Youth will be given a platform to share their passion for the agriculture industry at the Calgary Stampede.

The Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture (AYSA) public speaking competition is coming up Wednesday, July 11th, where youth ages 11 to 24 present their views on one of five given agricultural topics.

Chairperson of Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture, Eric Dalke, said Alberta is one of the top agriculture producing Provinces.

"We won't have a successful industry going forward unless we have young people who are getting into the industry and sharing their passion and becoming involved, so we hope to be a catalyst for that."

This year's topics are my view on diversity in Canadian agriculture, Canadian agriculture needs more people and this is how we get them, what is sustainability and why does it matter to Canadian agriculture, the next big thing in Canadian agriculture is?, and how can we educated urban populations about where our food comes from and the industry standards involved.

Competitors are asked to prepare a five to seven minute speech on one of the topics.

"We know that communication is so important," Dalke said. "That's why we strive to produce young people that are passionate about the ag business and really know how to talk about it in an enthusiastic and positive way."

Dalke said, there's cash prizes of up to $1000 and a free trip to the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Royal Agriculture Winter Fair in Toronto up for grabs.

“For our board, there’s nothing more exciting than seeing youth share their insights and passions about Alberta’s agriculture industry,” says Deb Hart, Director, AYSA. “Every year, we’re blown away by the composure and intelligence these youth bring to the agriculture industry. It’s never an easy decision for our panel of judges.”

The deadline to enter the competition is June 30th. For more information, you can visit their website.

Read more about last year's competition,


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