San Bernardino County woman wins Farm Bureau Discussion Meet

» December 8, 2009 «

Insightful comments about how to improve public perception of food safety led a young agriculturalist from San Bernardino County to victory in the California Farm Bureau Federation's annual Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet. Meghan Dresselhaus of Lake Arrowhead won the competition at the 91st CFBF Annual Meeting in Anaheim.

Meghan Dresselhaus of San Bernardino County is this year's winner of the Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet. Download JPG (3 MB)

Dresselhaus, who works for a company that represents independent garden centers, was among four finalists in the Discussion Meet who were asked to discuss how to improve consumers' perception of food safety.

"Misinformation and scare tactics clog the Internet, TV and magazine articles, causing people to question what they are eating and how it is grown," she said. "In agriculture, we need to have a clear, concise and believable message that reaches consumers here and abroad."

Dresselhaus recommended that agricultural organizations form partnerships with those outside of farming such as with physicians, who consumers trust to provide accurate information about nutrition and food safety.

As the winner, Dresselhaus earns a Dodge pickup truck valued at $30,000 and $4,000 in cash prizes from sponsors at Dodge, Bank of America, California Farm Credit Association and State Compensation Insurance Fund. She will represent CFBF in the national Discussion Meet competition at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in Seattle next month.

Tyler Blagg of San Joaquin County was named first runner-up in the competition. The other finalists were Jeff Alves of Riverside County and Molly Fagundes of Fresno County.

A student from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, won the separate Collegiate Discussion Meet competition. Olivia Gonzales of Templeton earned a $500 cash prize donated by the California Farm Bureau.

First runner-up in the collegiate contest was California State University, Chico, student Jennifer Beretta of Santa Rosa. The other finalists were Vikki Hoveln, a California State University, Fresno, student from Oceanside; and Ryan Amaral, a CSU Chico student from Denair.

CSU Chico won the collegiate team competition, which also featured teams from CSU Fresno and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of 81,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 5 million Farm Bureau members.

Contact: Dave Kranz
Phone: 916/561-5550
news@cfbf.com

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