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Members who are age 35 and younger are invited to participate in this year's Outstanding Young Farmer/Couple and Discussion Meet contests. State winners will win a trip to the AFBF annual meeting in Tampa, Fla., to compete in the National Young Farmer contests, as well as cash prizes and a chime clock.

Discussion Meet
OFBF Director of Young Leader Programs Darrell Rubel said if you have the ability to help others express ideas effectively, be a productive thinker, exchange ideas and information to solve a problem and involve others in conversation, then you are a Discussion Meet candidate. The meet is not a debate, but an exercise in group problem solving.

"It's not about who talks the most," Rubel said. "It's more about which person would make the best chair of a committee, advisory council discussion leader or president of a board," he said.

This year's semi-final discussion topic is "What is the future of energy options facing agriculture in the 21^st century?" The semi-finals will be held at the OFBF Leadership Conference, Aug. 15. The four semi-finalists selected will compete at the OFBF annual meeting, Dec. 5 in Cincinnati. The topic for that contest is "Is a sound agricultural economy a matter of national security and defense?"

Last year's state winner, Dusty Sonnenberg of Henry County, went on to become the National Discussion Meet winner and the owner of a 2002 Dodge Ram Pick-up.

If you would like to participate in the semi-final competition, please submit your name to your county Farm Bureau office by July 19. All interested contestants will receive rules, training materials, topic research and contest format information in advance of the competition.

Outstanding Young Farmer/Couple Contest
This contest is designed to recognize successful young farmers for their achievement in the business of farming and leadership in the agricultural community. Entrants must be engaged in production agriculture. A written application is available from county FB offices. Entrants are judged upon farming operation, leadership, organization and involvement. Those who advance to the finals of the state competition will also be interviewed. Applications are strictly confidential.

From the written applications, judges will select one couple and one single from each area (Pioneer, Buckeye and River Valley) to compete at the state level. From the statewide winners, one will be selected to represent Ohio at the National Young Farmer Achievement Contest. Judges from the OFBF contest will select the national contestant based on the highest overall score.

To compete, you must be the winner of your county contest, whether this year or a previous year. Contact your county FB office for county contest details. The deadline to apply for the state contest is Oct. 18.