Livingston Parish Ag Agent Talks Her Way to the Sweet 16 on the National Stage

By Avery Davidson & Monica Velasquez
This Week in Louisiana Agriculture

Jessie Hoover of Livingston Parish represented Louisiana at the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet. The contest was held at the 103rd American Farm Bureau Convention at Atlanta, Ga. January 7-12, 2022.

Jessie Hoover, 35, represented Louisiana in the semi-final rounds of American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) Discussion Meet at the 103rd Annual American Farm Bureau Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. 

While Hoover did not advance to the final round, she made it all the way to the Sweet 16 and said it’s an honor to compete with such dedicated Farm Bureau members.

Back home, Hoover focuses her time cultivating relationships with farmers and educating the community in Livingston Parish as an Ag agent with the LSU AgCenter. Having grown up raising beef cattle, Hoover sees the importance of creating connections with the farmers in her community.

"I am trying to help them get better at what they're doing and be more productive or make more money or grow better flowers or better tomatoes,” said Hoover. “I feel like it’s part of my responsibility to make sure they do a good job as their county agent."

She credits her passion to the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers program, and applies the skills learned through the program in her everyday job with the LSU AgCenter. 

The Discussion Meet is designed to simulate a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected of each committee member. Participants build basic discussion skills, develop a keen understanding of important agricultural issues and explore how groups can pool knowledge to reach consensus and solve problems. 

Hoover won the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet in May of 2021, which qualified her to compete at the American Farm Bureau Convention in Atlanta, Ga.

During the first two rounds of the Discussion Meet in Atlanta, Hoover discussed how Farm Bureau can impact issues that farms are facing, from renewable resources and energy to challenges brought from the COVID-19 pandemic to improving farm safety local and across the industry.

The winner of the YF&R Discussion Meet will receive a new Ford vehicle valued up to $35,000, courtesy of Ford Motor Company, and paid registration to the Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference in Louisville, Ky. First runner-up receives a Case IH Farmall 50A tractor valued at $27,699, courtesy of Case IH. Second runner-up receives a Case IH 40” combination roll cabinet and top chest and a $500 Case IH parts card, courtesy of Case IH, a $2,500 cash prize, courtesy of American Agricultural Insurance Company, and $1,850 worth of Stanley Black and Decker merchandise, courtesy of Stanley Black and Decker. Third runner-up receives a Case IH 40” combination roll cabinet and top chest and a $500 Case IH parts card, courtesy of Case IH.

The winners will be announced at the Closing Session of the 103rd Annual American Farm Bureau Federation Convention on Monday, January 10, 2022.