mississippi farm country

A Publication of Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation • MSFB.org

FARMM I S S I S S I P P I

COUNTRYMAY/JUNE 2011

VOLUME 87 NO. 3

Young FarmersAgriculture’sFuture

3MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

CONTENTS

Features88 YOUNG FARMERSMississippi can be proud of its youngfarmer leaders. Come with us as wevisit with some of these very capableand talented men and women.

2200 SOLVE THE MYSTERYWhich Pike County town grew up around the railroad? Read theclues and make your guess.

2222 FARM TO FORKChef Luis Bruno of Hilton Jacksonfavors locally-grown foods. ChefBruno will participate in the 2011Farm Families of Mississippi agpromotion campaign.

Departments44 President’s Message66 Commodity Update:

Forestry77 Commodity Update:

Dairy

About the coverHumphreys County row crop farmers Pepper and Crystal Roberts enjoyteaching school children and others about agriculture. Read about these2010 State Achievement Award winners inside. They are pictured withtheir children Jillian, James and Joseph. Photo by Greg Gibson.

“Our mission is to create an environmentin which Mississippi farmers, ranchers,and Farm Bureau members can have a

better life and make a better living.”

MAY/JUNE

MMIISSSSIISSSSIIPPPPII FFAARRMM CCOOUUNNTTRRYYVolume 87 Number 3May/June 2011

MMiissssiissssiippppii FFaarrmm CCoouunnttrryy(ISSN 1529-9600) magazine ispublished bimonthly by the

Mississippi Farm Bureau® Federation.

EDITORIAL and BUSINESS OFFICES6311 Ridgewood Road Jackson, MS 39211601-977-4153

EEDDIITTOORR - Glynda Phillips

AADDVVEERRTTIISSIINNGGNational - Paul Hurst - 1-800-397-8908Southeastern U.S. – Angela Thompson

1-800-227-8244 ext. 4242

FFAARRMM BBUURREEAAUU OOFFFFIICCEERRSSPresident – Randy Knight

Vice President – Donald GantVice President – Ted KendallVice President – Reggie Magee

Treasurer – Billy DavisCorporate Secretary – Ilene Sumrall

FFAARRMM BBUURREEAAUU DDIIRREECCTTOORRSSDr. Jim Perkins, IukaMike Graves, Ripley

B.A. Teague, New AlbanyBill Ryan Tabb, Cleveland

Coley L. Bailey, Jr., CoffeevilleNeal Huskison, PontotocJeffrey R. Tabb, WalthallBobby Moody, Louisville

Wanda Hill, IsolaJames Foy, Canton

William Jones, MeridianJames Brewer, ShubutaStanley Williams, Mt. OliveLonnie Fortner, Port GibsonMoody Davis, Brookhaven

Mike McCormick, Union ChurchD. P. O’Quinn, PurvisGerald Moore, Petal

Clifton Hicks, LeakesvilleKen Mallette, VancleaveBetty Mills, Winona

Noble Guedon, Natchez

HHOONNOORRAARRYY VVIICCEE--PPRREESSIIDDEENNTTSSLouis Breaux, David H. Bennett

Warren Oakley

Farm Bureau members receive this publication as part of their membership benefit. Periodicals postageis paid at Jackson, MS and at additional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes toP. O. Box 1972, Jackson, MS 39215

Material in this publication is based on what the editorbelieves to be reliable information. Neither Mississippi FarmBureau Federation nor those individuals or organizationscontributing to the MFBF publication assume any liabilityfor errors that might go undetected in the publication – thisincludes statements in articles or advertisements that couldlead to erroneous personal or business managementdecisions.

FARM BUREAU®, FB® and all Farm Bureau logos used inthis magazine are registered service marks owned by theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation. They may not be usedin any commercial manner without the prior written consentof the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Design: Coopwood Communications, Inc.

MAY/JUNEMISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY4

As I travel the state, attending meetings and visiting withFarm Bureau leaders, I am always impressed with thecaliber of our young farmer members. I had thought

that the young farmer group that I was involved with sometwenty years ago was without equal (and in many respects theywere), but with each successive generation, it seems that ouryoung farmers are becoming better educated, more techno-logically savvy, and more involved in their communities.

This level of knowledge and commitment is important be-cause farming isn’t easy. Concerns with the economy, landavailability, activist groups, and governmental regulations of-ten weigh all of us down. And yet, despite the difficult and of-ten arbitrary nature of our profession, Mississippi’s youngfarmers continue to rise to the challenge.

Today’s young farmers and ranchers are skilled managersand dedicated environmental stewards. They work hard to en-sure that their operations are successful, and they take excel-lent care of the land and water so that these valuable resourceswill be around for generations to come. Young farmers wanttheir children to receive good educations and follow theirdreams. Many are hopeful those dreams will lead them rightback home to the farm.

Young farmers today take time from their busy schedulesto participate in organizations like Farm Bureau. They knowthat our Young Farmers and Ranchers program is an excellentway to sharpen their leadership skills, gain media experience,work with legislative issues, and network with farmers acrossthe state.

Take a moment and look around. I think you will discoverthat many of our current agricultural leaders were shaped bya past involvement in the Mississippi Farm Bureau FederationYoung Farmers and Ranchers program. Bill Ryan Tabb of Bo-livar County and Coley Little Bailey of Yalobusha County areperfect examples.

These former State Achievement Award winners and YF&RState Committee chairs have served as county Farm Bureaupresidents, state commodity advisory committee chairs, andstate directors. They also hold leadership positions in otheragricultural organizations on both the local and state levels.

Bill Ryan and Coley presently serve on our newly-formed

Young Farmers and Ranchers Steering Committee, which ischarged with reviewing the current program and suggestingpositive changes for the future. Farm Bureau wants the verybest Young Farmers and Ranchers program in the nation, andwe won’t settle for less.

If you live in the central or southern regions of our state,you will see a television commercial featuring Bill Ryan air-ing during this year’s Farm Families of Mississippi ag pro-motion campaign. Bill Ryan Tabb and Coley Little Bailey areexcellent spokespersons for agriculture, and we are blessed tohave them in our Farm Bureau family.

This issue of our magazine visits several outstanding farm-ers currently involved in our Young Farmers and Ranchers pro-gram. I invite you to read about these very capable and talentedyoung men and women.

If they are not already involved, please take the time to en-courage the young farmers in your community to participatein our program. Farm Bureau needs these young men andwomen who are just starting out with a light in their eyes anda boundless optimism and faith within their hearts.

These young men and women are agriculture’s future.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Randy Knight, PresidentMississippi Farm Bureau Federation

Young Farmers AreAgriculture’s Future

At presstime, the Animal Cruelty bill thatFarm Bureau and The Humane Society ofthe U.S. worked on together had passedboth houses of the Legislature and washeaded to the governor for his signature.The bill helps protect domesticated dogsand cats but also looks out for the interestsof livestock farmers. Visit our Web site atwww.msfb.org. The Legislature has alsobegun redrawing the state’s 122 Housedistricts and 52 Senate districts to reflectpopulation changes revealed by the 2010Census. Visit www.msjrc.state.ms.us.

