AgSouth Hosts 25th Class of Agribusiness Leadership Institute
AgSouth Agribusiness Leadership Institute Class of 2025
“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson
Statesville, NC.: AgSouth Farm Credit is proud to have hosted it’s 25th Class of the Agribusiness Leadership Institute in Asheville, NC on February 28 – March 2, 2025.
Fifteen farm couples from across AgSouth’s footprint in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina gathered along with their nominating Loan Officers at the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC for the three-day weekend. Vance Dalton, AgSouth CEO shares, “The AgLeadership program is a program we started over 25 years ago to bring young, beginning, and small farmers up for a weekend of education, fellowship, and an opportunity for them to learn how they can be leaders in their own communities.”
AgLeadership is AgSouth’s premier program offered to young, beginning or small farmer customers and prospective customers that have high potential for success, are leaders in their commodity group and interested in personal growth related to Farm Business Management. The goal of the program is to provide education and information on the challenges of modern agriculture, financial management, transition of management/ownership of the farming operation, and ideas on effectively balancing family life and business.
The conference workshops are led by Dr. David Kohl, Professor Emeritus, Virginia Tech and Dr. Alex White, Professor, Virginia Tech. Kimber Jones with the Biltmore Farm Estate spoke as a special guest. Dr. Michael Hester and his wife Peggy spoke Sunday morning with a message they have shared for each of the program’s 25 years.
When asked about what he got out of the weekend, young farmer and customer Rex Bandy says, “Networking was huge. Time to build relationship with my loan officer was huge. My favorite thing was being here amongst similar folks. Even though we’re different types of ag we have something to share and learn from one another.”
AgSouth’s AgLeadership Class of 2025
- Rex and Sharayah Bandy – Strong Rock Farms, Columbus, GA
- Leah Benkoski – Big Sandy Creek Dairy, Madison, GA
- Wilson and Cassidy Boyd – Boyd Farms, Sylvania, GA
- Bobby and Amanda Crosby – Sandhill Farms, Hampton, SC
- Knox Duncan and Emilyann Bates – JSKD, Greenville, SC
- Aaron and Melissa Gambill – Gambill and Gambill Farms, Sparta, SC
- Josh and Abigail Harris – Harris Homeplace Farm, Snow Camp, NC
- Amber and John Helms – Parker Family Feed Co, Vale, NC
- Branson and Becca Howard – Little Oaks Farm, Woodleaf, NC
- Travis and Misty Howard – Knockout Butchery/Trail Place Farm, Roebuck, SC
- Amy and Meghan Lawson – Lawson Farm, Sandy Ridge, NC
- Lawton and Maggie Looper – Looper Farms, Lenoir, NC
- Rachel and Joshua Manning – Shumaker Dairy, Blanch, NC
- David and Lindsey Morgan – D.M. Morgan Farms, Waycross, GA
- Justin Lee and Sarah Reynolds – Reynolds Ranch, Kershaw, SC
AgSouth’s investment in the participants of the program is an investment in the future of agriculture. To view a short video about AgSouth Farm Credit’s AgLeadership Institute 2025, please visit https://youtube.com/shorts/lRxdI-UWvVE?feature=share
About AgSouth:
AgSouth Farm Credit provides loans for land, equipment, and production agriculture; crop insurance; leasing; and home mortgages. The Association serves counties in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and is headquartered in Statesville, North Carolina. AgSouth is an equal housing lender and an equal opportunity provider.