WARSAW, Ky. – Big successes can come from small beginnings. Just ask young farmers Taylor and Hannah Jones of Gallatin County, Ky.

Fifteen years ago (and just two years out of high school) Taylor developed a small business plan for locally grown tomatoes. It was part of a class project while he was in college. The couple now manages a diversified operation in northern Kentucky, producing row crops, beef cattle, hemp and yes, tomatoes. Their community-supported agriculture (CSA) and home-delivery program supplies fresh produce and beef to thousands of households across the state each summer.

Their efforts haven’t gone unrecognized as Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) presented the couple with its 2025 Outstanding Young Farm Family Award.

This annual award recognizes a young couple or individual who demonstrates excellence in agricultural management, innovation and leadership, while maintaining strong community engagement and active involvement with the farm bureau federation.

For Taylor and Hannah, it wasn’t always easy.

“We’ve faced plenty of setbacks and had to get creative more than once,” Taylor said. “But every challenge taught us how to adapt, how to make better decisions and how to build something that lasts for our family and our employees.”

The couple wear many hats. They manage everything from data analysis and spreadsheets to coordinating daily worker schedules and operating farm equipment, including the combine harvester.

Over the past decade, the couple has grown their business steadily, creating local employment opportunities and demonstrating a commitment to innovation and long-term sustainability.

“We farm because we love doing it, we love putting seeds in the ground, we love producing a crop and most of all we enjoy managing the chaos so that in the end everything turns out OK,” Taylor said.

The Joneses say hemp is their largest type of enterprise, along with a lot of beef cattle. But their production of produce reigns supreme on the farm, with wholesale watermelons and wholesale tomatoes atop the list.

“From all the produce we started our home delivery business,” Taylor said. “We began with produce and eventually started advertising freezer beef.

“We know we’re providing good food and that’s a good feeling, but it’s not the same feeling as when you deliver it to someone’s doorstep or into their kitchen. There’s a lot about farming that makes you feel good about what you’re doing.”

Hannah added, “There’s nothing like producing something you’re proud of.”

Looking back, Taylor built on the traditional farming knowledge passed down from his grandfather, who raised tobacco and cattle. Taylor combined those roots with the technical and entrepreneurial skills he gained while earning a degree in agricultural education.

Hannah, who holds degrees in exercise science and nursing, joined Taylor after their marriage in 2020. Together they have built a thriving family farm while raising two daughters and fostering the same values of dedication, family and faith that shaped their upbringing.

Taylor is a big advocate of Kentucky Farm Bureau. Five years ago, he served as president of the Gallatin County Farm Bureau and was District 6 Young Farm chair. While he admits it is a tough time for farming operations across the country, the need for a strong agriculture advocate is greater now than ever before.

“I’ve learned a lot from the time I have been involved in Kentucky Farm Bureau,” he said. “But the most valuable is, we are at a time when advocacy is as important as the soil we till. The question isn’t, ‘Are you a member of farm bureau?’ but ‘How can you not be a member if you are going to farm?’ The role this organization plays is far too great to be without it.”

The Joneses will be honored at the KFB Annual Meeting in Louisville in December and will go on to represent Kentucky in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award competition at the 2026 AFBF Annual Convention in Anaheim, Calif.

Second and third place honorees for the 2025 Outstanding Young Farm Family Award are Brandon and Taylor Henning, of Breckinridge County, and Adam and Kelsey Roberts, of Harding County.

To be nominated for the Kentucky Farm Bureau Outstanding Young Farmers award, farmers must meet three criteria.

First, the young farmers must have active involvement in production agriculture. The majority of the farmer’s income must be derived from farming activities. Second, applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 35 and a member of the county farm bureau. Finally, applications must be received by specified deadline, which is typically set by the Kentucky Farm Bureau.

Judges then evaluate the application and conduct an on-farm interview to confirm the applicant’s involvement and achievements in agriculture.