Legislative Update

The fourth-quarter timber price report for Mississippi (avail-able at www.msucares.com/forestry) indicates the lowest state av-erage stumpage price for pine sawtimber since the beginning ofthe housing downturn. That price is $25.88, which represents a de-cline of nearly 47 percent since early2005 at the peak of the U.S. housingbubble. The downturn in home con-struction has contributed to a compara-ble downward trend in U.S. South lum-ber production. As a result, pinesawtimber harvest in Mississippi hasalso declined sharply as mills consumeless timber (or have closed) and sometimber producers opt to delay harvest.

The question for timber producers iswhen will stumpage prices recover? Noone knows, but here are some factors toconsider. What drives Mississippi sawtimber demand? It’s pri-marily U.S. residential construction. During the eight years priorto the housing bubble collapse, the U.S. constructed, on average,about 1.7 million homes a year. We are currently producingaround 600,000 units a year. Most housing construction forecastsindicate a return to the 1.7 million production levels by 2016, pos-sibly 2017.

That implies that U.S. South lumber production won’t greatlyincrease until that time. That provides some insight into possiblefuture increases in demand for timber; however, stumpage pricesare influenced not only by demand but also by supply. Due to re-duced timber consumption since the collapse of the housing bub-ble, inventories of sawtimber have obviously increased. Two fac-tors contribute to this increase: (1) harvesting less sawtimber and(2) more timber growing out of smaller diameter classes intolarger sawtimber classes.

Mississippi inventory data from the U.S. Forest Service For-est Inventory Analysis conducted in 1994 and again in 2006 in-dicates a 23 percent increase in standing timber volumes, with themajority of that volume increase in the sawtimber diameterclasses. So, prior to the recent decrease in timber harvesting,Mississippi was already experiencing an increase in sawtimbersupply. This was likely a result of Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) pine plantations nearing maturity and other increased in-vestments in pine plantations in the 1980s and 1990s.

The CRP program alone is responsible for some 380,000 acresof pine plantations in Mississippi. Consider also the addition to

Mississippi’s sawtimber supply resulting from a sharp decrease intimber harvesting starting in 2006 with the bursting of the hous-ing bubble. Obviously, sawtimber inventories have increasedsince 2006, no question.

When the Mississippi Forestry Commission’s Mississippi In-stitute for Forest Inventory completes its next statewide inventory,this will provide a better indication of existing timber supplies andhow much that has increased since 2006 when timber harvestingsharply declined. When supply increases and demand decreases,prices fall and that has been the case for Mississippi’s sawtimbermarket since 2005, when prices began their current downwardtrend.

Back to the question of when will pine sawtimber prices re-cover. It appears that noticeable improvement will not begin to berealized until 2016 or 2017 as demand for timber increases withrecovery in the U.S. housing construction sector. But how muchpine sawtimber supply will be available at that time?

It is safe to assume that the supply of harvestable timber willbe greater than it was in 2006. So, once timber consumption in-creases back to near pre-recession levels, how long will it take toreduce supply sufficiently to improve stumpage prices? The im-plication is that sawtimber stumpage prices may not exhibit ap-preciable recovery until sometime well after 2016 or 2017.

These supply and demand issues must be weighed by timberproducers as they contemplate the harvest decision.

Article by James E. Henderson, Ph.D., Assistant ExtensionProfessor. Approved as Publication No. FO406 of the Forest andWildlife Research Center, Mississippi State University.

COMMODITY UPDATE: FORESTRY

Sawtimber prices down,inventories building


Webb

Brent, Ken and Brad Martin

Ken Martin, MFBF Forestry Advisory Committee ChairSamantha Webb, MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Forestry

7MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRYMAY/JUNE

As of March 2011, we have 124 dairyfarms in the state of Mississippi, according toStan Welch, Director of Dairy Operations,Mississippi Department of Health. These lownumbers are a direct result of low farm gateprices compared to the high input prices toproduce a gallon of milk plus the many eco-nomic challenges our dairy industry has facedthrough the years.

Most Mississippi dairy farms are pasture-based with grain supplementation (feed com-posed primarily of corn and soybean mealalong with vitamin and mineral supplements)plus additional utilization of stored forages –primarily dry hay and baleage (bale silage).The average dairy herd size in Mississippi isapproximately 150 cows.

The top five dairy counties are as follows:

• Walthall• Lincoln• Marion• Pike• Noxubee

We have approximately 17,000 lactatingdairy cows on our Mississippi dairy farms,with a $74 million value of production of milkin 2010, which is $7 million above the 2009

value. The primary breeds found on Missis-sippi dairy farms are Holstein and Jersey.

Holsteins typically weigh 80 to 100 poundsat birth and 1,200 to 1,500 pounds at maturity.Jerseys weigh around 40 to 60 pounds at birthand 800 to 1,100 pounds at maturity. The dailydiet of Mississippi Holstein cows normallyconsists of 50 to 70 pounds of grass plus 10pounds of hay plus 15 to 25 pounds of a corn-soy concentrate feed, and each cow consumes25 to 50 gallons of water each day.

Holsteins normally produce the greatestvolume (pounds) of milk, while Jerseys nor-mally produce milk with the highest milkfat(butterfat) content.

A gallon of milk weighs 8.6 pounds.A special thanks to Lamar Adams, Dairy

Extension Specialist, Mississippi State Uni-versity, for providing many of the facts andfigures used in this article.

Ervin

Anderson

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) will again hold regional commodity-specific meetingsthis summer. More information will be available as schedules are firmed up. Contact Nancy Britt at 1-800-227-8244, ext. 4230, or visit our Web site at www.msfb.org.

Summer Commodity Meetings

Max Anderson, MFBF Dairy Advisory Committee ChairDoug Ervin, MFBF Commodity Coordinator for Dairy

COMMODITY UPDATE: DAIRY

Dairy Industry Facts

By Glynda Phillips


Humphreys County row crop farmers Pepper andCrystal Roberts take time from their busy scheduleseach year to teach school children and others about

life on a farm. In the past, they have also mentored ayoung farmer starting out in the business.

“Farmers must speak up and tell their story,” Peppersaid. “But we must also encourage beginning farmers. Go-ing that extra mile will help to ensure a strong future forMississippi agriculture and Farm Bureau.”

Telling Ag’s StoryThe Roberts say consumers need to be reminded that

their clothing doesn’t just magically appear in stores. “Cotton is grown somewhere, ginned somewhere, made

into fabric somewhere, and made into the clothing that youwear somewhere,” Pepper said. “The same holds true forfood. Milk doesn’t just show up on a grocery store shelf.It comes from a cow and is processed and packaged some-where then shipped to your local supermarket.”

MississippiAgriculture

StrengtheningBy Glynda Phillips

Cotton harvesting photos by Greg Gibson


Each year, the Roberts invite local elementary schoolchildren to visit their farm and witness the cotton harvest.

“We teach them how cotton grows and show them howit is picked. We tell them that mops, blue jeans and t-shirtsare made from cotton,” Pepper said. “We have a half-fullmodule builder, and they can climb inside and have funwith cotton. The kids who are wearing 100 percent cottonclothing are covered in cotton when they are finished, be-cause cotton sticks to cotton. Each child is also given a sackand encouraged to pick cotton with their fingers.”

Pepper and Crystal are considering expanding theirteaching efforts.

