The Greenwood area’s largest industry will be highlighted at an upcoming celebration of agriculture.
Ag Fest, presented by the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Leflore County Civic Center.
“It celebrates everything about this community that is ag-related,” said Beth Stevens, the chamber’s executive director.
The festivities will include an ag expo, a catfish dinner, farm games and activities for children, a guest speaker and the presentation of the Young Farmer of the Year award.
About 15 booths featuring the event’s sponsors will be set up at the expo for those attending to stop by.
At last year’s Ag Fest, Sydney Vance throws bean bags at one of the games offered for children. This year’s Ag Fest will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Leflore County Civic Center.
Children who participate in Ag Fest’s farming-themed games and activities will have the opportunity to receive prizes, Stevens said.
The catfish dinner will be provided by Larry’s Fish House.
This year’s special guest speaker will be Miss Rodeo America 2019 Taylor McNair.
“She was Miss Rodeo Mississippi; she won the state pageant and went on to win the national pageant,” said Stevens. “She has a very diverse ag background. She comes from a very ag-centric family. She grew up on her family’s farm.”
McNair, 23, of Learned is the third Miss Rodeo Mississippi to wear the national crown.
In addition to the title of Miss Rodeo America, McNair earned the pageant’s Appearance, Personality and Written Test awards along with the Sherry Smith Memorial Scholarship, third place for her scrapbook and the Chap Award.
This year’s special guest speaker at Ag Fest will be Miss Rodeo America 2019 Taylor McNair.
McNair earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business with a concentration in policy and law from Mississippi State University in 2017. While attending MSU, she also competed on both the equestrian and rodeo teams.
McNair is pursuing a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree with a Master of Law degree in agriculture and food law.
“She’ll bring a totally different element to Ag Fest, but she will also be able to speak to the ag industry because she is from a farming family.”
Following McNair will be the presentation of the Young Farmer of the Year award.
This year’s recipient is Marc Archer.
Archer, 44, said he’s been farming “ever since I was a little boy, basically my whole life.”
He grew up in a farming family.
“My father and his father farmed,” he said.
The Archer family moved to Greenwood in 1985 from England, Arkansas.
“My dad started farming with my uncle here in ’85,” said Archer.
This year’s Young Farmer of the Year is Marc Archer. The Archer family — seated, from left, Lela and Luke Archer and their parents, standing, Laura Anne and Marc Archer — was recently interviewed for a video that will be presented at Ag Fest, where the recipient will be honored.
Now, Archer farms with his father, Gary Archer, at Racetrack Plantation, just north of Greenwood in Leflore County.
Although they primarily grew cotton for many years, the father and son now mainly grow corn, rice and soybeans on 3,000 acres of land.
Archer said he decided to go into farming when he was still in high school at Pillow Academy.
“It didn’t take long to make the decision of what I wanted to do,” he said. “It’s what I had done my whole life, and I just really enjoyed it.”
After graduating from Pillow Academy, Archer earned a degree in agriculture at Mississippi Delta Community College. He also worked on the farm while in school.
Archer and his wife, Laura Anne, have two children — a son, Luke, 11, and a daughter, Lela, 8.
He enjoys sharing his love of agriculture with his children and frequently brings them to the farm.
“We go out there all the time,” Archer said. “I take them hunting out there and riding four-wheelers.”
Archer said it’s an honor to be named the Young Farmer of the Year. When he found out about the award, “I was real excited and glad they chose me for it,” he said.
Ag Fest usually draws a crowd of about 300 to 350, and many attending work in agriculture. But it’s not open to only the ag community.
“It’s mostly the farming and ag community, but we also have people from the community at-large to come,” said Stevens.
Anyone who would like to attend the event is welcome, she said.
“Ag is our largest industry in this area, and we want everybody to come and celebrate,” Stevens said. “Agriculture impacts all of us, whether we are in the farming business or not. When the farmers do well, everybody in the community does well.”
Tickets are $10 each for adults and $5 for children under age 12 and include admission, dinner and all of the event’s activities.
The chamber encourages purchasing tickets before the event online at www.greenwoodmschamber.com, by calling 453-4152 or by stopping by the chamber, 402 U.S. 82 W.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7235 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
What: The Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Ag Fest.
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Leflore County Civic Center
Details: Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. For tickets, call the chamber at 453-4152.
