.
The contestants are responsible for the exchange of ideas and information to solve the problem addressed in the topic and to develop action plans for the solution.
“It’s important to be able to effectively communicate with others in a variety of settings, including digital spaces and in-person. Through this event, students can strengthen their agricultural advocacy skills and learn how to be better communicators,” Bush said. “Students can also walk away with scholarship money as early as their freshman year in high school by participating in SOFA.”
The winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship, jacket and banner. The runner-up will receive a $1,500 scholarship, jacket and banner.
Two finalists will receive $750 scholarships and jackets, and the top 16 contestants will each receive a $125 gift card.
Former SOFA Challenge winners are not eligible to compete.
The contest will be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at the BASE at Extraco Events Center in Waco.
The discussion questions and topics, additional program details and a link to the online registration are available on texasfarmbureau.org/youth/youth-opportunities.
Contact youthactivities@txfb.org or call 254-399-5037 for questions about the contest.
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