“We are thinking about getting more into this, maybewith a corn maze and an opportunity for kids to witnesscorn and soybean harvests,” Pepper said. “But that will bedown the road.”

The Roberts were instrumental in forming theHumphreys County Farm Bureau Young Farmers andRanchers Committee. This group of young farmers tellsagriculture’s story each year by bringing together farmers,bankers, and chemical and equipment dealers for a time offood and fellowship. The event, originally known as the“Blessing of the Crops Breakfast,” was changed this yearto a dinner but maintains the same basic format. A meal isenjoyed, a speaker addresses the group, and a farmer praysfor the crop and the season ahead.

“When you have bankers and equipment dealers min-gling with farmers, they are able to see the commitment offarmers in the community and that it’s not just aboutmoney.”

Mentoring Young FarmersTeaching school kids and others about agriculture is one

way the Roberts support their industry. Another way isthrough mentoring young farmers. One of Pepper’s goalswhen he started farming was to help another young personget established in agriculture.

“The opportunity to realize this goal came when I hireda young man from our county as a farm manager in 2002,”


YF&R ActivitiesEach year, the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Young Farm-ers and Ranchers (YF&R) program, under the guidance of theYF&R State Committee, sponsors the following activities:

�Washington, D.C. Trip for second-year YF&R State Committeemembers;

� National Leadership Conference for first-year YF&R State Com-mittee members;

� State Leadership Conference;

� Tour of College of Veterinary Medicine and various MississippiState University research sites;

� Scholarship Foundation, which awards scholarships to studentswho are sophomores or higher and are majoring in ag-relatedevents. Fundraising events include silent and live auctions atthe organization’s annual convention and one Gary Langley Me-morial outdoor recreational event during the summer.

The YF&R program also offers Achievement Award and Discus-sion Meet contests. The Achievement Award recognizes youngfarmers on the regional and state levels who excel in their farmingendeavors and in leadership activities. The Discussion Meet pro-vides participants with an opportunity to exchange ideas and in-formation in an effort to solve a problem. State competition for both contests is held during the Missis-sippi Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in December. Formore information, contact Young Farmers and Ranchers InterimCoordinator Andy Whittington at 1-601-977-4238.

he said. “Our goal was to teach him farmingfrom the inside out. We wanted to let him seethe numbers, learn about chemicals and sit atthe desk with us and make plans and a budget.

“He had worked with us for two yearswhen the opportunity came for him to farmsome of his family’s land. We offered to cus-tom farm the land for him,” Pepper said. “Hestarted out in this way and, every year, wasable to rent additional acres. In 2009, I amproud to say that he had acquired enough landso that he could make a living from it.”

The Roberts would like to encourage otherfarmers to mentor a young farmer in someway. Farming is a complicated profession atbest but never more so than in the beginningyears. Young farmers need a supportive wordor a helping hand. It is easy to become dis-couraged.

“There’s definitely room for more farmers,at least here in the Delta,” Pepper said. “If ayoung farmer doesn’t come from a familyfarming operation, it’s difficult to get started.Older farmers can help by lending equipment,labor, and/or advice until the young farmercan get established and begin making a livingfor himself.

“Another way to help is by encouragingyoung farmers to serve on county Farm Bu-reau boards so they will have access to the re-sources that our organization has to offer,” hesaid. “Some counties already do this, andthat’s great. The average farmer today is 55years old or older, so not only would youngfarmers benefit from an association with FarmBureau, but our organization would benefitfrom their ideas, energy and enthusiasm.”

“We must all work together to grow andstrengthen agriculture and Farm Bureau,” hesaid. “Not only is this the right thing to do, itis the smart thing to do.”

Pepper and Crystal Roberts are the YoungFarmers and Ranchers State AchievementAward winners for 2010. Pepper is a memberof the Humphreys County Board of Directorsand organizer of his county’s Young Farmersand Ranchers Committee. Crystal is chair ofthe Humphreys County Farm BureauWomen’s Committee. The Roberts served onthe YF&R State Committee where she servedas secretary.

State Discussion Meet winnerDaniel Martin of Water Valley wasone of three runners-up in Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federation Dis-cussion Meet competition held inAtlanta, Georgia, in January. Martin is an attorney for John J.Crow, Jr., PLLC, where he worksclosely with the farmers, ranch-ers, banks, and local governmen-tal entities of Yalobusha Countyon a variety of agricultural issues.

National Discussion Meet Finalist


Adams County young farmers Noble and Fayla Guedon knowthat in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive agri-culture, farmers must explore all available options, including

new technology, unusual business ventures, and innovative farmingpractices.

“To remain profitable, farmers must think outside the box,” No-ble said. “If you don’t do this, you aren’t opening yourself to extra in-come streams for when commodity prices go back down. And youknow that prices will do that because it is all cyclical and just a mat-ter of time. When prices go down, inputs and rent will stay the sameand you will be caught in a cost/price squeeze.

“Thinking outside the box takes an open mind, a patient attitude,good communication skills and quick responses,” he added. “I go toanything offered by Farm Bureau, Mississippi State University andLouisiana State University. I listen to recommendations from equip-ment and chemical dealers. All of this is very important because agri-culture is changing fast.

“Sixty years ago, farmers used mules,” he said. “Now, we havetractors that can steer themselves and sprayers that can vary appliedrates on the go. I wouldn’t ever want to replace the operator, though.There are too many things you have to be there to see and touch your-self.”

In recent years, Noble and his family partners have explored sev-eral interesting business ventures they’ve found to be successful, in-cluding custom harvesting, custom hauling and GPS services. He andhis family also do a lot of in-house trucking, harvesting and spraying.They’ve built grain bins and they dry their own rice.

“We want to cut out the middleman and do most of this ourselves,”he said. “It saves money.”

Noble, Fayla and a business partner operated a very successfulcorn maze for awhile and enjoyed teaching young people about agri-

OUTSIDE

BOXOF THE

THINKING

Photo of Guedon family in rice field by T.G. McCary of Natchez

By Glynda Phillips


culture. But the fall is a busy time of the year for them becausetheir operation grows late beans. So they had to let that go.

“We would work all day and operate the corn maze at night,and we wore ourselves out. If we had been a smaller farming op-eration, this might have been easier,” he said. “But sometimeswe go all the way into November and December with our soy-bean harvesting.”

Five GenerationsNoble is a fifth generation family farmer whose ancestors

came to America from France in the 1700s. Today, eight Gue-don family members, including Noble, his father, his uncles andhis cousins, farm row crops, cattle and vegetables on some of thesame land their ancestors farmed plus some additional acreage.

“Farming is just in my blood, I guess,” Noble said. “I wouldnot have considered doing anything else.”

After receiving a degree in agribusiness with a minor inagronomy from Louisiana State University, Noble joined hisfamily’s farming operation, supporting the efforts of other fam-ily members but also farming his own land (which is rented) withhis wife. Through the years, Noble has encountered his share ofchallenges. He says the harvest season of 2002 was especiallydifficult, very similar to those in 2008 and 2009.

“In that year, two tropical systems came through my area anddelayed the cotton harvest for over two months,” he said. “It tookme five years to climb back out of that financial loss. After thatyear, I decided to make a crop change, and I began learning aboutnew crops that I could grow that would be less risky.”

Another major challenge was losing his first tract of rentedland.

