Alle Bailey of Diagonal has been selected as the winner of Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s (IFBF) Young Farmer Discussion Meet, held Dec. 4, during IFBF’s 100th annual meeting in Des Moines.

The winner of the Young Farmer Discussion Meet goes on to represent Iowa in the Young Farmer and Rancher National Discussion Meet during the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Annual Convention in New Orleans on Jan. 11-16. Since Alle and her husband, Ryan, will be competing for the Young Farmer Achievement Award at AFBF, Alicia Heun of Greene County will be the alternate representing Iowa during the national discussion meet competition.

The Young Farmer Discussion Meet is a unique competition in which participants are scored based on their ability to engage in a “cooperative” discussion on challenges affecting agriculture, such as how to correct fictitious information about modern farming practices or attract younger generations into the agricultural workforce. Throughout the discussion, the young farmers are awarded points in their ability to identify the problem, seek solutions and listen to others’ viewpoints—skills that are pertinent to gaining consumer trust in today’s world.  

The eight contestants who participate in the semi-final rounds during the annual meeting earned their slots by competing at the IFBF Young Farmer Conference held in January of this year. Throughout the year, these young farmers work with various IFBF staff members who provide both highlights and background information on discussion topics and public speaking coaching. Four of the eight go on to compete in the final round where a state winner is selected and named during the IFBF Young Farmer Award Ceremony.

As the top finalist of the Iowa competition, Alle received a John Deere x380 riding lawn mower, a 90-day no-payment and no-interest (NPNI) John Deere Financial Certificate up to $5,000 and expenses paid for the 2019 AFBF Annual Convention, 2019 GROWMARK Annual Meeting in Chicago and 2019 IFBF Young Farmer Conference.