March 29, 2019
TIFTON— Kylie Bruce, a sophomore at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, received the top prize at the recent American Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Collegiate Discussion Meet in Milwaukee, Wis.
Bruce competed against 34 other students and came home with first place honors and a $3,000 scholarship from event sponsor CHS Foundation. An agricultural education and poultry science major from Franklin County, Bruce will receive her associate of science degree from ABAC on May 9.
The Collegiate Discussion Meet is designed to replicate a committee meeting where each participant is expected to have an active discussion on a variety of agricultural topics. Participants are judged on their ability to exchange ideas and information on the topic and find answers or solutions related to it.
“I was in the final four with two grad students and a current agriculture educator, so as a second-year undergrad student, I honestly wasn’t expecting to win,” Bruce said. “I just knew that if I gave it my all and left it all on the table, I would have no regrets.”
In July, Bruce was the top collegiate finisher among the Discussion Meet contestants at the 2018 Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference on Jekyll Island. Upon winning the GFB Collegiate Discussion Meet, she earned a trip to the 2019 American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Conference to compete in the Collegiate Discussion Meet.
“I could not believe it when they called my name,” Bruce said. “It was super exciting, but I could not have done it without the support of many, including our State Young Farmers and Ranchers director and the state committee. I pride myself in the fact that I could go to the National YF&R Conference and boast that ABAC was the only school in my state with a Collegiate YF&R program.”
The Young Farmers and Ranchers group strives to help younger Farm Bureau members learn more about agriculture, network with other farmers and realize their full potential as leaders in agriculture and Farm Bureau.
###