“This was the place where I had begun my farming career,”

he said. “This land was where I produced 100 percent of my in-come. Fortunately, by the end of that year, I had found anotherfarm to rent. It was about 30 miles farther away from my oldfarming location and was a rice farm, mostly comprised of zero-grade fields.

“I had only limited experience with growing rice,” he said. “Ihad only grown 145 acres for one year on the place I had justlost. Now, I was faced with growing close to 600 acres on thenew land.”

Noble and Fayla still rent the land today.“My relatives, Fayla and I have increased our total rice

acreage,” he said. “Everything happens for a reason. By losinga place and renting my current land, I was forced to adapt the op-eration to a new crop that now has been very beneficial to us.”

Farm Bureau LeaderNoble chairs the Young Farmers and Ranchers (YF&R) State

Committee and the newly-formed YF&R State Steering Com-mittee. He says his experience with the YF&R program has beenvery beneficial.

“You meet people like yourself, and that’s nice,” he said. “It’shard to explain to our friends who don’t farm just exactly whatFayla and I do and some of the challenges we encounter eachseason.

“We have made lifelong friends through the YF&R pro-gram,” he said. “We have picked up information about crop pro-duction and political policy, and that’s great. But the best part hasbeen networking with other farmers all over the state.”

Fayla works as a medical laboratory technician at NatchezRegional Medical Center. She and Noble have two children, Car-oline and Grayson, ages 8 and 6.


MississippiYoung Farmers:

What is your biggest challenge as a young farmer?I think the biggest challenge as a young farmer is acquiringland to farm and also obtaining loans to have the money tofarm.

What are some challenges specific to your operation?Rising input costs is a major challenge to me. Higher com-modity prices lead to higher input costs, and it is very hardto get banks to issue loans under these conditions.

What types of technology or new farming/conservationpractices do you use on your farm? What do you seeas being the way of the future as far as all of this is con-cerned?On our farm, we use no-till and minimum-till to reduce ero-sion problems. We also use grass strips, terraces and under-ground piping. We use the latest technology in equipment and

chemicals to help with conservation and weed management.The way of the future lies in the hands of young farmers.

Do you consider yourself a lifelong farmer? Are you op-timistic about the future of farming? Do you think yourchildren will follow in your footsteps? I do consider myself as a lifelong farmer and am optimisticabout the future of farming, especially with higher prices andnew technology. I hope that my children will follow in myfootsteps. I want them to have the same opportunity to farmas I have had.

How does Farm Bureau help young farmers? Farm Bureau provides young farmers with excellent pro-grams like YF & R that allows them the opportunity to learnto be stronger leaders for the future of farming. Farm Bureauis our voice for farming.

A third-generation Prentiss County farmer,Clay grows soybeans, corn, cotton andwheat. As additional income, he raises 50-100 commercial heifers and hauls grain andfertilizer for neighboring farmers.

Clay & Kim

Green

QA&

Region 2

Four couples serving on the Young Farmers and Ranchers StateCommittee were asked to talk about some important topics in farmingtoday. These young farmers are forward-thinking and optimisticindividuals. Here are their answers.


What is your biggest challenge as a young farmer?Start-up costs. When you consider the costs of land, equip-

ment, and fuel…not to mention cattle and feed … it is difficultfor a person just to start farming. For the most part in this state,most young beef cattle farmers are part-time farmers and haveoff-farm jobs that support the farm due to the high start-upcosts of this industry.

What are some challenges specific to your operation?Being that we are part-time farmers, time is probably our biggestchallenge. Balancing jobs, family and the farm can be difficultat times.

What types of technology or new farming/conservationpractices do you use on your farm? What do you see asbeing the way of the future as far as all of this is con-cerned?Through USDA, we have been able to cross-fence our farm andadd watering systems for rotational grazing. We have also par-ticipated in the grazing land conservation program and in-creased the quality of forages that our cattle are grazing. Due tothe high land costs, rotational grazing and forage quality willcontinue to be an important part of the beef cattle industry.Farm sizes are shrinking, but through practices such as these,beef cattle can still be produced in an economical fashion.

Do you consider yourself a lifelong farmer? Are you opti-mistic about the future of farming? Do you think your chil-dren will follow in your footsteps?

Yes, we both do. We were both raised in farming families andare excited about raising our children in a farming family. Wesee the value of farming and are instilling that value in our chil-dren. We are working now so that they will have a place to farmand raise quality cattle in the future.

How does Farm Bureau help young farmers? Farm Bureau is truly the voice of agriculture. It helps build

the leaders of tomorrow through the Young Farmers and Ranch-ers program. This program teaches young farmers about howthey can share their voice through the grassroots process andhave it heard on the national level. It is also a great way to net-work and share ideas with other farmers in the state.

QA&

A fifth-generation Oktibbeha County farmer, Williamis the facilities coordinator for Mississippi StateUniversity’s Leveck Research Unit (South Farm),where he cares for 300 head of purebred cattle. Healso raises 25 head of commercial momma cows inpartnership with his dad. Julie is director of theOktibbeha County Extension Service.

William & Julie

WhiteRegion 4

Forward-Thinking& Optimistic


WASHINGTON, D.C. - The latest survey of participants in theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranch-

ers program shows that America’s young farmers and ranchers arean optimistic lot. Results of the 19th annual YF&R survey reveal that87 percent of those surveyed are more optimistic about farming andranching than they were five years ago.

This is the highest optimism level ever in AFBF’s annual YF&R sur-vey, which was initiated in 1993. Last year, 80 percent of those sur-veyed said they were more optimistic about farming than they werefive years ago. The previous high was in 2008, when 82 percent said

they were more optimistic.The 2011 survey also shows nearly 90 percent of the nation’s

young farmers and ranchers say they are better off than they were fiveyears ago. Last year, 82 percent reported being better off than theywere five years ago.

Nearly 94 percent considered themselves lifetime farmers, while96 percent would like to see their children follow in their footsteps. Theinformal survey reveals that 87 percent believe their children will beable to follow in their footsteps.

Despite the high level of optimism, the young farm and ranch lead-ers express concerns. The number one concern is economic chal-lenges, with 22 percent ranking profitability as their top concern.Government regulations were also a top concern of many of thosesurveyed, with 17 percent ranking that as their top concern. Nearly 10

A third-generation Noxubee County row cropfarmer, Tyler grows cotton and corn in a 50/50rotation. He farms family land which he boughtback after it had been sold.

Tyler & Sarah

HuerkampRegion 6

What is your biggest challenge as a young farmer?Availability of affordable land and operating capital.

What are some challenges specific to your operation?Managing operating costs and marketing products to maxi-mize efficiency and maintain profitability.

What types of technology or new farming/conservationpractices do you use on your farm? What do you see asbeing the way of the future as far as all of this is con-cerned?Transgenic technology, GPS guidance, and GPS variable seedrate.A challenge with new technology is managing and adopting itto maximize profit, not necessarily production. However, newtechnologies create efficiency by allowing farms to operate withfewer employees or increase acres with the same employees.

Do you consider yourself a lifelong farmer? Are you op-timistic about the future of farming? Do you think yourchildren will follow in your footsteps? Yes and of course. Agriculture is essential to the security andsurvival of this country, and all we can do is teach this to ourchildren and hope and pray they choose to continue farmingwith us.

