UW-Madison seniors advance to Wisconsin Farm Bureau state collegiate meet

MADISON - Collegiate Farm Bureau at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Collegiate Discussion Meet on Nov. 14. The competitors discussed how Farm Bureau can help first-generation farmers and ranchers get started in agriculture.

Alison Wedig and Connor Willems will be advancing to the state competition at the Young Farmer and Agriculturalist Conference Dec. 1-3, 2017 in the Wisconsin Dells.

Rachel Gerbitz and Jordan Gaal also participated. Mariah Martin moderated the competition.

Wedig is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Life Sciences Communication. She is from Darlington, Wisconsin. Willems is also a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Dairy Science. He is originally from Reedsville, Wisconsin.

"The Collegiate Farm Bureau members demonstrated a passion for advancing agriculture as they discussed ways in which Farm Bureau can help young farmers. Young farmers face many hurdles, but they also have an opportunity to employ creative thinking skills and leverage the support of organizations like Farm Bureau," said Sarah Marketon, a judge and director of communications at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.

Competition judges included, Keith Engel, a dairy farm supplies, milk quality, and milking equipment specialist at GEA Farm Technologies; Sarah Marketon, director of communications at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation; and Alison Kepner, a financial officer at Compeer Financial.