FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                 April 21, 2006

NORTHWESTERN CREATES NEW AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION           

            Northwestern Oklahoma State University students in the agricultural department have started a new organization called Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R).  This is one of only two organizations of this kind at Oklahoma universities.

            The YF&R program is designed to allow members of Farm Bureau, between the ages of 18 and 35, the opportunity to develop leadership skills, compete in contests to win valuable prizes, be involved in their local communities and develop long-lasting friendships with people from across the state and country.

             Organization officers include: president, Ryan Sproul, Isabella sophomore; vice president, Alan Holden, Blackwell senior; secretary, Kourtney Coats, Garber senior; treasurer, Kyle Newman, Cherokee junior; reporter, Mandy Campbell, Helena junior; and spokesman, Brad Zollinger, Buffalo senior. 

            Steve Sneary, Northwestern farm manager, serves as the YF&R adviser and as a YF&R committee member.  In December, he received the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award during the organization’s 6464^th annual convention in Oklahoma City.

            YF&R members have been busy with different activities throughout the year.  Coats and Campbell participated in the National Collegiate Discussion Meet in Des Moines, Iowa, where they discussed agriculture topics that are on the forefront in American producers’ minds.

            Other events included attending the Oklahoma State University speech contest where members volunteered as judges, timekeepers and room coordinators and touring the State Capitol Building.g.

            Meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month in Jesse Dunn room 128 at 7 p.m.  For more information contact Sneary at arsneary@nwosu.edu.

-NW-

Back to News Page