How does Farm Bureau help young farmers? It creates a network of people who have common interests, be-liefs and problems. It also not only keeps you informed aboutcurrent political issues, but with modern agriculture being so ef-ficient, it requires so few people to produce the food and fiberfor our country. Farm Bureau can provide a unified voice tostand up for the benefit of agriculture.

QA&

AFBF Young Farmer Survey

What is your biggest challenge as a young farmer?The biggest challenge is that there are fewer and fewer of us.What does the future hold for state farmers when we get to bethe age that our fathers are now?

What are some challenges specific to your operation?Weather conditions and fuel and equipment costs are challenges specific toour row crop operation as are unstable commodity prices.

What types of technology or new farming/conservation practices doyou use on your farm? What do you see as being the way of the fu-ture as far as all of this is concerned?We have an all-around conservation philosophy on our farm. We have in-let irrigation that uses polypipes and gates to control water in our ricefields. It is a way to conserve fuel and water at the same time. My next im-provement will look more into tailwater recovery. That’s in the planningprocess. Where our farm sits as far as the alluvial aquifer is concerned is onthe red and that means water is getting scarce. All of our land is put to gradeto help conserve water, and we are completely irrigated. We are planning forthe future.

Do you consider yourself a lifelong farmer? Are you optimistic aboutthe future of farming? Do you think your children will follow in yourfootsteps? Yes. I am optimistic. This country can’t make it without farmers. We’vedone so well people don’t stop and think what other countries spend for food.We spend the least amount. We have the safest, most abundant and most af-

fordable food in the world. People needto understand that what goes on out herevery much affects their lives.

How does Farm Bureau help youngfarmers? Farm Bureau is about helping farmersget their voice heard at the state and na-tional capitols. I can actually look at myrepresentatives and talk to them and tellthem what I think. I’ve enjoyed meet-ing farmers from all over the state, andby serving on the YF&R State Com-mittee, I’ve made friends for life withmany of these farmers

MAY/JUNE 17MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY

percent ranked tax burdens as their No. 1 concern.When asked what top three steps the federal government should

take to help young farmers and ranchers, cutting government spend-ing was the top response, with 17 percent listing that as the most im-portant step. Thirteen percent of those surveyed said the governmentshould provide financial help to beginning farmers, while 12 percentsaid reforming environmental regulations was the top step.

The survey shows that America’s young farmers and ranchers arecommitted environmental stewards, with 72 percent saying that bal-ancing environmental and economic concerns is important in their op-erations. The survey shows 58 percent use conservation tillage on theirfarms.

In addition, computers and the Internet are vital tools for the na-tion’s young farmers and ranchers, with 92 percent surveyed reporting

using a computer in their farming operation. Nearly all of those sur-veyed, 98 percent, have access to the Internet. High-speed Internet isused by 74 percent of those surveyed, with 24 percent relying on asatellite connection and 2 percent turning to dialup.

The popular social media site, Facebook, is used by 76 percent ofthose surveyed who use the Internet. The most popular use of the In-ternet in the survey is to gather news and agricultural information, with81 percent turning to it for that use.

Finally, the survey points out that 74 percent of YF&R membersconsider communicating with consumers a formal part of their jobs.

The informal survey of young farmers and ranchers, ages 18-35,was conducted at AFBF’s 2011 YF&R Leadership Conference in Or-lando, Fla., in February.

QA&

Garrett & Dawn

CarverRegion 1

Garrett is a fourth-generation row crop farmerwho presently farms with his father, growingrice and soybeans near Ruleville. The familyfarm moved from cotton to grain in 1997 un-dergoing one of its biggest changes.


Young farmers visited theSmithsonian-quality 1884Munger steam gin at Frog-more. It is listed on the Na-tional Register and housesrare Munger equipment.

Patrick and Kim Swindoll of Hernando talked about serving onthe American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers andRanchers Committee.

Young farmers attending the State Young Farmers and Ranchers Con-ference in Natchez participated in breakout sessions with ag indus-try experts.

Young farmers toured Longwood. Also known as Nutt's Folly, Longwood is the largestoctagonal house in the United States.

Conference participants visited Frogmore Plantation and Gins to learn how farmers farmedin the 1800s and how they farm today on this 1800-acre cotton plantation.

State YF&R Conference - Natchez

Our mystery town is located in Pike County approximately80 miles south of Jackson. It was founded in 1872 andnamed for a railroad official with the New Orleans, Jack-son and Great Northern Railroad, a predecessor of the Illi-nois Central Railroad (ICR). ICR is now a part of theCanadian National (CN) Railways.

Early jobs revolved around the railroad as well ascotton mills and sawmills. The town was known as a tex-tile center for 20 years before its last cotton mill closedin the 1940s. Today, Southwest Mississippi RegionalMedical Center is our mystery town’s largest employer.In addition, it is home to over 35 industrial facilities,ranging from fabric mills, metals and plastics, to poul-try and packaging.

The Enterprise Journal newspaper is located inthis town, which is also the headquarters for a four-county library system. Southwest MississippiCommunity College can be found in nearbySummit.

Retail opportunities abound in the down-town area, at Edgewood Mall, and in nearbycommunities. Our mystery town also boastsa number of restaurants, including therenowned Dinner Bell, which offers a lazy-Susan-type dining experience, and The Ca-

Mystery?Solvethe


Correct GuessesMail guesses to Solve the Mystery, Mis-

sissippi Farm Country, P. O. Box 1972, Jack-son, MS 39215. You may also e-mail yourguesses to [email protected].

Please remember to include your nameand address on the entry.

Visit our Mississippi Farm Bureau Feder-ation Web site at www.msfb.org.

When all correct guesses have been re-ceived, we will randomly draw 20 names.These 20 names will receive a prize and willbe placed in the hat twice.

At the end of the year, a winner will bedrawn from all correct submissions. Thewinner will receive a Weekend Bed andBreakfast Trip, courtesy of the MississippiFarm Bureau Federation.

Families may submit only one entry. Fed-eration staff members and their familiesare ineligible to participate in this contest.

The deadline for submitting your entry isMay 31.

March/AprilThe correct answer for the March/April

Solve the Mystery is Soso

boose Restaurant, located in the historic Har-lan Building in the downtown Depot District.

One of our mystery town’s more popular at-tractions is a railroad museum. You will find here an historic depot and one of thefew remaining iron horse steam locomotives, pictured above, right. You will alsofind an old ice car and an IC wrecker. The CN Railroad still uses the depot facili-ties to load and change cars. Amtrak visits regularly.

The Black History Gallery honors the accomplishments of African Americanleaders in and from our mystery town. The Jerry Clower Museum in East Fork payshomage to the renowned country comedian. A number of art galleries, includingGulf-South Art Gallery, pictured above, and Japonica Gallery, feature the work oflocal artists and others.

Japonica Gallery is named for a shrub that figures notably in our mysterytown’s early history. Back then, a local African American woman planted japoni-cas and gave blooms and cuttings to friends. Soon, a variety of Japonicas flourishedthroughout the town. Some of these plants were sold to agents with Bellingrath Gar-dens in Theodore, Alabama. At one time, the town was known as “The CamelliaCity of America.”

