The Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture (CYSA) Competition is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 competition which took place Saturday, November 7, at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto:
Senior Champion: David MacTaggart from Lacombe, Alberta
Senior Second Place: Simon Greenough from Newport, Nova Scotia
Senior Third Place: Kathryn Ringelberg from Troy, Ontario
Junior Champion: Denesh Peramakumar from Concord, Ontario
Junior Second Place: Douglas Archer from Mount Pleasant, Ontario
Junior Third Place: Priethu Raveendran from Woodbridge, Ontario
This 31st edition of CYSA welcomed 26 competitors aged 11 to 24 from across Canada who offered their insight and solutions regarding the following topics:
- The biggest challenge facing Canadian agriculture today is …
- What role should government play in assisting young people entering farm businesses?
- Here’s how our changing climate is affecting Canadian agriculture.
- This Canadian has significantly influenced agriculture.
- The one thing modern Canadian farmers must have is …
CYSA was proud to have welcomed His Excellency, The Honourable David Johnston, The Governor General of Canada, to the presentation theatre. Junior CYSA winner Denesh Peramakumar was honoured to present his winning speech to His Excellency after which The Governor General encouraged questions and discussion from competitors during a question and answer period.
“I’d like to congratulate you for all you do on behalf of agriculture in Canada,” His Excellency said to the crowd. “I was particularly taken by the topics that you had to speak to and I would have loved to have heard each one.”
Each year the renowned public speaking competition is held at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. The competition is open to youth ages 11 to 24 with a passion for agriculture whether raised on a farm, in the country or in the city.
