blog-special
Thurmond wins 2nd place in AFBF Discussion Meet
by Jay Stone
Posted on March 7, 2025 4:55 AM
A CASE IH representative congratulates Cain Thurmond, and his wife Whitney, for Cain winning second place in the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Discussion Meet at the 2025 AFBF Convention in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 25-28. Thurmond, of Jackson County, received a $25,000 credit toward a new Case IH piece of equipment. Case IH, located in Racine, Wisconsin, sponsored the award. Thurmond's second-place finish was the highest by a Georgia competitor since Steve Wilson of Henry County won the event in 1980. Thurmond credited Whitney for being his coach and support during the four rounds of the contest held over three days. / Photo courtesy of AFBF
Georgia competitors in AFBF YF&R events were, from left, Kaleb & Kaitlyn Marchant, Excellence in Agriculture; Cason Anderson, Achievement Award & Cain Thurmond, Discussion Meet. / Photo by Levi Davis
Cain Thurmond of Jackson County finished second nationally in the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) Discussion Meet to headline Georgia Farm Bureau’s entries in AFBF’s YF&R competitive events.
Cason Anderson of Houston County competed for the AFBF YF&R Achievement Award, which recognizes farmers who earn most of their income from production agriculture. Kaitlyn and Kaleb Marchant of Oglethorpe County vied for the AFBF YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award, which highlights agriculturalists who earn most of their income from off-farm sources.
Thurmond receives a $25,000 credit toward a new Case IH piece of equipment (value of $25,000). Case IH, located in Racine, Wisconsin, is the sponsor of the 2nd-place runner-up award. His second-place finish was the highest by a Georgia competitor since Steve Wilson of Henry County won the event in 1980. Thurmond was Georgia’s first Final Four qualifier since Becca Creasy of Bulloch County in 2019.
Abby Campbell of Ohio won the competition. In the Final Four round, she, Thurmond and other finalists Hayden Ballard of Utah and John Norwood of North Carolina sought ideas to facilitate access and ownership of agricultural land for beginning farmers.
The discussion meet is a series of committee-style meetings in which contestants hash over solutions related to a specific ag-related topic. Thurmond was one of 32 state contestants.
Thurmond is a system relationship manager with Farm Credit Services of America. He and his wife, Whitney, live in Jefferson. The Thurmonds own the Storey Garden & Grove, a Christmas tree farm scheduled to open winter 2026. They also have a small pecan orchard.
A first-generation farmer who lives in Perry, Anderson grows 1,020 acres of pecans in multiple counties. He also grows sweet corn and provides custom farm work. Anderson is the Houston County Farm Bureau corporate secretary and YF&R chairman. He represented GFB’s 8th District on the state YF&R Committee in 2019-2021.
The Marchants, who live in Winterville, actively promote agriculture in their community. Kaitlyn is the Georgia Department of Education’s North Region ag education coordinator. Kaleb is pursuing a PhD from UGA and manages the UGA Double Bridges Farm Beef & Sheep unit. They served on the GFB YF&R Committee in 2023-24.
June 1 is the deadline to apply to compete in the 2025 Georgia Farm Bureau Discussion Meet and the chance to compete in the 2026 AFBF YF&R contest. June 1 is also the deadline to register to attend the GFB YF&R Summer Leadership Conference to be held on Jekyll Island July 16-19 where the GFB Discussion Meet will take place. Contact your county Farm Bureau office for more information about entering the Discussion Meet and to register for the conference.
Georgia’s Cleve Jackson, of Floyd County, was named to the AFBF YF&R Committee for 2025-2027. Jackson served the last two years on the GFB YF&R Committee and chaired it in 2024. /Photo by Jay Stone
