“I always tell everybody my Ag story is a five-dollar bet.  The guy that my mom married bet me five bucks that I wouldn’t take the halter and lead a 2,000 pound bull around, and if it hadn’t been for that five‑dollar bet, I don’t know where I’d be today,” said Triston Roberts, MFBF 2023 Discussion Meet winner. “I mean that five bucks changed my life.”

Montgomery County’s Triston Roberts doesn’t sit still too often. From helping here on Allen Henderson’s operation to the livestock show ring to a full time job helping farmers maximize their operations, it’s a fast paced lifestyle Roberts made his mind up about at an early age.

“Whenever I was eight or nine, my dad passed away, and so whenever that happened, I think my mom was looking for an avenue for us to grow up and kind of stay out of trouble,” said Roberts. “So whenever she remarried his family had cattle, and so they grew up showing cattle and pigs, and we eased into the 4‑H avenue of things, showing livestock, and then from there it just kind of took off.”

Took off is an understatement. It would shape the next steps of Roberts’ life and take him where he is today. College was paid for through showing livestock and 4-H. That led to competitive judging which opened doors Roberts could have only dreamed about.

“If it hadn’t been for showing livestock, like I would’ve never met my boss and mentor, Aaron Henderson.  I guess helping his kid a little bit and just staying connected over the phone and checking in on them, and seeing how their livestock was doing throughout the year, rekindled a relationship with him and led me to be able to come back and consult with farmers and ranchers through these government programs to get them some money,” said Roberts.

Those connections eventually led him to Farm Bureau and the Young Farmers and Ranchers program then to the discussion meet which he won on his first try in July.

“Just the communicating and meeting people through Young Farmers and Ranchers is big, because I think networking is the biggest thing in the agricultural world.  You never know who you’re going to meet through somebody else that you know,” said Roberts.  “So, just the friend base and the networking that Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers makes available is huge, especially in my line of work.”

Roberts is working towards an operation of his own one day. His advice to those who are going it alone? Get involved, stay connected and make the leap.

“It’s a big step if you don’t have the baseline built through your family, but the biggest thing I can say is just make the jump.  Ag’s changed my life,” said Roberts. “It finally kept me out of a lot of trouble, kept my nose clean.  The people I’ve met and the places that I’ve been able to go and the things that I’ve been able to be a part of is all due to Ag.”