The Oklahoma CattleWomen’s Association hosted a Beef Advocacy Competition for youth today at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Headquarters in Oklahoma City. It was open to youth, grades 5th – 12th, with the goal to create and implement youth advocates who will further their knowledge of beef education and consumer interaction.
Organizer Tammi Didlot was on hand to talk with Oklahoma Farm Report’s KC Sheperd about the success of the event.
“We’ve had this competition for at least 25 years,” Didlot shared. “The Beef Advocacy contest started about ten years ago as the Beef Ambassador. We switched it to Beef Advocate because we really want people to advocate for agriculture, beef, and the rural communities in America and the way of life.”
The top winner for the Senior Division (9th – 12th graders) is awarded $500 cash. Second place in both divisions gets $300, and third place earns $200. The top winner of the Junior Division (5th – 8th grade) will earn $300, second place will get $200, and third place will receive $100.
“It is a great way to add a little money to their college funds,” Dilot added.
In the Media division, a panel of judges will observe the students as they participate in mock interviews about what it means to be a beef advocate. The contestants are judged for knowledge, articulation, poise and the ability to explain beef production and present the beef community in a positive manner, but prepared speeches are not encouraged.
For the Peer division, a staged conversation between the contestant and his or her peer that must include beef production and/or nutrition is also judged by a panel of judges watching for each contestant’s ability to relay to their peers appropriate and accurate information regarding the beef community and/or beef nutrition.
“FFA and 4-H do a great job with prepared speech competitions, so we wanted to fill a niche, so we really wanted to be life skills that they can use talking to friends that may not be members of the rural area, don’t understand agriculture, or are not real comfortable with where their food comes from, and beef in general,” Didlot explained.
She emphasized that the students don’t have to work for weeks preparing a speech but can simply do a little bit of research to brush up on their own knowledge to present the beef industry well.
“That’s really what we want people to know,” Didlot said. “We want people to know that we take very good care of their animals.”
In the Junior Division, 6th grader Jamie Parsons of Valliant Schools earned top honors. Second place was awarded to Raylynn Parson, an 8th grader also from Valliant Schools, and Harper Perkins, a 6th grader at Newcastle Public Schools, claimed third place.
Allison Schneeberger, a senior from Ponca City, won first place in the Senior Division. Mulhall Senior Bridger Arrington claimed second-place honors, and Samantha Graves, a Senior at Ramona, rounded off the awards by placing third.
The competition will take place again in 2026, and Didlot advised interested students to start thinking about registering for the event next March. She said to watch the Oklahoma CattleWomen’s website and Facebook page for registration information to be posted.
The Oklahoma CattleWomen’s Association’s quarterly board meeting is scheduled for May, and its Annual Convention will take place in July. This information and more can be found on the Oklahoma CattleWomen’s Association Event page.
