Coley Little Bailey
John Ingram
Kevin Kimzey
Most farm children go to college seeking careers away from the hard work and uncertain futures their parents faced, but an elite group in Yalobusha County returned to their communities because they knew “there's no place like home.”
Steve Cummings, county director for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said Yalobusha County has a talented group of young farmers. They include three state winners of the John Deere/Jaycees awards program and four state winners of the Farm Bureau Farmer of the Year awards.
Three of those awarded farmers were students at MSU in the mid-1990s. John Ingram earned the Farm Bureau's Farmer of the Year award in 2005. His classmates included Kevin Kimzey and Coley Little Bailey, who were also state winners of the Farm Bureau and John Deere/Jaycees competitions.
Cummings said all these winners are leaders in their communities as well as agriculture.
“I can't teach them how to farm. They are just my friends. I do try to encourage them to use their leadership skills. That's what Extension is all about,” he said.
Cummings also knows the value of bringing the farmers together.
“If weather gets us down in the dumps, we all get together, listen to a ballgame and talk about farming,” Bailey said. “Steve is the first person I call if something goes wrong. I talk to him about equipment purchases, flower beds or insect questions.”
Ingram, a 1993 agricultural business graduate, also believes in the benefits of listening to other farmers and his Extension agent.
“At Mississippi State, I learned different avenues for doing things. I made a lot of good friends including the professors who I still enjoy talking to,” Ingram said. “As much as I dreaded economics, the information I learned then and the professors I had are what help me the most now.”
Brooks studied agricultural economics before becoming the third generation to grow cotton, corn and soybeans on his family's farm.
“I learned about record keeping at college, but everything I've experienced since graduation has reinforced it,” Brooks said. “When I wanted to quit and come home, my dad made it clear that I needed to finish. College helped teach me discipline, and I learned how to take care of myself – to grow up.”
Brooks credits his county Extension director with helping area farmers continue learning.
“Steve is the glue that keeps us all together,” Brooks said. “He is the reason all of us are involved in MSU research and Farm Bureau activities.”
“These farmers make my job easier. I can know what farmers all across the county need based on what these guys request,” Cummings said. “I've had opportunities to work in other counties, but I don't think I could ever find a better place to be.”
Editor's note: Steve Cummings retired from the Extension Service in 2010.
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