Texico student takes first in meet

LAS CRUCES — A Texico student came in first against competitors from across the state recently in a discussion meet hosted by New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers program.

Held during the NMF&LB’s 105th Annual Meeting, the meet was the culmination of regional discussion meets and a qualifier round before narrowing down to the final four contestants.

According to a news release from NMF&LB, Remington Hunt from Texico placed first.

Second place went to Wylie Schwebach from Moriarty, third was Braden Fuentes from Artesia, and fourth was Addison Folmar from Artesia.

The discussion meet is not meant to be a debate, but rather simulates a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant. This competition is evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a pre-determined topic.

There were five possible topics and the one chosen for this debate was “Many external influences are causing supply chain disruptions for agricultural goods. How can Farm Bureau reduce the impact of external influences through policy development and programming?”

New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers program includes both men and women between the ages of 18 and 35.

The news release noted the objective of the program is to provide training to young people for leadership roles in agriculture, to foster young farmers and ranchers through our industry and to help build a more effective Farm Bureau.