Several Oklahoma youth recently competed for $9,500 in savings bonds and scholarships during the 12th Annual Young Farmers and Ranchers Speech Contest, sponsored by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. The contest was held March 12 at the OSU-OKC campus in Oklahoma City.
The YF&R Speech Contest was broken up into three age divisions: Junior, nine-12 years old; Intermediate, 13-15 years old; and Senior, 16-18 years old. The youth gave speeches in three division categories, including Agricultural Production, Agriculture Policy and Environment & Natural Resources. Speeches for the Junior Division were three to five minutes in length; five to eight minutes for the Intermediate and Senior divisions.
Participants of both contests were judged on speech presentation, content, response to questions and general poise and appearance.
Farm Bureau presented plaques to the winners of each category in each age group.
Junior Division:
First, second and third place winners of each category of the Junior Division received $400, $200 and $100 savings bonds, respectively.
Winners in the Agriculture Production category were: First place, Tyler Schnaithman of Garber; second place, Landon Ferda of Medford; and third place, Levi Shelby of Madill.
Winners in the Agriculture Policy category were: First place, Reed Allen of Albert; and second place, Bridget Roush of Yukon.
Winners in the Environment & Natural Resources category were: First place, Katelyn Garvie of Burlington; second place, Bolton Ferda of Medford; and third place, Lane Newlin of Cherokee.
Intermediate Division:
First, second and third place winners of the Intermediate Division received $500, $200 and $100 savings bonds, respectively.
Winners in the Agriculture Production category were: First place, Nikki Schuth of Colbert; second place, Carissa Neufeld of Fairview; and third place, Cody McPherson of Drummond.
Winners in the Agriculture Policy category were: First place, Katie Osborn of Tuttle; second place, Hartly Carlisle of Laverne; and third place, Layne Meriwether of Waynoka.
Winners in the Environment & Natural Resources category were: First place, Taylor Tucker of Calera; second place, Tyler Price of Laverne; and third place, Tanner Alread of Union City.
Senior Division:
First, second and third place winners of the Senior Division received $1,000, $500 and $200 scholarships, respectively.
Winners in the Agriculture Production category were: First place, Randie Davidson of Verden; second place, Chloe Huitt of Elgin; and third place, Destin Shaw of Talihina.
Winners in the Agriculture Policy category were: First place, Mason Jones of Durant; second place, Clarissa Craige of Bokchito; and third place, Sarah Fry of Omega.
Winners in the Environment & Natural Resources category were: First place, Carly Schnaithman of Garber; second place, Kayla Wilson of Tuttle; and third place, Ashley Willis of Kingfisher.
