Colorado lawmakers congratulated Martha Smith at the Capitol Wednesday for winning the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmer and Rancher National Discussion Meet.

Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, delivered a speech to congratulate Smith and deliver a joint tribute from the House and Senate.

“Members, we have a hero here in front of us today,” he began.

He explained the winners from each state and have a boardroom discussion on how to help first-generation farmers. Participants are judged on their strength in making their points courteously.

“And, no, I have never won this contest,” Sonnenberg joked.

Smith is Colorado’s first national winner, winning the title over competitors from almost every state, and the Farm Bureau’s national meeting in Nashville this month. Her prize was a new Ford pickup truck.

“Martha was an outstanding representative for Colorado and for young farmers and ranchers across the country,” Chad Vorthmann, executive vice president of the Colorado Farm Bureau, said in a statement. “It is talented people like her who will lead the agriculture industry into the next generation and help us continue to feed people around the world.”

Smith lives in Denver and is an area manager for Channel Seed. She is a native of Virginia and graduated from Iowa State.