SUNBELT AG EXPO FARMER OF THE YEAR

Heath Cutrell of Chesapeake, Virginia, is a fourth generation farmer who grew up working alongside his father on his uncle’s farm. Just after high school he showed early entrepreneurial skills by starting a small, successful hauling business. In 2006, he secured a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

In early childhood Wade Purvis began helping his grandfather on his vegetable farm and tended to a small garden at home. So farming became an integral part of his youth as he continued to help family members and friends with various crop and cattle operations. In high...

Cobb Farms of Lake City is a partnership enterprise that began over fifty years ago. Today, on a total of 4,500 acres (2,500 rented and 2,000 owned), it grows row crops, produce, and show pigs. Three entities make up the partnership: 1) Steve Cobb and Family is a...

In the winter quarter of his senior year at Auburn University studying Animal and Dairy Science, Darrel Haynes went home to Cullman County to plant a crop with the help of a family friend. He secured a loan from the Production Credit Association and bought a used John...