2024 SUNBELT AG EXPO FARMER OF THE YEAR

Congratulations to Faylene Whitaker of North Carolina for being named the 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. Learn more about Whitaker’s farming operation in North Carolina.

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2024 State Winners

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2024 Farmer of the Year – Walter Bass, Jr., Virginia

2024 Farmer of the Year – Walter Bass, Jr., Virginia

Walter Bass, Jr. Virginia Farmer of the Year 2024 Four generations of the Bass family have farmed in the small town of Gladys, Virginia for just over 100 years. Bass Sod Farm, designated a Century Farm, is comprised of 2313 rented and owned acres that grew tobacco for...

2024 Farmer of the Year – George McDonald, Tennessee

2024 Farmer of the Year – George McDonald, Tennessee

George McDonald Tennessee Farmer of the Year 2024 Just three years from now in 2027, George McDonald and his family will be celebrating an entire century of caring for Catesa Farms, fifty miles northeast of Nashville in Riddleton. He said, “Growing up with both my...

2024 Farmer of the Year – Ty Woodard, South Carolina

2024 Farmer of the Year – Ty Woodard, South Carolina

Ty Woodard South Carolina Farmer of the Year 2024 Ty Woodard, of Woodard Farms, Inc., is a third-generation diversified farmer and agribusiness owner in Darlington County. Ty’s grandfather, Frank Woodard, Jr., always dreamed of returning to his agricultural roots...

2024 Farmer of the Year – Faylene Whitaker, North Carolina

2024 Farmer of the Year – Faylene Whitaker, North Carolina

Faylene Whitaker North Carolina Farmer of the Year 2024 Two years after they married, Faylene Whitaker and her late husband, Richard, started their own farm in 1975 on ten acres of rented land, using a 150 International tractor and a $40 tobacco setter. When the first...

2024 Farmer of the Year – Bruce Allen Redmond, Georgia

2024 Farmer of the Year – Bruce Allen Redmond, Georgia

Bruce Allen Redmond Georgia Farmer of the Year 2024 Bruce Redmond is boldly carrying on the legacy of his late father, Larry Redmond, who started Shiloh Farms in the early 1980s. The operation consists of 2800 owned and rented acres in Guyton and produces bahia grass,...

2024 Farmer of the Year – Jason Watts, Florida

2024 Farmer of the Year – Jason Watts, Florida

Jason Watts Florida Farmer of the Year 2024 Growing up in the rich agricultural area of Okeechobee, Jason Watts is the grandson of dairy farmers on both sides. His great-grandfather grew citrus crops, as did many farmers in those days. He said, “My uncles,...

2024 Farmer of the Year – Ted Huneycutt, Arkansas

2024 Farmer of the Year – Ted Huneycutt, Arkansas

Ted Huneycutt Arkansas Farmer of the Year 2024 The history of Huneycutt Farms reaches back to 1882, when the great-grandfather of brothers Ted and Steve Huneycutt began farming in Dalark, Arkansas, a border town between Clark and Dallas counties. Their grandfather,...

2024 Farmer of the Year – Joel Sirmon, Alabama

2024 Farmer of the Year – Joel Sirmon, Alabama

Joel Sirmon Alabama Farmer of the Year 2024 Joel Sirmon, along with his brother and three sisters, was born on a 300-acre dairy and farrow-to-finish hog operation that also grew corn and soybeans. His parents wanted him to pursue higher education, so he went off to...

Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern 2023 Farmer of the Year

Sunbelt Ag Expo Farmer of the Year 2023 Steve Cobb

Arkansas

North Carolina

Alabama

South Carolina

Georgia

Tennessee

Florida

Virginia

Steve Cobb 2023 Farmer of the Year Southeastern Sunbelt Ag Expo

Steve Cobb, of Lake City, Arkansas, has been selected as the overall winner of the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award for 2023.

Cobb Farms is a partnership enterprise that began over fifty years ago in Craighead County. 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 leading show-pig operation that produces 1,000+ show pigs a year as well as breeding stock for club pig production. 2) Cane Island Farms oversee the row crops of corn, cotton, and peanuts. 3) The Cane Island Produce branch grows vegetables, specializing in year-round greenhouse tomatoes.

In addition, Circle L Farms handles all of Cane Island Farm’s trucking needs as well as Steve Cobb and Family’s grain hauling. The company runs eight trucks daily and helps out local brokers as well.

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

2023 Overall and State Winners

2022 Overall and State Winners

2020-2021 Overall and State Winners

2019 Overall and State Winners

2018 Overall and State Winners

2017 Overall and State Winners

2016 Overall and State Winners

2015 Overall and State Winners

2014 Overall and State Winners

2013 Overall and State Winners