PARIS, Ky. – Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) has announced Brenda Paul, of Bourbon County, as the 2024 Kentucky Farmer of the year. Paul will receive the award at the organization’s annual meeting in December. The finalists were recognized during KFB’s Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair in August.

The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the state’s agriculture industry and demonstrated outstanding leadership and service.

Brenda Paul and her husband, Austin, have successfully operated Timberlawn Farm since 1994. The farm, in Paris, Ky., has beef cattle, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and thoroughbred horses. In addition, Paul co-owns Cattle Marketing Group (CMG) with her husband.

“I am honored to be selected as Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Farmer of the Year,” Paul said. “Operating a family farm is hard work, but incredibly rewarding. I have enjoyed facing challenges to grow our farm business these past 30 years and plan to identify new ways we can continue to expand our operations, thrive as a family farm, and serve our community.”

Paul is known for her resilience and ability to overcome obstacles. She has consistently sought ways to improve the farm’s efficiency and ensure its long-term viability.

“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 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 the KFB Farmer of the Year.

“Brenda has shown tremendous leadership, perseverance, and tenacity not only on the farm, but in her community,” said KFB President Eddie Melton. “She has a passion for excellence, whether that’s in enhancing agricultural practices through technology or elevating operations through her sharp business insights and strategic financial management.”

Other finalists for the award were 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,” Melton said. “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 was a very difficult decision choosing just one winner.”

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 and his wife, Mary Ann, along with their four children, operate a feeder and fat cattle farm with about 850 brood cows on 1,800 acres.

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.

Preston is a first-generation farmer. At age 10, 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 1980s to begin his farming career. Today, he grows white and yellow corn, soybeans and wheat on 3,300 acres with his wife, Alane, two children and four stepchildren. 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, a local farmer became my mentor and he once told me, ‘if you take care of the land, the land will take care of you’. I have continued to live by this mantra for over four decades.”

Among many other roles, Preston has worked as an adviser and mentor in the CORE Program 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.