Moultrie, Ga. – It’s a match made in fields across the 10 states served by the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year program.
Dow AgroSciences annually commits to the success of farmers by bringing them crop protection products and PhytoGen Cottonseed. The company now joins in celebrating that success through being a sponsor of the Farmer of the Year program.
“We at Sunbelt Ag Expo see Dow AgroSciences as a perfect fit for the Farmer of the Year program, in which we celebrate the contributions made by our American farmers who provide the world with food, fuel and fiber,” Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said. “Adding Dow to our stellar roster of sponsors – including Southern States, Massey Ferguson and Farm Progress Cos. – adds to the prestige this program carries throughout our region. We couldn’t be more proud to welcome Dow AgroSciences to our Farmer of the Year family.”
Becoming a sponsor of the program was a natural extension of the investment Dow AgroSciences annually dedicates to farmers across the country.
“We are committed to helping American farmers continue to succeed in their efforts to provide the world with food, fuel and fiber. Their success is our success,” said Duane Canfield, Dow AgroSciences portfolio marketing leader and general manager for PhytoGen Cotton Seed.
“We annually renew our commitment to their success in fields across this country,” Canfield said. “We now will celebrate that success each October at the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year program. We are humbled and honored to be added to the Farmer of the Year family.”
In addition to a program sponsorship, Dow AgroSciences will award each of the 10 state winners with the farmer’s choice of either $1,000 in PhytoGen cottonseed or a $500 donation to any designated charity. Additionally, Dow will award the Southeastern Farmer of the Year the option of another $1,000 in PhytoGen cottonseed or a second $500 donation to the farmer’s designated charity.
In addition to the gift from Dow AgroSciences, each state winner receives a $2,500 cash award and an expense paid trip to the Sunbelt Expo from Swisher International of Jacksonville, Fla., and a $500 gift certificate from Southern States. The regional winner also receives $15,000 from Swisher International, the use of a Massey Ferguson tractor for a year from Massey Ferguson North America and another $500 gift certificate from the Southern States cooperative.
Swisher International, through its Swisher Sweets cigar brand, and the Sunbelt Expo are sponsoring the Southeastern Farmer of the Year awards for the 23rd consecutive year. Swisher has contributed some $844,000 in cash awards and other honors to Southeastern farmers since the award was initiated in 1990.
In the previous 22 years, many of agriculture’s top business leaders, innovators, environmentalists, pioneers, family men, problem solvers and leaders have received national recognition. Swisher International and Sunbelt Ag Expo continue to provide recognition for a select group of true heroes – American farmers – and make the public more aware of the many ways agriculture touches their lives every day.
About Dow AgroSciences
Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, develops leading-edge crop protection and plant biotechnology solutions to meet the challenges of the growing world. Dow AgroSciences is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company and had annual global sales of $5.7 billion in 2011. Learn more at www.dowagro.com. Follow Dow AgroSciences on Facebook and YouTube or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.