Volusia Students Invited to Enter Farm Bureau Youth Speech Contest

Volusia County students ages 11 to 18 will have the opportunity to speak on the state of Florida’s agriculture in an upcoming speech contest later this month. The Volusia County Farm Bureau is hosting the Farm Bureau Youth Speech Contest on Monday, April 28th in DeLand. According to a release from the Farm Bureau, the contest will be open to two age divisions. The topic of speech entries is “What obstacles threaten Florida agriculture’s economic viability, and how do we address them?”. Those who enter will have the chance to give their speech before members of the Volusia County Farm Bureau’s board of directors plus other guests when the event takes place later this month. The two age divisions are intermediate students (ages 11 to 13) and senior students (ages 14 to 18). The intermediate students will win $200 for first place, $150 for second, and $100 for third. The senior student prizes will be $300, $250 and $200 respectively. Entrants don’t have to pay to enter, can be either public school or homeschooled, and do not need membership in the Farm Bureau. “Winners are selected based on speech content, how well the student demonstrates knowledge of the topic, accuracy of information, effective delivery, clarity and expression,” the announcement stated. In addition to the cash prizes, the first place winners in each division will have the opportunity to compete in the district competition, with winners from that level moving on to the state championship at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in October. The contest takes place on Monday, April 28th at 6:00 pm. It will be located at the Volusia County UF/IFAS Extension and Agricultural Center (3100 E. New York Ave, DeLand, FL 32724). Those seeking more information are encouraged to contact Amanda Tyler by calling (386) 734-1612 or by emailing amanda.tyler@ffbf.org.