Provided by Sunbelt Ag Expo

Since its inception in 1990, the Sunbelt Expo’s Southeastern Farmer of the Year award program has evolved into the most prestigious honor in the southeast and nation with 286 outstanding agribusiness leaders being honored for excellence in agriculture.

The goals and objectives for the award are to reward a commitment to excellence in the agriculture industry; to reward efficiency in farming practices; to reward participation and leadership in community, state and national services; to reward sound management and financial practices; to reward plans for future development and changes; to reward sound environmental practices; and, to reward sound marketing and promotional practices.

States that participate in the program include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In the previous 32 years of the award, over $1.284 million has been awarded to state and overall winners.

We are pleased to announce that Massey Ferguson, Harper Family Holdings, the Alabama Farmers Federation, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Florida Farm Bureau, Georgia Farm Bureau, Kentucky farm Bureau, Mississippi Farm Bureau, North Carolina Farm Bureau, South Carolina Farm Bureau, Tennessee Farm Bureau, and Virginia Farm Bureau have come onboard as sponsors of the 2023 award program. Cooperative sponsors include SE Farm Press/Farm Progress, Hays LTI and Reinke.

For the purpose of ensuring that the Farmer of the Year program continues into 2024 and thrives beyond that, we are launching the Friends of the Farmer of the Year fund. This program comes with a cost – cost that we believe is worth every penny. As you are led, please contribute to the Friends of the Farmer of the Year fund as a means to support the program so that we can continue to make it as special for those farmers that will continue to be recognized for their accomplishments in the future.

Additionally, any donation to the Sunbelt Ag Expo and to the Friends of the Farmer of the Year fund is tax deductible. We look forward to returning to on-farm judging in August and hosting the group at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in October. The Farmer of the Year reception and banquet will be held in Tifton at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center on Oct. 16, 2023, and the Expo Luncheon will be held on Oct. 17.

We look forward to celebrating the Farmer of the year program in conjunction with the 45th annual Sunbelt Ag Expo at Spence Field in Moultrie, Ga., Oct. 17-19. Learn more about the Sunbelt Ag Expo’s Southeastern Farmer of the Year program and the Friends of the Farmer of the Year fund.