KEARNEY, Neb. – Cody Maricle of Boone County took top honors at the 2024 Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) Collegiate Discussion Meet. The award was announced Dec. 10 at the Member Appreciation luncheon at Nebraska Farm Bureau’s 107th Annual Meeting and Convention in Kearney.

Maricle earned the top score during the final round of Nebraska Farm Bureau’s Collegiate Discussion Meet held during the Nebraska Farm Bureau Annual Meeting and Convention. The contest aims to simulate a committee meeting rather than a debate where competitors offer solutions to timely problems facing agriculture.

Maricle is a junior at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Precision Agriculture with minors in the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program and Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars.

Farm Bureau student members can compete in the Collegiate Discussion Meet through their senior year of college. As the Nebraska winner, Maricle will receive $250 and an all-expense paid trip to the 2025 American Farm Bureau FUSION Conference in Denver, Colo. in March to compete with other state winners at the national level.