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As part of an effort to continue increasing participation in the Indiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ag Professionals program, the beginning rounds of the 2020 Discussion Meet will be held Aug. 22 at several locations in both northern and southern Indiana.

The Discussion Meet is a competition designed to help young Farm Bureau members learn how to share and build upon ideas that foster understanding and collaboration to address important agricultural issues. The competition simulates a committee meeting where each participant is expected to be actively involved in the discussion.

Each year, the American Farm Bureau Federation develops five questions for which contestants will be asked to prepare answers. The questions are used at the regional, state and national competitions.

Until last year, the first two rounds of the Indiana YF&AP Discussion Meet were held in the early part of the annual state convention, followed a day or so later by the Sweet 16 and final rounds.

In 2019, however, Indiana Farm Bureau experimented with the concept of regional discussion meets, holding the first two rounds earlier in the year and at different locations to make participation easier and more convenient for competitors. This concept will be continued in 2020, said Brandon Rice, INFB leadership development coordinator.

“In 2019, the idea was that the regional meets would decrease barriers to entry by making participation more convenient and less formal,” Rice said. “We saw an increase in participation and received positive feedback, and that’s part of the reason why we’re continuing the regional meets in 2020.”

Locations for the 2020 regional meets are still tentative, but according to Rice, contestants will be allowed to choose one of four locations during an online registration process.

The final two rounds will be held at INFB’s 2020 convention, Dec. 10-12 in Fort Wayne. The state winner will receive a $4,000 cash prize from Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance and an all-expenses paid trip to compete at the American Farm Bureau Federation Discussion Meet at the AFBF Annual Convention, to be held Jan. 8-13, 2021, in San Diego, California.

More information – including registration forms, discussion topics and other materials to help participants prepare for the competition – will be available soon at www.infb.org/YFAPDM.