Jul 31, 2023 | FOTY 2023 Profile, News
Kyle Owen (born Jonathan Kyle Owen) realized his dream of farming full time in 2004 at the age of 21. His father was a local elementary school principal who had always grown a few acres of tobacco and had a small cow/calf operation. Early on, Kyle developed a deep...
Jul 31, 2023 | FOTY 2023 Profile, News
Brad O’Neal is a minority owner in Coosaw Farms, which is located in Fairfax, South Carolina, and takes its name from the nearby Coosahatchie River. O’Neal said, “My parents started the farm at a time with high interest rates and low commodity prices. My dad worked...
Jul 31, 2023 | FOTY 2023 Profile, News
Jerry Wyant was raised on the same farm in Vale, North Carolina, where he’s been planting crops and raising livestock for the last 52 years. Wyant said, “I’m the fourth generation to live on this property. My great-grandfather bought 280 acres in the mid-1800s and...
Jul 31, 2023 | FOTY 2023 Profile, News
Gaddis Farms, in Bolton, Mississippi, is a multi-faceted agricultural operation that includes Gaddis Farms, Gaddis & McLaurin Hardware Feed & Seed, and Gaddis & McLaurin Cotton Gin. Kendall Garraway, of Jackson, Mississippi, is Vice President of Gaddis...
Jul 31, 2023 | FOTY 2023 Profile, News
Gary Cecil, of Owensboro, began his 50-year farming career by renting ten acres of tobacco land and hauling hay for area farmers and ear corn to local elevators. Today he operates 2,414 acres, 180 of which are owned and 2,234 are rented on which he grows watermelon,...
Jul 31, 2023 | FOTY 2023 Profile, News
Bart Davis, of Doerun, grew up on his parents’ farm of around 500 acres that had a small herd of mother cows and a hog operation. He recalled, “While I was growing up, I always planned to farm alongside my father and was involved in FFA and Young Farmers...
