ABAC sophomore Kylie Bruce recently claimed a huge win at the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet in Milwaukee. At the final stage of the meet, Bruce won first place out of 34 competitors.
Bruce was excited after receiving the news but said that it took a minute for it to really sink in.
She states, “It didn’t seem like real life at first. I was competing in the final fourth round with a grad student, an agriculture educator and a senior in college, so as a sophomore, I didn’t think I stood a chance!”
The competition had competitors meet and discuss solutions to a wide array of agricultural issues.
When asked what she enjoyed most about the competition, Bruce said that brainstorming new ideas and solutions for the agriculture industry was the most rewarding part of the experience. She also enjoyed working with team members who were just as interested in the challenge as she was. Bruce and other competitors had to work together in order to find solutions for the challenges given to them.
As a competition focused on both teamwork and individual effort, Bruce stated that she found the meet to be a unique experience. Bruce said, “It’s such an interesting competition because you are scored for your ability to work well with your fellow panel members, but at the same time, it’s still a competition and you have to do what you can to stand out.”
On whether or not she would keep competing in the future, Bruce says that she plans on competing for as long as she can saying, “Young Farmers and Ranchers is for people 18-35 years of age, so I have 15 more years of competing.” Bruce plans on taking some time off to pursue other goals but says that she plans on returning to compete soon with hopes of making it to the National Young Farmers and Ranchers conference in the future.
