Chris and Kelly Lyons named Outstanding Young Farmer & Rancher

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Rachel Kudelko (352) 378-8100, ext. 1030
Kathy Richardson (325) 374-1533

(Gainesville, Fla.) – Chris and Kelly Lyons, a Lafayette County couple, had the pleasure of driving away from the Florida Farm Bureau’s 2007 Annual Meeting with a new Dodge Ram Quad Cab truck, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company. The Lyons won this special prize after having been selected as the winners of Florida Farm Bureau’s Outstanding Young Farmer and Rancher competition.

They will also receive an all-expense paid trip to New Orleans in January to represent the Sunshine State in the national competition at the American Farm Bureau’s Annual Meeting. The winner there will receive a Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab 4×4 SLT pickup truck and an Arctic Cat 454 4×4 ATV.

Jeb and Wendy Smith, who produce sod, perennial peanut hay and mud minnow bait fish in St. Johns County, and Keith and Stephanie Shiver, owners of a dairy and beef cattle operation in Lafayette County, were the runners-up for this prestigious award.

The Lyons were received the honor during an afternoon session held on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Daytona Beach Hilton Resort. They produce poultry, beef cattle, hay, wheat, rye, oats, timber and purebred dogs on 1,200 acres near the town of Mayo. In addition, they sell approximately 10,000 tons of poultry litter a year to other farmers for use as an alternative to commercial fertilizer and also run a trucking operation.

Chris serves as the Young Farmer & Rancher chair for the Lafayette County Farm Bureau and was the organizations' 2006 Harvest for All chair. He is also chair of the Florida Farm Bureau state Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Group and sits on the Florida farm Bureau state Beef Cattle Advisory Committee. Kelly is currently chair of the county Farm Bureau’s Agriculture in the Classroom Committee.

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state's largest general-interest agricultural association with about 140,000 member-families statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, non-profit agricultural organization. More information about Florida Farm Bureau is available on the organization’s Web site, FloridaFarmBureau.org