Image from Sunbelt Ag Expo video
A good crowd was on hand again this year for the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award luncheon which was held last week in Moultrie, Georgia. Tyron Spearman takes time to look back at that event and some of the other hi-lights of this year’s Expo.
Faylene Whitaker, of Climax, North Carolina, was selected as the overall winner of the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award for 2024.
Whitaker Farms & Garden Nursery operates at three different locations in and around Climax, North Carolina, on 940 acres of owned and rented land that produces tobacco, garden plants (annuals, perennials, houseplants, trees, and shrubs), field tomatoes, strawberries, organic corn and wheat, and a variety of vegetables. It also features an agritourism business catering to all age groups.
Another component of Whitaker Farms is Whitaker Equipment, LLC, a company that works on large tractors and equipment and repairs all of its own trucks with one full-time mechanic, three part-time employees, and three licensed CDL drivers. Whitaker-owned trucks haul all of the farm’s crops, produce, stone, and landscape equipment.
The Southeastern Farmer of the Year award recognizes excellence in agricultural production and farm management along with leadership in farm and community organizations. The award also honors family contributions in producing safe and abundant supplies of food, fiber, and shelter products.
The Sunbelt Ag Expo coordinated the Southeastern Farmer of the Year awards for the 34th consecutive year. A total of $1,324,000 in cash awards and other honors have been awarded to 304 southeastern farmers since the award was initiated in 1990.