The Discussion Meet is a competition promoted by the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation (KFBF) Young Farmer Committee. Farm Bureau’s strength depends on its members’ abilities to analyze agricultural issues and decide on solutions that best meet their needs. The competition is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each committee member. Participants build basic discussion skills, develop a keen understanding of important agricultural issues and explore how groups can pool knowledge to reach consensus and solve problems. A successful participant is a productive thinker rather than an emotional persuader. He/she will assist the group in creating ways to implement the solutions discussed and highlight Farm Bureau’s involvement in those actions/steps.
Information about the Discussion Meet participant is requested on the entry form. All information is handled in strict confidence and is destroyed after judging is completed.
Eligibility
- Participant shall be a Farm Bureau member between the ages of 18 and 35 in good standing with his/her county Farm Bureau. The individual or spouse shall have reached his/her 18th birthday at the time he/she qualifies for the national competition and shall not have reached his/her 36th birthday by January 31, 2026.
- Participant must be actively engaged in agriculture.
- Participant may only compete in one KFBF YF Competition per year.
- Present members of the KFBF Young Farmer Committee and/or their spouse are not eligible to compete.
- Past and present members of the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and/or their spouse are not eligible to compete.
- Previous KFBF Discussion Meet winners are not eligible to compete.
- Current employees or agents of county, state and/or the American Farm Bureau organizations and their affiliates are not eligible to compete. An affiliate is defined as an entity owned or controlled in whole or in part by another entity through, for example, ownership (including partial ownership) or positions on the board of directors.
- Professional speakers are not eligible to compete. Professional speakers are those who have received a fee, royalty, or honorarium for speaking (i.e. paid speaking appearances or speaking engagements) within 24 months prior to this annual competition. This excludes reimbursement for travel or expenses attendant to the appearance.
- Each county may submit one entry to be considered for recognition and must use the KFBF entry form.
Note: Disregarding any of the guidelines listed above will result in disqualification.
Competition
- The participants will discuss pre-selected topics using four bases for the general discussion: cooperation, constructive criticism, problem solving and communication.
- The competition will consist of four rounds: two opening rounds, Sweet 16 and Final Four.
- All competitors will compete in the first two rounds. The top 16 competitors based on judges’ scores will move on to the Sweet 16 round.
- The top competitor in each of the third-round rooms will move on to the Final Four round in order to determine the winner.
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Each round will begin with a 30-second opening statement and end with a one-minute closing statement by each participant.
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During the Opening Rounds, Sweet 16, and Final Four rounds participants will have 25 minutes of open discussion, followed by one minute of quiet time.
Deadline
The entry form must be submitted on or before 11:59 PM ET May 9, 2025. The entry form must be completed in this format to be considered. Written entry forms will not be accepted.