Columbia, TN July 20, 2019 – Clay County young farmers Nick and April Patterson are Tennessee Farm Bureau’s Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award winners. The results were announced during the Tennessee Young Farmer Summer Conference held at the headquarter offices of the Tennessee Farm Bureau in Columbia, Tenn. The young row crop, livestock and forestry farmers from the Moss community competed against 13 other county contestants across the state to be named state winners and have the opportunity to compete for national honors in January.
Nick and April were named this year’s winners based upon farm and financial records from 2018 as well as their leadership on their farm, in their community and Farm Bureau. They farm more than 1000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat and raise commercial and Akaushi cattle which they sell the meat directly to the public and as a cooperator for Heartbrand Ranch in Texas. In addition, they host agritourism events on the farm and run a sawmill and log home company, Honest Abe Log Homes, which April’s father began more than 50 years ago.
Both Nick and April have been very active in the Young Farmer and Rancher program, as well as the Clay County Farm Bureau and their local community.
As state winners, the Pattersons receive a year’s free use of a brand-new Case IH tractor up to 150 hours. They also receive $1000 and a fully-loaded Kubota RTV from Tennessee Farm Bureau, an insurance policy to cover the tractor for one year from Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, $500 in qualified Farm Bureau Services, $500 in services from Farmers Services and a trip to the American Farm Bureau Convention in Austin, Texas in January 2020, where they will compete for national honors with other state winners. The national winner will get a 2020 truck, provided courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance and paid registration to the 2020 YF&R Leadership Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. and-new Kubota tractor up to 250 hours. Andy and Terra Davis of White County are the second-place winners in this year’s competition and will receive free use of a brand-new Kubota tractor up to 250 hours. Andy and Terra farm 4,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, sunflowers and hemp as well as custom planting, harvesting, spraying and trucking for other local farmers.
The 2019 District Achievement Award winners are:
- District I – Hunter Grills of Dyer County. Hunter is a ninth-generation row crop and beef cattle farmer who, with his family, raises 3200 acres of soybeans, corn, triticale, oats and wheat in addition to 50 head of beef cattle.
- District II – Lee and Halie Bagwell of Robertson County. Lee and Halie raise 750 acres of corn, wheat, soybeans, tobacco and hemp.
- District III – Kary Robinson of Franklin County. Kary and his family raise 760 acres of corn, oats, soybeans and wheat in addition to their beef cattle herd. He and his brother also started their own feed store where they bag and sell their grain.
- District V – Lorie Fleenor of Sullivan County. Lorie and her husband farm nearly 500 acres where they raise hay, run 250 grazing stocker cattle and run a horse boarding and riding operation.