Outdoor recreational opportunities include Percy Quinn State Park, Lake DixieSprings, Bogue Chitto River and Bogue Chitto Water Park, Homochitto River andHomochitto National Forest, Lake Okhissa, and other fishing lakes. The town boasts10 city parks and one large sports park. Pike County Speedway is located nearby.

A few of the famous people associated with our mystery town include Gov.Hugh White; blues artists Bo Diddley, Omar Dykes, Little Freddie King and VastiJackson; musician and entertainer Paul Ott; entertainers Brandy and Ray J. Nor-wood; American historian Steven Ozment; and a number of professional athletes.Entertainers Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears attended high school here. Country co-median Jerry Clower grew up in nearby Amite County.

The annual Azalea Festival was held this year from March 21 to April 3. Name this town.


Popular Jackson chef, Luis Bruno, will participate in the2011 Farm Families of Mississippi ag promotion cam-paign. His Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) pro-

gram, “Cooking for Life with Chef Luis Bruno,” will be featuredas he gives a cooking demonstration and talks about why heprefers fresh, locally-grown foods.

“My family and I love visiting farmers markets. It is so muchfun,” he said. “You find so much color and variety at a farmersmarket, and the quality and taste of the products are much betterbecause they are fresh. I am all about taste since I’ve spent mylife cooking.”

Bruno brings this “farm to fork” philosophy to his position asDirector of Culinary Development for Hilton Jackson, home ofHuntington’s Grille, Wellington’s, and Fitzgerald’s Lobby Bar. Hehas twice served as Executive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion,and he owned his own restaurant, the award-winning Bruno’sEclectic Foods.

Bruno is well-regarded within the food industry, havingcooked with Bobbie Flay, Cat Cora, Rachel Ray, Paula Deen andEmeril Lagasse, to name a few. He is also a popular motivationalspeaker, who is especially concerned with reducing obesityamong children. He says Mississippi is number one in the nationin obesity and deaths from heart disease and number two in dia-betes and hypertension.

Bruno was commended by the 2010 Mississippi Senate as anambassador for healthy lifestyles.

Healthy EatingWhen he talks about the dangers of unhealthy eating, Bruno

speaks from experience. He once weighed almost 400 pounds andsuffered from adult onset diabetes, taking six insulin shots daily.When his doctor ultimately delivered a grim prognosis for his fu-ture, he began changing his life.

Through a local hospital, Bruno lost over 200 pounds with an800-calorie-a-day liquid diet and exercise. In the past two years,he gained some of the weight back as a result of stress, but he isnow in the process of losing it, through healthy eating and exer-cise.

“I tend to be a workaholic, so I am making a point of slow-ing down and spending more time with my wife and daughter,”he said. “They are my number one priority. I also take better careof myself. I eat well and take a spinning class at the local Y.”

Amazing LifeLuis Bruno is constantly amazed at his life.“I never would have guessed I’d be successful at anything,”

he said. “My background was hard.”Bruno grew up in the Bronx, New York, surrounded by alco-

holism and drug abuse. His father was absent. The streets aroundhis home were tough and dangerous, and he had absolutely no

A Farm to Fork

PhilosophyBy Glynda Phillips


role model. When his older brother began working in the foodindustry, Bruno followed in his footsteps at age 13, workingin the family deli. Eventually, he attended a culinary schoolin Florida.

“I met my wife Kathleen in culinary school. She is a Mis-sissippian, so we decided to move here. I worked for severalrestaurants and one college cafeteria before becoming Exec-utive Chef at the Governor’s Mansion,” he said. “Pat Fordicehired me. She was such a classy lady.”

Following his stint in the Governor’s Mansion duringGov. Kirk Fordice’s time in office, he opened his own restau-rant, Bruno’s Eclectic Foods. The restaurant was quite pop-ular, but Bruno says he spent so much time downing beers atthe bar then eating cereal and fried Spam, cheese, Cubanbread and mayonnaise at home, that the pounds began pilingon and his health deteriorated.

“I was so sick with diabetes at one point that I couldn’tkeep the restaurant going, so we closed the doors,” he said.

When he regained his health, he returned to the Governor’sMansion, working as Executive Chef for Gov. Haley Barbouruntil his appointment at Hilton Jackson. In addition to his joband his MPB television program, Bruno has authored a cook-book, “Don’t Feel Guilty … Eat It!,” that offers delicious,healthy foods that are fun and easy to cook. He also sells hisown special brand of spices, Bruno’s Eclectic Spices.

In addition to the Farm Families of Mississippi campaign,Chef Bruno will be featured in the “Mississippi on the Menu”cooking segment of Farm Bureau’s Voices of Agriculturetelevision program. Voices of Agriculture airs on RFD-TV onDish Network, Channel 231, and DirecTV, Channel 345.

“I have a wonderful job and a life that is filled with laugh-ter, family, friends and food,” he said. “A healthy lifestyle justmakes all of it that much better.”

For more information about the Farm Families of Missis-sippi campaign, see page 26. For more information aboutChef Bruno, visit his Web site at: www.chefluisbruno.com.


State Women’s Committee members Carolyn Turner, Region 7 Chair,and Betty Edwards, Region 5 Chair, help deliver goods to Ronald Mc-Donald House in Jackson as AFBF Women’s Leadership CommitteeChair Terry Gilbert looks on.

As part of Women’s Day at the Capitol, refreshments were served by the State Women’sCommittee in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. Pictured are Deniese Swindoll, Re-gion 1 Chair; Shelby Williams, State Women’s Committee Vice Chair; and Jody Bai-ley, Region 4 Chair.

Ag materials were handed out in local supermarkets.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Senate Ag Committee ChairCindy Hyde-Smith addressed the group during Women’s Day at theCapitol.

Food Check-Out Week


House Ag Committee Chair Greg Ward visited with the women during Women’s Day at the Capitol.

Members of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Women’s Leadership Committee helped Mississippi celebrate Food Checkout Weekthis year by accompanying the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) State Women’s Committee and others to the Ronald McDonald Houseof Jackson, participating in Women’s Day at the Capitol, and handing out ag-related materials at local grocery stores. On behalf of AFBF, nationalcommittee members donated $2,500 and food, while MFBF State Women’s Committee members and others donated $5,200, food and house-hold items to Ronald McDonald House of Jackson. Pictured with Farm Bureau leaders are Ruth Ann Allen, Executive Director of Ronald McDonaldHouse of Jackson and Gabe Ottolini, Director of Global Development, Ronald McDonald House Charities.


Promoting Mississippi’s number one in-dustry is the purpose of an advertising cam-paign sponsored by Farm Families of Missis-sippi, an entity made up of nearly 70organizations, companies and individualsinterested in promoting Mississippiagriculture.

“This is our second yearon the air,” said DonaldGant, a Bolivar Countyfarmer who chairs theFarm Families of Missis-sippi Committee. “Lastyear, we received a verypositive response from thepublic to our ads, and weeducated a lot of peopleabout the value of agriculturein their daily lives. We hope thatthis year will be just as successful.”

The campaign’s main messages are gearedto inform consumers about the following ideas:

• The affordability of food in America• Farmers caring for their animals• Buy local, read the label• Farmers are good stewards of our landand water resources

The 2010 campaign was centered in theJackson media market and encompassed TVand radio spots, along with billboards and otherpromotions. In 2011, the campaign will ex-pand to include the Gulf Coast media market.

