Since its inception in 1990, the Swisher / Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award has evolved into the most prestigious honor in the southeast and nation with 265 outstanding agribusiness leaders being honored for their “excellence in agriculture.” Ten states participate in the program: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. In the previous 30 years of the award, Swisher has awarded over $1,204,000 to the state and overall winners. Each state winner receives $2,500 in cash and an expense-paid trip to the Sunbelt Ag Expo from Swisher.  A Columbia vest from Ivey’s Outdoor and Farm Supply is given to each state winner and nominator. Additionally, Syngenta donates $500 to each state winner’s charity of choice and Massey Ferguson North America provides each winner with a gift package. The overall Southeastern winner receives an additional $15,000 from Swisher.  Other prizes for the overall winner include use of a Massey Ferguson tractor for a year or up to 250 hours (whichever comes first) from Massey Ferguson North America, a Columbia jacket from Ivey’s Outdoor and Farm Supply, a Hays LTI Smoker/Grill, and a Henry Repeating Arms American Farmer Tribute Edition .22 rifle from Reinke Irrigation.

Swisher Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year 2021

2020-2021 State Winners

Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern 2019 Farmer of the Year

Michael H. McDowell of Vernon Hill, Virginia has been selected as the overall winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award for 2019. He is a fourth generation Halifax County farmer and cattleman who grows mixed grass hay, annual hay, and alfalfa and raises award-winning registered Angus cattle.

At the age of sixteen, McDowell began to farm three acres on his own under a sharecropper arrangement with his father. That formative experience taught him the value of responsibility and introduced him to the rewards and challenges of working the land in order to pay for his college tuition. He obtained a B.S. degree in animal science and agronomy from Virginia Tech.

Farming With Spirit Featuring 2019 Farmer of the Year Michael McDowell

When the pastor takes the pulpit at County Line Baptist Church in Halifax County, Virginia, a 5-foot cattle prod leans at his side. It’s not a prop. It’s not what might be known in ministry circles as an “object lesson.”

For Pastor Michael McDowell, it’s an essential part of his story.

It’s also an essential part of the Apostle Paul’s story, a source of faithful inspiration for McDowell. “When Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus,” says McDowell, “Paul falls from his horse and Jesus speaks to him, and says, ‘Paul, it’s difficult for you to kick against the pricks.’”

And that’s where the stories of Pastor McDowell and Farmer McDowell intersect. “I was reared around mules and animal-drawn implements,” he says, recalling days on his four-generation farm, just down the road from the church, when there wasn’t a tractor to be found. “That ‘prick,’ or prod, directed an animal to go where they were supposed to go. It’s a constant reminder to me when I tend to want to go another way.”

Read the rest of the story.

Click here to view an archive of all previous winners by state.

2019 Overall and State Winners

• Virginia Farmer Michael H. McDowell Named 2019 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year
• MICHAEL H. McDOWELL NAMED 2019 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JERRY RAY NAMED 2019 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• SIDI LIMEHOUSE NAMED 2019 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JOHNNY WISHON NAMED 2019 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• TED PARKER NAMED 2019 MISSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• DANNY CUNNINGHAM NAMED 2019 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• ROBERT L. DICKEY, III NAMED 2019 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• CHARLES W. OBERN NAMED 2019 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• CHRIS ISBELL NAMED 2019 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• HANK RICHARDSON NAMED 2019 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR

2018 Overall and State Winners

• South Carolina Farmer Kevin Yon Named 2018 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year
• HOWARD BROWN NAMED 2018 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• LONNIE FORTNER NAMED 2018 MISSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• DARREN LUTTRELL NAMED 2018 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JAMES VAUGHN NAMED 2018 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• LYNETTA USHER GRINER NAMED 2018 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• LUKE ALSTON NAMED 2018 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JOHN DELOACH NAMED 2018 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• PAUL ROGERS, JR. NAMED 2018 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JOHN VERELL NAMED 2018 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• KEVIN YON NAMED 2018 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR

2017 Overall and State Winners

• Virginia Farmer Robert Mills, Jr. Named 2017 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year
• ROBERT MILLS, JR. NAMED 2017 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• MIKE ROBINSON NAMED 2017 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• KEMP McLEOD NAMED 2017 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• VAN HEMRIC NAMED 2017 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• MIKE STURDIVANT NAMED 2017 MISSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• MIKE BACH NAMED 2017 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• EVERETT WILLIAMS NAMED 2017 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• MARK WILSON NAMED 2017 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• MARK MORGAN NAMED 2017 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• CHRIS LANGLEY NAMED 2017 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR

2016 Overall and State Winners

• Arkansas Farmer David Wildy Named as 2016 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year
• TYLER WEGMEYER NAMED 2016 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JAMES HASKEW NAMED 2016 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• KERRY OWEN NAMED 2016 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JERRY WYANT NAMED 2016 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• PAUL GOOD NAMED 2016 MISSSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• KEITH LOWRY NAMED 2016 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JOHN MCCORMICK NAMED 2016 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• PAUL DIMARE NAMED 2016 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• DAVID WILDY NAMED 2016 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• WENDELL GIBBS NAMED 2016 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR

2015 Overall and State Winners

• North Carolina Farmer Danny Kornegay Named Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year for 2015
• RICKEY CORNUTT NAMED 2015 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• NATHAN REED NAMED 2015 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• VIC STORY, JR., NAMED 2015 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JAMES LYLES NAMED 2015 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JACK TRUMBO NAMED 2015 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• ALLEN EUBANKS NAMED 2015 MISSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• DANNY KORNEGAY NAMED 2015 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• TOM TRANTHAM NAMED 2015 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• GEORGE CLAY NAMED 2015 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• DONALD TURNER NAMED 2015 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR

2014 Overall and State Winners

• Georgia Crop Farmer Philip Grimes Named Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year for 2014
• ANDY GILL NAMED 2014 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• DANNY MURPHY NAMED 2014 MISSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• C. DENNIS CARLTON NAMED 2014 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• FRANK HOWEY JR. NAMED 2014 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JOHN KELLER NAMED 2014 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• PHILIP GRIMES NAMED 2014 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• PHILLIP HUNTER NAMED 2014 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• RAY ALLAN MACKEY NAMED 2014 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• ROBERT T. “TOM” NIXON II NAMED 2014 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• WALTER DANTZLER NAMED 2014 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR

2013 Overall and State Winners

• South Carolina Fruit Grower James Cooley Named Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year for 2013
• SCOTT TRAVIS NAMED 2013 KENTUCKY FARMER OF THE YEAR
• LIN JONES NAMED 2013 VIRGINIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• WILBUR EARP NAMED 2013 NORTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• PHILLIP DeSALVO NAMED 2013 ARKANSAS FARMER OF THE YEAR
• WILL HARRIS NAMED 2013 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• ABBOTT MYERS NAMED 2013 MISSISSIPPI FARMER OF THE YEAR
• RICHARD JAMESON NAMED 2013 TENNESSEE FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JAMES COOLEY NAMED 2013 SOUTH CAROLINA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• JOHN SCOTT LONG NAMED 2013 FLORIDA FARMER OF THE YEAR
• ANNIE DEE NAMED 2013 ALABAMA FARMER OF THE YEAR