The Hoosier Farmer

Blaine Wagner of Purdue University won the 2025-2026 INFB Collegiate Discussion Meet on Nov. 11.

“The other five individuals I competed with did an amazing job and it was a very competitive night. I was surprised and honored to be chosen as the winner,” he said.

Wagner, a native of Greensburg, Indiana, is a sophomore at Purdue studying biochemistry. As an Indiana State FFA Officer, he attended the INFB State Convention (now rebranded to Indiana Ag Gathering) two years ago and watched the final round of discussion meet.

“I was very engaged and enjoyed listening to the competitors. From that point, I knew I wanted to be involved, and I competed last year at the Purdue contest for the first time. That experience helped me grow and expand my skills,” he said.

The Collegiate Discussion Meet competition is designed to simulate a committee meeting where each participant is expected to actively contribute to the discussion. Participants have five potential questions that are shared in the spring. Once the question is known, contestants give a 30-second opening statement, followed by 25 minutes of open discussion prior to their 1-minute closing statement. Two rounds of discussion were held.

“I like to stay involved in current agriculture issues by reading different ag publications and staying involved as an officer for the Purdue Collegiate Farm Bureau chapter,” he said. “I am fortunate to have a lot of public speaking experience with Indiana FFA from my time as a state officer, and that experience helped prepare me to be comfortable engaging in conversation about agriculture issues with my peers – which is what Discussion Meet is all about.”

Wagner was awarded a $1,000 scholarship and will compete in the national Collegiate Discussion Meet at the 2026 Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference on March 13-16 in Portland, Oregon.

Other finalists included Mitchell Risley and Madison Hedge of Vincennes University, Maggie Taylor and Trey Spring of Huntington University and Cassidy Riddle of Purdue University.

Contact Editor

Robert Herrington

(317) 692-7871

RHerrington@infb.org