KEARNEY – Adams/Webster County Farm Bureau member, Joe Melnick, won the 2023 Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) Discussion Meet. The award was announced Dec. 5 at the “We Love Our Members” luncheon at the Nebraska Farm Bureau’s 106thAnnual Convention in Kearney.  

Melnick received the top score during the final round of the Discussion Meet contest. Rather than debating, contestants work to develop a solution to a problem being discussed, building on each other’s contributions. Competitors in the annual contest must be prepared to speak on several current agricultural related topics; the selected question is announced a short time prior to the contest.  

Melnick works for Remington Seed while also growing his registered dairy goat and commercial meat goat herds with his wife, Jaden, and two kids: Jedidiah (2) and Jensyn (7 months). Melnick has been extremely active in Nebraska Farm Bureau and is currently serving as the chair of the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee.  

Farm Bureau members ages 18 to 35 can compete in the Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet. As the Nebraska winner, Melnick will receive $500 and an all-expense paid trip to the 2024 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah in January to compete with other state winners at the national level.  

The Nebraska Farm Bureau is a grassroots, state-wide organization dedicated to supporting farm and ranch families and working for the benefit of all Nebraskans through a wide variety of educational, service, and advocacy efforts. More than 55,000 families across Nebraska are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve rural and urban prosperity as agriculture is a key fuel to Nebraska’s economy. For more information about Nebraska Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit www.nefb.org.