Dr. Blaine has a Ph.D. in agronomy from Mississippi State University. Dr. Blaine owns and onerates a timber, hay, and cattle farm in central Mississippi. He is a partner/owner in Southern Ag Consulting, Inc., a crop consulting firm. Additionally, he is an owner of BR Homes and ORB Development, both of which are construction businesses. Dr. Blaine is a licensed crop consultant. He is a member of Mississippi Farm Bureau, Oktibbeha County Forestry Association and a life member of the American Soybean Association, the Mississippi Soybean Association, the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association and the National Rifle Association. He and his wife, Emily, are members of Friendship Baptist Church and reside in Starkville, Mississippi. They are the parents of four children and have eight grandchildren. Dr. Blaine serves as chair of the Association's board of directors and serves as a member of the Association's Audit Committee.
Mr. Davis began farming in Bolivar County in 1980. He owns and operates Larry Davis Farms Partnership and farms with his two sons. The partnership operates in Bolivar and Washington counties, where they grow rice and soybeans as their primary crops. Mr. Davis also has timber farms in Tishomingo and Prentiss counties. He is a member of Delta Council and is also on the Mississippi Farm Bureau Soybean Policy Committee. Mr. Davis serves on the Mississippi Rice Council Board and is a member of the Mississippi Rice Promotion Board. He also serves as a drainage commissioner for Central Drainage District in Bolivar County. Mr. Davis also serves on the Association's board of directors and is a member of the Association's Audit and Governance Committees. M-Davis is a member of the Bolivar Church of Christ, where he serves as an elder. His hobbies include gardening, church activities and spending time with his grandchildren. He and his wife, Candy, have four children and reside in Shaw, Mississippi.
Ms. Becky Beard was born and raised in Sardis, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi. She has been a partner with William, Pitts, & Beard PLLC, one of the leading CPA firms in and throughout the Hernando, Memphis and North Mississippi area. Ms. Beard served for seven years on the Mississippi Arts Commission Board and is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Mississippi Society of CPAs. She currently serves as finance committee chair of Northwest Mississippi Community Foundation. Growing up, her family had a beef cattle operation, and currently her two brothers farm soybeans in Sardis, both of which have contributed to her appreciation of the rural lifestyle.
Mr. Cole has owned a crop insurance agency for more than 25 years. He is a farmer and land owner of 1,350 acres in Panola County where he farms rice and soybeans. He also has 50 head of cows. Mr. Cole is past president of The Panola Partnership and North Delta School. He is an elder of Batesville Presbyterian Church. He is currently president of Crop Insurance Professionals Association, director of National Cutting Horse Association, and he serves on the board of Indian Creek Drainage District. Mr. Cole received his BBA from the University of Mississippi. He and his wife, Karen, live in Batesville, Mississippi.
Mr. Hill has been a full-time farmer since 1970. He farms approximately 1,800 acres, raising beef cattle, cotton, soybeans and corn. Mr. Hill has served on the Chickasaw County FSA Committee, the Mississippi Farm Bureau State Board and presently serves on the Farm Bureau County Board. He is a member of the Corn Promotion Board and Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon. Mr. Hill resides in Woodland. Mr. Hill also serves as a member of the Association's Audit and Governance Committees.
A fifth-generation farmer in north Mississippi where he farmed 3,500 acres of corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat, Mr. McKee has lived and farmed for most of his life around Friars Point, Mississippi. Mr. McKee left a career in civil engineering in 1986 to come home and take over the family farming operation from his dying father. After 37 crops, he retired from full-time row crop production in December 2023. He currently manages the 8,500-acre family farm in Coahoma County. He was a founding director of Covenant Bank, a de-novo bank in Clarksdale, which is now part of Planters Bank in Indianola. He serves as county commissioner and immediate past board chairman for Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District and on numerous boards including Coahoma Electric Rural Power Association, the state board of Mississippi Farm Bureau and the North Delta Compress and Warehouse. He also serves as Vice President of Farrell Gin Company. Mr. McKee currently serves on the Association's Audit Committee, He and his wife, Nancy, live in Friars Point.
Mr. Morton began farming in 1987. He and his wife, Beth, own and operate Morton Farms, Inc., which is composed of approximately 1.000 acres of cropland where they raise corn, soybeans and wheat. Mr. Morton has served on the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation board of directors and as president of the Mississippi Soybean Association, where he is on the board of directors. He has served as chairman of the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board and continues to serve as a board member. He has also served as the Mississippi Farm Bureau Soybean Commodity chairman and as Tippah County Farm Bureau president. Mr. Morton and his wife reside in Falkner. Mr. Morton also serves as chairman of the Association's Governance Committee.
Mr. Durham was raised in Southaven, Mississippi. He attended the University of Mississippi, where he received his Bachelor of Accountancy, Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance, and a Master of Accountancy. Mr. Durham is a Certified Public Accountant and received his Juris Doctor with a concentration in Business Law from the University of Mississippi and a Master of Law in Taxation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Mr. Durham is an Associate Attorney at Edmondson Sage Allen, PLLC in Oxford, Mississippi, where he practices in estate, business, and tax planning. He is a member of Young Professionals of Southaven and Oxford and is a member of the Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division. Mr. Durham resides in Hernando, Mississippi, where he attends Colonial Hills Church. Mr. Durham is an avid outdoorsman with a deep love for rural Mississippi, with family ties to farming in both Quitman and DeSoto Counties.
Mr. Poe is the owner of Poe Farms, LLC and Poe Planting Company, LLC, operating 2,000 acres of soybeans, corn, cotton, cattle and hay in Pontotoc, Chickasaw and Lee counties. Mr. Poe manages the family dirt and gravel hauling and construction company. He is also the operator of the Troy Water Association. Mr. Poe is a member of Farm Bureau and serves as the Pontotoc County president, is the FSA Chairman for Pontotoc County and is currently president of the Pontotoc Chamber of Commerce. He is a National Corn Growers Association Action Team Member, a County NRCS Commissioner in Pontotoc, a member of the Soybean Association, Cattlemen’s Association and Troy Volunteer Fire Department and EMR. Mr. Poe received a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business from Mississippi State University. He and his wife, Kayla, have two children and live in Pontotoc, Mississippi. Mr. Poe is 40 years old.