STATE

Wedig and Willems advance to state discussion meet

Collegiate Farm Bureau at the UW-Madison

MADISON -  Alison Wedig and Connor Willems are moving on to state competition in the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Collegiate Discussion meet.

Alison Wedig (left) and Connor Willems (second from right) will advance to the state competition of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Collegiate Discussion Meet at the Young Farmer and Agriculturalist Conference Dec. 1-3. Jordan Gaal and Rachel Gerbitz also competed at the regional meet.

The pair topped the Nov. 14 meet hosted by the Collegiate Farm Bureau at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The competitors discussed how Farm Bureau can help first-generation farmers and ranchers get started in agriculture. Wedig and Willems will advance 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, WI. Willems is also a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Dairy Science. He is originally from Reedsville, WI.

“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 Judge Sarah Marketon in a news release.

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

The Collegiate Farm Bureau is a University of Wisconsin – Madison student organization acting as a voice for agriculture – striving to educate the local college community about agriculture, the food sciences and agribusiness.  The Collegiate Farm Bureau is affiliated with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.