McGills win $60K-plus as top farm family
Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell, at left, presents a plaque to Outstanding Young Farm Family winners Stewart and Kasey McGill and their children Allie, Reece and Peyton. CONTRIBUTED
MADISON COUNTY – Alabama Farmers Federation has selected Stewart and Kasey McGill and their daughters of Madison County as Alabama’s 2016 Outstanding Young Farm Family.
The McGills received their honor at the 44th Commodity Producers Conference in Mobile on July 30. Along with the top family, other young farmers competed in Excellence in Agriculture and Discussion Meet contests.
Young Farmers contest winners will represent Alabama at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting and contests in January 2017 in Phoenix, Ariz.
The McGills grow cotton, corn and soybeans and help manage Kasey’s family’s agritourism operation, Cotton Pickin’ Pumpkins, a division of Tate Farms in Meridianville. Their daughters are Allie, 4, Reece, 2, and three-month-old Peyton.
The McGills won a prize package worth more than $60,000, including a new General Motors pickup truck from Alfa Insurance and a John Deere 825i Gator from Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farm Credit. They also earned the use of a John Deere tractor by John Deere and local John Deere dealers.
Runners-up to Outstanding Young Farm Family were Lance and Stephanie Miller of Snead in Blount County and John and Hannah Bevel of Albertville in Marshall County. The runners-up received $500, courtesy of Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farm Credit. The federation presented each finalist a Big Green Egg cooker.
The family contestants must receive more than 50 percent of their income from production agriculture.
Ben and Heather Maples of Elkmont in Limestone County beat out 10 competitors in the Excellence in Agriculture contest. As the winner, the Maples will receive a John Deere zero-turn mower, sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and a computer package from CCS/Valcom Wireless.
Finalists in the federation’s Discussion Meet were Lauren Cline of Opelika in Lee County, Jerry Allen Newby of Athens in Limestone County, Hunter McBrayer of Boaz in Marshall County and Sidney Phelps of Dadeville in Tallapoosa County.
The Alabama Farmers Federation is the state’s largest farm organization with more than 350,000 members and affiliates in all 67 counties.
