Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) today announced the finalists for 2024 Kentucky Farmer of the Year. This annual KFB award recognizes an individual whose efforts strengthen the state’s agriculture industry and demonstrate service and leadership, both on and off the farm. 

The finalists are: Brenda Paul of Paris in Bourbon County; Scott Porter of Maysville in Mason County; and Richard Preston of Glendale in Hardin County. The three finalists were carefully chosen after a rigorous application process. Applicants must be a Farm Bureau member to be eligible for the award.

“As leaders in their communities, all three of these outstanding individuals represent the very best of Kentucky’s farm families,” said KFB President Eddie Melton. “Each one clearly demonstrates their commitment to excellence in agriculture, maximum efficiency in farming practices, and high-level expertise in business and financial management. It will be a very difficult decision to choose just one winner.”

The finalists will be recognized during KFB’s Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair on Aug. 21. The winner will be announced on Oct. 2 and then recognized during the organization’s annual meeting in December.

MORE ABOUT THE FINALISTS

Brenda Paul and her husband, Austin, are first-generation farmers on Timberlawn Farm, land they purchased about 30 years ago. The farm predominantly raises beef cattle. Crops include alfalfa, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. They also raise Thoroughbred yearlings. Brenda also co-own Cattle Marketing Group, a nationwide cattle dealer, with her husband.

“I enjoyed the work and challenges of growing the farm business while being able to provide the agricultural lifestyle in which we wanted to raise our sons,” she said.

Paul encouraged her two sons to experience agriculture in other areas of the country before joining the family businesses. Both chose to return to Kentucky to work with their parents.

Resilience is a big part of Paul’s story. She has taken challenges and turned them into opportunities to increase the farm’s efficiency and develop contingency plans to ensure growth and longevity.

Paul’s plans for the future include securing the farm’s legacy through succession planning, enhancing technology and data gathering, as well as adding to the farm’s staff. Paul has served in various capacities with Bourbon County Farm Bureau, including Secretary. This is her second year as a finalist for KFB Farmer of the Year.

Scott Porter’s cattle business began in the seventh grade, when he used $250 in birthday money to purchase three orphan calves from a neighboring dairy farm. From

those humble beginnings, he now operates a feeder and fat cattle farm with about 850 brood cows on 1,800 acres. He and his wife, Mary Ann, raised four children who all work on the family farm.

After watching his parents lose their farm to bank foreclosure, Porter knew he had to do things differently.

“Failure and struggle do not mean problems cannot be solved, and nobody says it will be easy,” he said. “For me, learning to do almost everything myself early on was how I gained experience and confidence to build on. At the time it seemed painfully slow, but it was really a blessing.”

With 20-plus years in finishing cattle, Porter’s goals include sharing his expertise in valuing cattle, continuing to increase carrying capacity on new land, and developing his herd. He has served as Secretary and Vice President for Mason County Farm Bureau.

Richard Preston is a first-generation farmer. At 10 years old, he purchased his first sow and began raising pigs, but took a detour to attend college, earning his

doctorate in physical chemistry from Yale University. 

He moved back to his home state of Kentucky in the late 1980s to begin his farming career. Today, he grows white and yellow corn, soybeans and wheat on 3,300 acres. He aspires to be a good steward of the land, overcome the financial challenges of farming and make scientific-based decisions. 

“When I first moved back to Kentucky, Pete Stuecker, a local farmer who became my mentor, once told me. ‘If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you,’” said Preston. “I have continued to live by this mantra for over four decades.”

Because so much was given to him, Preston believes in giving back. Among many other roles, he has worked as an advisor and mentor in the CORE Program (Crop Observation and Research Education) with the Kentucky Corn Producers to train young farmers in strategies for improving their farming techniques. He has served in leadership positions in the Hardin County Farm Bureau, most recently as Vice President.

Preston has two children and four stepchildren with his wife, Marjorie.