Hernando Citrus Farm Bureau crowns Inverness teen speech contest winner

Hernando Citrus County Farm Bureau is investing in young speakers now because the future of local agriculture will be shaped by who can explain land use, crop threats, food costs and farm policy in public. That is the point behind its annual Youth Speech Contest, which turned its county stage into a pipeline for the next generation of farm voices.

Lillianna Athanasiou of Inverness won the Hernando Citrus County contest, held May 5, with a speech built around a practical question for Florida agriculture: what farmers, ranchers, local communities and Farm Bureau organizations can do together to guard against invasive species. Her win sends her on to the district contest Sept. 3 in Dade City, where she will represent Hernando Citrus Farm Bureau against other county winners.

The contest is more than a local trophy. It is designed as a county, district and state ladder that pushes students to build public-speaking skills while learning the issues that affect farm enterprises and rural communities. Florida Farm Bureau says the program is meant to promote understanding and appreciation of agriculture, and to build leadership and speaking ability among students ages 11 to 18. Winners can earn prizes up to $1,000.

The format is specific and demanding. Speeches run five minutes, plus or minus 30 seconds, and no visual aids are allowed. The 2026 statewide topic is the same invasive-species question Athanasiou addressed at the county level. Senior Division contestants must be 14 to 18 years old as of Sept. 18, 2026, while Intermediate Division contestants are 11 to 13. Some counties and districts may offer both divisions, but the state contest is senior only.

The next stop after district competition is the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting on Oct. 29 in Daytona, where state winners will be recognized. Florida Farm Bureau says it represents more than 133,000 member families statewide, underscoring how these student speeches connect to a larger agricultural network that stretches well beyond Hernando and Citrus counties.

The topic itself reflects a real policy concern. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services defines a noxious weed as a plant that poses a serious agricultural threat in Florida or harms protected plant species. UF/IFAS says invasive species are a high priority because they can damage Florida’s environment, economy and quality of life. For Hernando Citrus Farm Bureau, that makes the speech contest a small but pointed lesson in how the next generation may defend the region’s farms, land and economic future.