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The 2024 American Farm Bureau Convention is underway in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Indiana delegation includes the winner of the Discussion Meet from the state convention in Fort Wayne in December.
Kylie Wheeler is originally from Carroll County, lives now in Henry County, works for the state department of agriculture, and has been trying to win Discussion Meet for a long time.
“I have been doing this contest for about 5 years now, so it took me this long to get it won and that’s all right,” she told HAT. “I took it very seriously this year. I did a ton of prep work. There are too many names for me to thank right now but I met with many people in and outside my county to help prepare me for this event through phone calls and discussions as well as doing that research online.
Wheeler is quite obviously persistent. Why did she keep coming back for this competition?
“I’ve always just really enjoyed the event. I love talking with people and making new friends so I’ve met a ton of other Farm Bureau members now through doing this contest, and so that’s one reason I’ve kept coming back, that networking aspect that gets me here at State Convention that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to attend otherwise.”
The win in December means Wheeler now competes this weekend with top competitors from across the country.
“That’s huge for me. I was actually talking with my county president and we think I may be the first person from Henry County to win the Indiana Farm Bureau Discussion Meet and make it on to the national competition. I’ve never been to Salt Lake City or Utah at all, so I’m very excited for that opportunity.”
She tipped her hat to the level of competition within our own state that has made it difficult to win but also prepared her well for this weekend.
“I think this contest is always very competitive every year,” she explained. As I said I’ve been doing this for several years now and got beat several times and that’s okay, but it means it’s great competition to help prepare you for that national level.”
From her youth to her current position with ISDA, Kylie Wheeler has gained a wealth of experience.
“I grew up showing primarily quarter horses and I also competed at the 4-H level and was active in my local FFA chapter. Going into Purdue, I studied ag econ and had a concentration in sales and marketing. I spent some time in a production ag seed company after that, and back to Purdue in a staff role. Here in this last year I took a position with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to get back to more of a boots on the ground type of position working with Soil and Water Conservation districts in 19 counties.”
National Discussion Meet moves through several rounds this weekend and culminates with the winners moving to the final four round Monday morning. The announcement of the winner is later in the day.
Other Indiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ag Professionals winners who are competing this weekend are Chelsea O’Brien of Spencer County. She won the Excellence in Agriculture Award, and Mark and Jessica Wenning from Henry County. They won the Achievement Award.