The document lists 12 potential topics for public speaking contests in Kentucky about various issues relating to agriculture. The topics include discussions of the implications of local and sustainable agriculture, legalizing hemp, the state agriculture council's strategic plan, proposed changes to the Farm Bill, using agriculture and agritourism for economic development, ensuring an adequate supply of agriculture teachers, the impact of consumer health concerns on agriculture, the importance of global agricultural issues and experiences, resources for young farmers, producing enough food with less land, the impact of new technologies on farming, and agriculture's role in reducing global food insecurity.

1. EXTEMPORANEOUS PUBLIC SPEAKING TOPICS
List of the possible topics for 2014 regional and state contests:
1. Discuss the possible implications (positive and negative) of the sustainable agriculture/locally
grown foods movement on American agriculture.
2. Debate the pros and cons of the legalization of industrial hemp in Kentucky.
3. How will the Kentucky Agriculture Council’s new Strategic Plan for Kentucky Agriculture
insure a bright future for the agriculture industry in our state?
4. What are the implications of proposed changes to the Farm Bill, including restructuring or
elimination of farm subsidies?
5. How can value added agriculture and agri-tourism be driving forces in local economic
development?
6. How can Agricultural Education work to insure an adequate supply of effective Teachers of
Agriculture in the years to come?
7.
How might consumer concerns about health, nutrition, and obesity impact American agriculture
in the years to come?
8. Discuss the importance of Agricultural Education students having an understanding of global
agriculture issues and/or having a global experience in agriculture.
9. Discuss the tools and resources that are available to help young people start a farming operation
or develop an agribusiness.
10. How can American farmers produce enough food for a growing population even as available
land for agriculture production declines?
11. How has new technology (including smart phones, social media, Web 2.0, etc) changed the way
American farmers operate? How will this technology impact agriculture in the future?
12. What is the role of the agriculture industry in reducing the number of individuals who are food
insecure around the world?