By Cole Reid
Crown Hill 4-H Club Reporter
Hunter Reid from Hafford travelled to Toronto on Nov. 3 to compete at the 34th National Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Youth ages 11-24 from across the country gathered for the competition; 29 competitors from B.C. to New Brunswick attended this year. They had to prepare and present a five- to seven-minute speech on one of seven pre-chosen topics relating to current Canadian agriculture issues.
Hunter placed third in the junior age group. He chose The Next Big Thing in Canadian Agriculture for his topic. He began by commenting on all the new advancements in agriculture and compared today’s farms to an old horse drawn plough he saw in the trees during this year’s harvest,
“As I stood there looking at it I realized that the past was on my left and the present was on my right. It suddenly hit me. The next big thing in agriculture was in the middle. It was not a piece of equipment or some new technology or farming practice… it was me.
“And by me I do not mean me, Hunter Reid, is the next big thing, but it is the next generation of young boys and girls and future farmers.”
Hunter had a strong conclusion to his speech summing up his point of view.
“So you may or may not agree with me about what the next big thing in Canadian agriculture is and you could easily make a case for it being self-driving equipment or precision farming and satellite technology.
“However it is my speech and in my opinion it is not one single invention or practice that has recently come to the industry as the next big thing, it really is the same as it was in the past and will be in the future.
“It is the next generation of farmers. It is the young men and women that are growing up in the industry listening and learning about how things were done in the past, embracing the technology, the new methods and dreaming of the future. It will all stem from their passion and love of the industry and wanting to try something new.
“It will be the vision of these young people that will change and shape their generation, taking agriculture to the next level to make things easier, faster more productive and profitable.
“To me that is what I think is the next big thing in Canadian agriculture, our young people.
“Because it was someone like me all those years ago who used that old plough in the trees and thought there must be an easier way to do this.”
The stiff junior competition was judged by a panel of three: Richard Horne - Ontario Beef; Harold Rudy - Ontario Soil and Crop Association; and Gary Smith - farmer and broadcaster. The top six were announced: first, Nate Caughill of Melancthon, Ont.; second, Carmen White of Claresholm, Alta.; and third was Hunter Reid of Hafford.
Hunter quailfied for the CYSA competition after being named Champion Intermediate speaker at the Sask 4-H provincial competition back in April. This was the first time he presented his new speech and it was an exciting opportunity for Hunter to compete at this level and even more to place in the top three.
In the next few weeks Hunter’s speech will be on YouTube: search cysajoca.
