Baerlocher Makes Trip From Colfax To Indianapolis

It’s the week of the year most if not all blue jackets have circled on their calendar.  The 92^nd National FFA Convention and Expo starts Wednesday and runs through Saturday back in Indianapolis.  One of the many northwest students making the trip back to the Hoosier state is Cole Baerlocher, who will be competing in public speaking.

Baerlocher acknowledged he’s a bit nervous, saying that he will compete against some of the best public speakers in the country.  So what does he hope to accomplish back in Indianapolis?

"Do my best to leave an impact whether it be with the judges listening to my speech, or just the people in the audience, just, you know, making it the best that I can.  Because there are going to be a lot of competitive speakers, but if I do my best and show them my personality, you know, that will hopefully lead to my success at Nationals.”

Baerlocher says while his family is not active in farming anymore, he’s still very active in agriculture.  He has aunts and uncles who teach agriculture across the area.  Baerlocher added it’s through his experiences in public speaking, that he’s learned he does not to be actively farming to advocate for the industry.

“Because when I got back to D.C. this summer, and I met with industry professionals and as things kind of started to click, I thought, you know this is an option, I don’t have to be working on a family farm, or raising livestock, or harvesting wheat I can pursue a career in policy and still make an impact with our Ag industry even though I’m not directly producing a product for the public.”

Baerlocher added any young person who is remotely interested in agriculture, should contact their local FFA chapter, because “there’s always room for more.”

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