The Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture and the Calgary Stampede host the Youth Agriculture Speaking Championship. I'm a temperant with Rural Roots Canada, Amplifying Canadian Agriculture. The competition was fierce, but in the end, Emma Cross from Cameros County and Nora Johnson from Scandia were crowned the winners in their respective competitions. Emma, winner of the Senior Competition, delivered an insightful speech on bridging the knowledge gap between urban and rural communities. My speech was about public trust in agriculture and how we can bridge the gap between urban and rural, and I chose to reframe the knowledge gap between urban and rural as a gap in relationships and talk about how we think of the imperfection in those terms. In the junior competition, Nora focused her speech on the priorities she would set if she were the federal minister of agriculture. One of the only competitors to tackle the topic for top five priorities included ag training for skilled workers, putting ag education into school curriculums, and promoting the consumption of Canadian beef. For Nora, the championship was an eye-opening experience that reinforced the importance of public speaking. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do, but a field in agriculture, so this is really going to help me. Public speaking, obviously, you can use really anywhere in your life. It's a very useful skill, so I'll definitely use that. Emma echoed Nora's comments about the importance of the competition. This championship is a great opportunity to get out there and increase your experience in public speaking and talk about something that you're really passionate about if you're involved in agriculture or if you're outside of agriculture and are interested in exploring it further. This was the first time the event was held on Stampede Grounds, while Osler, president and chair of the Calgary Stampede board, spoke to its importance and how well it fits within the spirit and mission of the Stampede. When we talk about the chilled guessing casing bag, narrowing the gap between urban and rural and keeping those connections, what better place than this event, what better time than now, what better people than this group. With the win, both Emma and Nora received a cash prize and secured a spot at the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture final, taking place in Toronto in November. If you like this feature, be sure to check out the podcast form at our website, worldrootscandida.com. While there, be sure to sign up to our newsletter and check us out on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn. For World Roots Canada, I'm Tim Parent, Amplifying Canadian Agriculture.
