TTU ag major speaks out, wins statewide honors
McClanahan, 21, of Crossville took home second-place honors at the recent statewide Tennessee Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers “Discussion Meet.” First place went to Andy Holt of Weakly County. Tennessee Farm Bureau is the largest such organization in the United States, having approximately 870,000 members in Tennessee. About 4,000 members normally attending the state convention.
Unlike a debate, a “discussion meet” engages a participant in vigorous discussion to reach a consensus about a problem. McClanahan competed against 20 others to make it to second place during the meet, which was held during the farm bureau’s 88th annual convention in Franklin recently.
This is McClanahan’s second year to reach the final four. As a beef cattle farmer with deep family roots in agriculture, McClanahan is both opinionated and enthusiastic about the future of agriculture.
Among his favorite discussions during the meet was how best to keep public opinion on the side of farmers.
“I think it comes down to communication and telling our individual stories as farmers. It’s important to communicate how I treat my animals on my farm and what practices I use so that when you go to the grocery store you can be assured that you are buying a safe product that is healthy for you and is the most affordable in the entire world,” McClanahan said.
C. Pat Bagley, dean, TTU College of Agriculture and Human Sciences, said he has judged the competition in the past and the event is highly competitive. He said he’s thrilled that the second-place finisher hails from TTU.
“This is quite a feat for a 21 year old to compete successfully against mostly 30 to 35 year olds, and Matt’s confidence and depth of knowledge was obvious during the finals of the event,” Bagley said.
Charles Curtis, event coordinator for farm bureau, said McClanahan won $1,000 and the opportunity to travel to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s national convention in Seattle in January and a national leadership conference in Washington, D.C., in February.
“This would not have been possible without support of my local Young Farmers and Ranchers chapter, my friends, family and the faculty at Tech,” McClanahan said.