Other components of the campaign includetwo promotion nights with the MississippiBraves, the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

These will be special nights with lots of pro-motional items given away by farmers to thefans as they enter the stadium. Farm FamiliesTV spots will play on the Jumbotron and agri-

cultural facts will be read over the PAsystem between innings. Farm

Families will also have a full-page ad in the game pro-gram, and our ads will runon the radio broadcast ofthe game.

Farm Families alsohas a new Web site,www.growingmissis-sippi.org, and a newFacebook page. Search

for Farm Families of Mis-sissippi. You’ll find recipes,

interesting facts about Missis-sippi agriculture, a place to sign up

for a newsletter, and much more.Mississippi is home to over 42,000 farms,

covering over 11 million acres. The economicimpact on our state is substantial at $6.88 bil-lion in 2010.

“Data from the U. S. Census projects theworld population will grow from 6.8 billion in2010 to 9.2 billion by 2050. Farmers need toincrease—not decrease—their ability to raisethe food that feeds the world,” said Gant.“Farmers are the first link in the food qualityand safety chain. The measures farmers take tosafeguard their products make the job easierfor other links in the chain to maintain the in-tegrity of the nation’s food supply.”

Support Mississippi agriculture—it sup-ports you every day!

May 6Women’s Leadership Conference

MFBF BuildingJackson

May 10-11Southern Bioproducts and

Renewable Energy ConferenceBeau Rivage Resort Hotel

Biloxi

June 1Application Deadline

Farm Bureau Scholarships

June 6-9Youth Safety SeminarTimber Creek Camp

June 12-15AFBF Southern Region Comm odity ConferenceOrange Beach, Alabama

June 14-16AITC Workshops

Grenada, Collins, Jackson

June 20Dairy Summer Meeting

Golden CorralMcComb

June 21County Boards, Agency Managers,

County Secretaries MeetingMississippi Ag Museum

Jackson

June 22-25National AITC ConferenceFort Lauderdale, Florida

June 25Gary Langley Memorial Clay Shoot

Luckett LodgeBrandon

Dairy Night at MS Braves

July 1Application Deadline

Farm Bureau Ambassador Contest

July 7Cotton Summer Meeting

Grenada County Ext. AuditoriumGrenada

Calender of Events Farm Families of Mississippi Campaign By Greg Gibson, MFBF Member Services Director

Registration deadline for the 2011 Missis-sippi Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) YouthSafety Seminar is May 20. The event will beheld June 6-9 at Timber Creek Camp in ScottCounty.

Youth Safety Seminar offers young people,entering 7th through 12th grades, an opportu-nity to receive safety training, enjoy recre-ational activities and develop friendships that

will last a lifetime.In 2010, approximately 58 students from

across the state participated in training ses-sions that included CPR, Electrical Safety, ATVSafety, Fatal Vision and Tractor Safety.

For more information about Youth SafetySeminar, contact your county Farm Bureau of-fice or call Angela Thompson at 1-800-227-8244, ext. 4242.

Youth Safety Seminar

Dust off the scatter gun and stay sharp fordove season by participating in the Gary Lan-gley Memorial Clay Shoot to be held June 25at Luckett Sporting Clays on Clark CreekRoad in Brandon.

Entry fees are $135 per individual; $540per 4-man or corporate team; and $100 perstation sponsor (13 are available)

Registration deadline is June 3. Registra-tion fee includes lunch and 100 clays.

All participants must wear head and eyeprotection (sunglasses are acceptable). Bringyour own golf cart, Rhino, side-by-side ormule. Golf cart rental will be availablethrough Luckett Lodge prior to the event (no4-wheelers allowed). Bring your own shells.

This event is sponsored by and all pro-ceeds go to benefit the Mississippi Farm Bu-reau Federation Young Farmers and RanchersScholarship Foundation.

For more information, contact TammyMeyer at 601-977-4226.

YF&RClay Shoot

YF&R Steering Committee

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s(MFBF) Young Farmers and Ranchers(YF&R) Steering Committee is charged withreviewing the current program and suggestingpositive changes for the future.

Members include: Noble Guedon, chair,(2011 YF&R Chair) and wife Fayla; Region1 – Bill Ryan Tabb (2003 YF&R Chair) andwife Leslie; Patrick Swindoll (2008 YF&RChair) and wife Kim; Region 2 – Kevin Simp-son (2001 YF&R Chair) and wife Cindy; Re-gion 3 – Scott Cannada (2006 YF&R Chair)and wife Lesley; Lyle Hubbard (2004 YF&RChair) and wife Sue Ann; Region 4 – Coley

Bailey (2000 YF&R Chair) and wife Jody;Clint Tindall (2007 YF&R Chair) and wifeKristy; Region 5 – Scott Smith (2005 YF&RChair) and wife Heather; Brad Woods (2009YF&R Chair) and wife Amanda; Region 6 –Shelby Beason (2007-08 State Committee)and wife Marlo; Region 7 – Jason Ellzey(2007-08 State Committee) and wife Lindsey;Region 8 – Clint Russell (2010 YF&R Chair)and wife Linda; and Bryan Killebrew (2007-08 State Committee) and wife Jill.

Many of these young farmers are formerState Achievement Award winners.


FARM BUREAU NEWS

Pictured standing are from left, Russell, Ellzey, Bailey, Swindoll, Cannada and MFBF PresidentRandy Knight. Seated are from left, Woods, Marlo and Shelby Beason, and Guedon.


Front row, from left: Grace Ann, Laura Leigh and Amber; back row, from left: Jacqueline, Braswell, Brandon and Taylor.

On a sunny spring day filledwith kids, horses, dogs andlaughter, I visited with the

Ervin family of Magnolia. Spend-ing time with Doug and Brandi andtheir seven children is a whole lot offun. It is especially interesting tocatch up with them after five years.

Mississippi Farm Country hasfollowed the Ervin Quints sincethey were born ten years ago thisMay. We featured them when theywere active one-year-olds, and wewrote about them when they weretalkative five-year-olds. By then,they had a brother named Brandonand a sister named Laura Leigh.

All of the Ervin children attendParklane Academy in McComb,where they make As and Bs. Thequints are in the fourth grade, Bran-don is in the first grade, and LauraLeigh is in kindergarten.

The siblings participate in a va-riety of extracurricular activities.They enjoy barrel racing, SunshineExpress, and piano and karate les-sons. Braswell plays travel base-ball. The older girls are cheerlead-ers and on their fourth-grade girlsbasketball team. Brandon is on thefirst-grade boys basketball team.

Their beloved quarter horses areForrest Gump, BJ, Two Bits andPepe.

“Taylor is outgoing and socia-ble, Grace Ann is sweet as pie,”said Brandi. “Amber is Miss Perfectand likes to fix things. Braswell (wecall him B) has baseball and sportson the brain, and Jacqueline is themother hen who makes sure thateveryone is okay. Brandon lovescomputer games and animals, andLaura Leigh is the baby in everysense of the word.”

When they grow up, the girlswant to own a horse ranch. B wantsto play professional ball, and Bran-don will most likely be a computerwhiz.

