Celebrating the backbone of Sikeston: Honoring local agricultural leaders at the Farmers’ Recognition Banquet

SIKESTON — The annual Sikeston Regional Chamber Farmers’ Recognition Banquet was held Thursday, March 6 at the Sikeston Jaycees Sponsorship Barn.

Every year, at the farmer’s banquet, individuals in the area who are part of the agriculture community gather to celebrate a selected few who have made contributions to the regional agricultural community.

At the banquet, John Leible, Farmers Banquet Committee Chairman spoke and opened the event.

Sikeston Regional Chamber Membership and Program Director Taylor Deere expressed her gratitude for the banquet and this year’s winners.

“I’m honored to get to be a part of the Farmers’ Recognition Banquet,” Deere said. “The event is a time to come together, enjoy a great meal and recognize the incredible impact of agriculture on our everyday lives in this region. The Farmers’ Recognition Banquet is a decades-old event honoring the individuals and families in the local ag industry.”

Agricultural Leader of the Year and Outstanding Young Farmers of the Year were named.

Agricultural Leader of the Year

This year’s recipient of the Agriculture Leader Award was Dan Marshall. He grew up in Central Missouri on a combination row crop, hay, pasture and feeder cattle operation. Marshall worked with his family on the farm from youth through college, when he attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, graduating in 1975 with an Ag-Econ degree.

According to John Bollinger, last year’s winner, upon graduation,  Marshall started using his degree in finance and banking in New Orleans. In 1979, he married and moved to Kansas City, where he worked for both Case Credit Corporation and Versatile Farm Equipment.

In 1985, Marshall moved his family to Sikeston and continued his career in finance and banking.

“This year’s award winner has been active in the Sikeston Community since moving here. Starting off as a Jaycee, he went on to serve on the executive committee for the Kenny Rogers Children’s Center, was president and treasurer for the American Red Cross Disaster Office and volunteered for the Chamber of Commerce’s Agriculture Committee,” Bollinger said.

Outstanding Young Farmer

This year’s Outstanding Young Farmer was Eli Whitten. Whitten is a sixth generation farmer and grew up spending his time on the farm with his father and grandfather, eagerly learning and absorbing everything about what it took to manage their row crop farm consisting of corn, cotton and soybeans.

According to Sikeston Jaycee President Spence Vaughn, after Whitten graduated high school, he jumped straight into full-time farming with his family, quickly proving to his dad and grandad that he had the intuition, drive and skillset to take on a leadership role in their family farm.

Whitten had also started his own independent farm operation on top of that by the time he was 25.

“Throughout his career, Eli has helped integrate modern technology and farming practices that have proven to be vital to their operation’s continued growth and success, all while maintaining an honor to the fundamental knowledge of the land passed down through the many generations of farmers before him,” Vaughn said.

According to Vaughn, Whitten’s diligent efforts in balancing the rapidly advancing farming standards of today with his regard to land conservation and sustainability have served him well on the farm over the years.

“Congratulations to this year’s winners, Dan Marshall and Eli Whitten,” Deere said. “Their contributions help sustain and grow our local economy, and we’re proud to recognize their hard work and dedication.”

Also at the banquet, booths were set up from the State of Missouri’s Agricultural Employment Services Office as well as a booth from AgLaunch out of Memphis.

Agripark Committee Chairman Zach Fayette also spoke specifically on the Sikeston AgriPark.