University of Florida student Braley Hines earned first place in the Florida Farm Bureau Federation Collegiate Discussion Meet during the organization’s 85th Annual Meeting Oct. 28 in Daytona Beach.
Hines is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and communication with a specialization in communication and leadership development and a minor in horticultural sciences. A sixth-generation member of her family’s Gilchrist County farm, Hines has been actively involved in agricultural leadership through 4-H, FFA and Farm Bureau. She served as the 2024-25 Florida FFA Area II state vice president and is also a past Florida Farm Bureau Youth Speech Contest winner. At the University of Florida, she serves as a CALS ambassador and is a member of Cohort 17 of the UF/IFAS CALS Leadership Institute.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent Florida Farm Bureau through the Collegiate Discussion Meet,” Hines said. “My family and I have been actively involved with Farm Bureau for many years, so having the opportunity to represent an organization that has been such an important part of my family’s connection to agriculture on a national level is something I never imagined. I’m honored by the opportunity and excited to see where this experience takes me.”
The Collegiate Discussion Meet evaluates participants on their ability to exchange ideas and information on pre-determined agricultural topics. Other finalists for the statewide contest were Meghan Cochlin and Shannon Minger of Warner University, Edward Neequaye and Kelsey Parker of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Reagan Robinson of the University of Florida (pictured).
As the state winner, Hines received a $500 prize and an expense-paid trip to the American Farm Bureau FUSION Conference in New Orleans, March 12-15, 2027, where she will represent Florida in the national Collegiate Discussion Meet competition.
