Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Kyle Owen of Smith County has been selected as the 2023 Tennessee Farmer of the Year and will compete for Southeastern Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia.
Lee Maddox
Smith County farmer named Tennessee’s Farmer of the Year. Hello and welcome everyone for Tennessee Home and Farm Radio. I’m Lee Maddox.
Kyle Owen
I am very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. And by no means has it been just myself. We’re very blessed
Lee Maddox
Kyle Owen has been selected as the 2023, Tennessee Farmer of the Year by the UT Extension Service, and he will be competing for the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year in October at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia
Kyle Owen
Very honored humbled when each extension office approached me about applying for the Farmer of the Year through Sunbelt. I was sort of leery of doing it. But now that that we did, and we actually won the state competition. I’m very proud
Lee Maddox
Kyle Owen and his wife Miranda are first generation farmers, meaning that they’ve built the operation from scratch, which now spreads out over Smith and five surrounding counties. And they’re diversified with corn, soybeans, wheat, burley tobacco, watermelons and pumpkins, on about 6,500 acres. And that takes a lot of help and management to tend to everything
Kyle Owen
We utilize the H-2A program we have 40-50 Hispanic workers come in yearly. They’re great guys part of them been coming here for 10-12 years think of them just like family, very appreciative of them and of that program, and we’ve just got a great group of guys that help us very blessed fortunate to have the group we do everybody’s devoted and really cares about the operation and I’m just so thankful for them.
Lee Maddox
And Owen says he’s excited to compete in Moultrie with the nine other state winners and learn more to help further his farming operation.
Kyle Owen
I’m looking forward to the interaction with other farmers finding out about their operations, what they do, how they do it. It’s always good to get around a group of people to do the same thing that you do. There’s always opportunities to learn. Just looking forward to the whole experience. I’ve heard a lot about it. It’s really looking forward to it.
Lee Maddox
And for Tennessee Home and Farm Radio. I’m Lee Maddox.