“Brandi and I are so proud ofour children. They are good kids,”said Doug, Farm Bureau’s Region 5Manager, Commodity Coordinatorfor Dairy, and Land Program Coor-dinator. He is also interim Com-modity Coordinator for Equine.

The quints will be 10 in May,Brandon will be 8 in September,and Laura Leigh will be 6 in July.

The Ervins attend First BaptistChurch of Magnolia.

Catching Up

§


Ervinswith the

By Glynda Phillips

Colorful and factual displays were set up in the Capitol Rotundaduring Ag Day at the Capitol. The material reflected agriculture’smany contributions to the lives of all Mississippians anddemonstrated how much farmers pay for the equipment and suppliesthey use to efficiently produce our nation’s affordable, safe andabundant food supply.

The two-day 2011 Winter Commodity Conference, held in January, enjoyed informative, entertainingspeakers and a record number of participants.

Some 200 farmers from across the state participated in Ag Day at the Capitol,promoting agriculture and visiting with lawmakers.

Farm Bureau Ambassador Mattie Carter of RollingFork participated in the 2011 Dixie National Paradein Jackson. The car is driven by Ronnie West.

Farm Bureau Events


Senator Roger Wicker addressed the Mississippi groupduring a special luncheon.

Farm Bureau members visited with Third District Congressman Gregg Harper.

Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation members visited First District Congressman AlanNunnelee.

Senator Thad Cochran spoke to members at theluncheon.

Washington D.C. Member Tour


The Reserve Champion Crossbred Lamb was exhibited by Robyn/Tyler/JohnRyan Soigner, Hinds 4-H. Pictured, from left, are Jack Williams, Randy Knight,David Hurt, Larry Favreau and Jack Alexander for Mississippi Farm BureauFederation, Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., Southern FarmBureau Life Insurance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.,Tico’s, Telesouth Communications, Attala Foods, Matthews, Cutrer and Lind-say PA, Cimarron Mortgage Co. (buyers) and Tyler, John Ryan and Robyn.

The Reserve Champion Heavyweight European Steer was exhibited by JoshBradshaw, Jones 4-H/South Jones FFA. Pictured, from left, are Jack Williams,David Hurt, Larry Favreau, Randy Knight and Jon Kilgore for Mississippi FarmBureau Federation, Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.,Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Casual-ty Insurance Co., Tico’s, Telesouth Communications, and Hilton Jackson (buy-ers) and Josh.

The Champion Mediumweight Goat was exhibited by Dakota Rogers, Smith4-H. Pictured, from left, are David Hurt, Jack Williams, Larry Favreau, RandyKnight and Jack Alexander for Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, Missis-sippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Life In-surance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., Tico’s, TelesouthCommunications, Attala Foods, Matthews, Cutrer, and Lindsay, PA, and Cimar-ron Mortgage Co. (buyers) and Anna Lee Guy and Dakota.

The Reserve Champion Chester Hog was exhibited by Rayne Tate, Holmes4-H. Pictured, from left, are David Hurt, Jack Williams, Larry Favreau, RandyKnight and Samantha Webb for Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, Missis-sippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Life In-surance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., Tico’s, TelesouthCommunications, Southern Cross Underwriters, Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush,PA, and Leflore Veterinary Clinic (buyers) and Rayne.

(Left) The Reserve Champion Hampshire Hog was exhibited by Adam Dixon,Jasper 4-H. Pictured, from left, are David Hurt, Jack Williams, LarryFavreau, Randy Knight, Samantha Webb and Jon Kilgore for Mississippi FarmBureau Federation, Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.,Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co., Southern Farm Bureau Casual-ty Insurance Co., Tico’s, Telesouth Communications, Hilton Jackson (buy-ers) and Adam.

Sale of Junior Champions


33MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRYMARCH/APRIL

Women’s LeadershipConference

AITCWorkshops

The annual Mississippi Farm BureauFederation (MFBF) Women’s LeadershipConference will be held May 6 at the Mis-sissippi Farm Bureau Federation Buildingin Jackson.

Speakers will address issues of interestto farm women, and all attendees willhave an opportunity to participate in ahands-on Food Check-Out Week activity.

For more information, contact MFBFWomen’s Program Coordinator ClaraBilbo at 1-800-227-8244, ext. 4245.

Ag in the Classroom Workshops arescheduled for June 14-16. The Grenadaworkshop will be held first at the GrenadaCounty Extension Auditorium. The Collinsworkshop will be held the second day atthe Covington County MultipurposeBuilding, and the Jackson workshop willbe held last at the Mississippi Farm BureauFederation Building.

A $20 deposit for all participants is re-quired. Teachers may receive a .7 CEU.Registration deadline is May 30.

For more information, contactWomen’s Program Coordinator ClaraBilbo at 1-800-227-8244, ext. 4245.

Henry Hamill, Agency Manager in Al-corn County, will assume the duties of StateSales Manager for Mississippi, effective May1, 2011. He succeeds David Hurt, who willbe leaving Mississippi, effective May 1,2011, to assume the position of Senior VicePresident of Marketing for Southern FarmBureau Life Insurance Company.

Henry is a 1990 graduate of MississippiState University with a degree in BusinessAdministration and Marketing. He began hisFarm Bureau career as a career agent in Lin-

coln County in 1990. During Henry’s careerin Lincoln County, he was recognized as theDistrict Agent of the Year on five separate oc-casions.

Henry was promoted to the position ofAgency Manager for Alcorn County in Oc-tober 2008. Alcorn County was selected Dis-trict Agency of the Year for 2010.

Henry and wife Tanya have two sons,Caleb (15) and Colby (12). The family willbe moving to the Jackson area in the near fu-ture.

Hamill is State Sales Manager

MARCH/APRILMISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRY34

The second annual Shivers Gourd Festivalwill be held Saturday, June 18, from 9 a.m. - 4p.m. Raw and finished gourds will be for sale,and gourd crafting classes will be available. Therewill be food, and entertainment will be providedby The Vernon Brothers. For more information,call Paul Grubbs at 601-260-4230. For driving di-rections, visit www.mississippigourdsociety.org.

The Mississippi Gourd Festival is Sept. 17-18at the Smith County Ag Complex in Raleigh. Formore information, contact Mike or MicheleThompson at 601-782-9444 or 601-374 0245.

Gourd Festival

35MISSISSIPPI FARM COUNTRYMARCH/APRIL

If you are interested in a used federation vehicle,

please visit our Web site at www.msfb.org for more

information. Click on the About Us link, then click

the Fleet Vehicles for Sale on the drop down menu

or contact Merlene Partridge at 1.800.227.8244,

ext. 4233. These vehicles are late model, usually

one - two years old. NADA retail, wholesale, and

loan values are used to calculate price.

FLEET VEHICLESFOR SALE

Southern Bioproducts and Renewable Energy Conference

The 10th Annual SouthernBioproducts and RenewableEnergy Conference will be heldMay 10-11 in Biloxi at theBeau Rivage Resort Hotel. The

theme of this year’s event is “ADecade of Promoting Biomassand Renewable Energy.”

The conference is hosted bythe Mississippi Biomass andRenewable Energy Council andwill provide presentations,speakers and networking op-portunities for landowners, pro-ducers, academics and profes-sionals interested in renewableenergy projects.

For more information, visitthis Web site: www.ms-bio-mass.org.

mississippi farm country

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