White County High School students presented a 4‑H “Ag Issues” debate to the commissioners focused on agricultural land loss and policy trade‑offs.

In the presentation, the student panel (host Addie King and reporters Katie/Kim Eller among others) cited national figures — including USDA and American Farmland Trust estimates — and described the causes and consequences of farmland conversion. “According to the US Department of Agriculture, America loses on average 1,900,000 acres of farmland every year,” the students said during the mock broadcast.

Panelists offered opposing views. Bradley Kelson, speaking as a commercial farmer, described local farm loss and nuisance complaints as development encroaches nearby. Logan Coleman, speaking as a land developer, said growth “is progress” and argued that metropolitan population growth drives housing demand. Isabella Sackett, a student acting as a realtor, emphasized housing affordability and the need to build near jobs. Glennon Kerr, the student conservationist, warned that once soil is paved it is “gone forever.”

Commissioners thanked the students and asked for county‑specific data from the White County Farm Bureau; the students offered to provide their source list and webpages for verification. Chair invited them to take a photo with commissioners and to return for follow‑up if they refine local figures.

The presentation was delivered as an educational outreach item; no policy action resulted from the presentation. The commission recorded appreciation for the students’ work and asked staff and local organizations for county statistics that could complement the students’ national sources.

The commission noted the presentation’s relevance to ongoing local planning and budget decisions, and encouraged students and staff to provide county‑level data for future discussions.