Competition topics announced for 2014 Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition

Jan. 16, 2014, Toronto, ON – Each year at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture (CYSA) holds a public speaking competition . This year’s competition, which also marks its 30th anniversary, will be held on Saturday November 8, 2014 and will be open to youth ages 11 to 24 with a passion for agriculture whether raised on a farm, in the country or in the city.

The board of CYSA unanimously approved the following public speaking competition topics for 2014 at their first meeting of the new year:

• I am a Canadian farmer and this is my success story
• Why succession planning is crucial to the future of Canadian agriculture
• As stewards of the land can Canadian farmers do more?
• Why social media is an opportunity farmers cannot ignore
• Why I am choosing a career in agriculture

“Since the inception of CYSA in 1985, the competition has grown into the premier agricultural youth speaking forum in Canada”, said board president Richard Kuntz. “With this year’s line-up of exciting topics the competition promises to once again present a high caliber event featuring the ag leaders of tomorrow. We invite youth from across Canada to participate and share their passion for agriculture.”

Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture is a national, bilingual competition that gives participants an opportunity to share their opinions, ideas and concerns about the Canadian agri-food industry in a five- to seven-minute prepared speech. Since the first competition was held at the Royal Winter Fair in honour of the International Year of the Youth in 1985, it has gone on to become the premier public speaking event in Canada for young people interested in agriculture, with more than 900 participants in total over the years.

For more information about CYSA visit www.cysa-joca.ca.