A Montgomery County farmer was named Farm Bureaus' 2015 Young Farmer of the Year, and won a major piece of equipment.
To city folk, Jay Head's new Case IH Puma 150 tractor is just that, a big tractor. However,to farmers like Head it's more like an army of farmers that will help him cultivate nearly every acre of his 5,000 plus acre farm in Montgomery County.
"Not only to make us more efficient by having an extra tractor on the farm, it's a tractor I didn't have to pay for," Head laughed. He won the tractor for a year after being named the 2015 Young Farmer of the Year.
Head is a college graduate and decided to go back to the farm to make a living. "I decided to join partnership with Mr. George Marks, and he and I have been farming together since about 2000," Head explained.
In his 30's Head is a part of a dwindling number of young farmers in the U.S. "As the age of our farmers increase, less and less young farmers are coming out of college and going back to the farm," he said. "I'm kind of concerned about that, I'm concerned where the farming industry will be in say 50 years."
However, it also makes his work all the more special. Head works a diverse farm. "Corn, soybeans and wheat. We also grow tobacco, dark fired tobacco as well as burley," Head explained.
His passion for farming is evident. "We start at 7 a.m. and we quit when we get finished for the day," said Head.
For more information about farming or Head's awards, click here.
