Vermilion Parish Youth Crowned 2021 Louisiana Farm Bureau Queen

By Kristen Oaks-White

BATON ROUGE — Avery Claire Hebert, 20, of Vermilion Parish, was crowned the 2021 Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Queen on Saturday afternoon during an unconventional LFBF Queen’s Coronation Ceremony.
While the crowd was small and limited due to COVID-19 precautions, Hebert’s beaming smile filled the room as 2019 Louisiana Farm Bureau Queen, Victoria Roussel placed the crown upon her head.
Hebert captured the title after a week of virtual interviews, testing her agricultural knowledge and understanding of the Farm Bureau Federation and practices. The competition included 15 other parish queens. Hebert and the other top 10 finalists were asked to answer a final on-stage question: “Why is it important that consumers trust farmers and ranchers?”
“In this day and age, there are so many misconceptions about agriculture,” Hebert responded. “So many people, especially our youth, do not know where simple things like milk, beef or even a bag of potato chips come from. They think it comes from the grocery store or mommy and daddy picked it up, and all of us here know that’s not true.”
“It’s so important that people, especially youth, understand where your food is from and having that true farm to table experience,” Hebert added. “Consumer preference is a thing, and it’s very important that our consumers trust our farmers and know that their food is safe. America, and the state of Louisiana, produce some of the most safe, economically savvy, and great products, and I think if consumers would put the effort in to educate themselves from ages five to eighty-five, they would understand that and appreciate agriculture from the local, state, and national level.”
Hebert is the daughter of Blair and Michelle Hebert of Erath. She will be a junior at Louisiana State University where she is majoring in agribusiness and minoring in political science. She is a member of the Agribusiness Club, Student Government's Executive Staff serving as the Assistant Director of Student Entertainment, and Phi Mu Sorority serving on the Sisterhood Committee. Avery is also a Les Voyageur serving as the PR Chair-Elect. She is an active member of Christ the King’s Catholic Student Center. After graduation, Avery plans on attending law school to become an agriculture-focused attorney.
Emmerson Lyons of St. Landry Parish was named first runner-up in the contest. Second runner-up in the competition was Caroline Doise of Jeff Davis Parish.
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Queen's Contest is sponsored by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Women's Committee.
Founded in 1922, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization representing more than 140,000 member families.