Dr. Alan Blaine grew up working for Burchfield Farms (a dairy and row crop farm) in Ethel, MS. After graduating high school he attended Mississippi State University where he graduated with a Bachelors in Animal Science. Alan went on to obtain a Masters in Agronomy with a minor in Plant Pathology and a Doctorate in…

Ben Spinks grew up in the area around Clarksdale, MS. His dad was in the agriculture business so Ben had experience in the industry from a very young age. In the summers of ’98 and ’99 Ben worked for North Delta Ag Services as a Cotton, Soybean, Corn, and Rice Scout before attending MSU. While…

Bill McRight grew up in a farming community in Greenville, MS. He always had a love for working outdoors and fell in love with the ag business at an early age. After graduating high school in 1986, he attended both Mississippi Delta College and Delta State University. During his college years, he worked part-time for…

Blake Barksdale grew up in Columbus, MS and graduated from Mississippi State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Accounting. He went on to receive his Masters in Accounting in 2013 from MSU. After graduation, he became a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant. Since graduation, he has spent the majority of his career…

Agriculture is deep rooted in Boyd Anderson’s life. Growing up and working on his family’s corn, soybean, and cattle farm in Okolona, Mississippi. His parents made him pursue a college degree. In pursuing a degree, he wanted to stay in agriculture and build on the knowledge he had from working on the farm. In 2017,…

Brian “Bozo” Ward grew up in Drew, MS where his dad, an ag pilot, owned and operated a flying service. During high school Bozo helped his dad run the business before going on to college at Mississippi State University. He graduated from MSU in 1996 with a Bachelors in Ag Science and went on to…

Brian Montgomery grew up in Greenville, MS. Brian chose the ag business because he sees the American Farmer as the foundation for economic growth and security from the national perspective. Farmers face the most difficult perils of any other business and Brian wanted to partner and help them with the challenges of farming. Brian has…

Cam was born and raised in Cleveland, MS and went to Mississippi State on a football scholarship, where he graduated with a BS in Ag Pest Management and an MS in Weed Science and Wildlife Ecology and Management. Cam’s masters focus was rice weed control and much of his early career was dedicated to becoming…

Dan Prevost grew up around Raymond, MS where he watched as much of the ag land in the area was enrolled in CRP and planted in pine trees in the late 80s and 90s. Observing this trend and having a passion for anything outdoors led Dan to attend Mississippi State University where he earned a…

Jason Fratesi grew up working on his family’s farm in Leland, MS. He started chopping, spraying weeds, and driving equipment at age 10. In 1995, Jason graduated from MDCC with an associate degree in Horticulture and went on to attend Delta State. After one and a half years at Delta State, Jason was offered a…

Jordan Collins grew up on his family’s farm in Calhoun City, MS. Beginning in 1998 Jordan worked for the Boll Weevil Eradication Program, checking the pheromone traps weekly. In 2000, he began assisting crop consultants and continued to do so throughout the rest of high school. Jordan attended Mississippi State University in 2004, graduating in…

Keith King grew up in Leland, MS. Growing up in a farming community, Keith has always admired farmers. When he began working for Bozo Ward at age 15, Keith came to enjoy and admire everything that went along with the farming industry and decided that he wanted to pursue a career in the ag business.…

Miller King grew up in Leland, MS. From a very young age, Miller knew that he wanted to work in agriculture. He began working on farms at age 12 managing various jobs until he began working for Jason Fratesi at age 18. Miller continued to learn under Jason throughout college gaining consulting experience. Miller graduated…

Mitt Wardlaw grew up on his family’s hog farm outside of Batesville, MS. After high school Mitt went on to continue his education at Mississippi State University where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Crop Science in 1997. During college he continued to farm on his own as well. After completing his undergraduate degree,…

Agents in the property and casualty business for over 30 years. In 2011 Pam came to work for Southern Ag as the office manager and processor in the crop insurance division. When not working Pam enjoys spending time with her husband, Watt, gardening and camping at local campgrounds. She also enjoys spending time with her…

Patrick Garrard grew up around Starkville, MS. His family was involved in the agriculture business, allowing Patrick to gain experience in the field. After graduating high school, Patrick attended Mississippi State University where he pursued a Bachelors degree in Agronomy with a concentration in Integrated Pest Management. After graduating from MSU in 2013 Patrick came…

Phillip Hays grew up in Eupora, MS where farming and forestry are two major occupations. His grandfather owned a cattle farm and Phillip helped him work the business throughout high school.  After finishing high school, he attended Mississippi State University where he graduated in December 2014. He holds a B.S. in Agronomy with a concentration…

Reid Tackett grew up in Pontotoc, MS. Reid graduated from Mississippi State University in May 2017 with a B.S. in Agriculture Engineering Technology and Business (AETB) with a concentration in Precision Ag. Reid worked at the Pontotoc Experiment Stations before being mentored by Jordan Collins throughout College and pulling soil samples for Southern Ag. He…

Dr. Rusty Mitchell attended Mississippi State University where he received a B.S. and M.S. in Entomology and Louisiana State University where he received a Ph.D. in Entomology with a minor in Weed Science. He began his career as an Area Entomologist for the MSU Extension Service. In 1986, Rusty joined FMC Corporation and over a…

Tanner Lloyd graduated from Mississippi State University in the Fall of 2018 with a B.S. in Agronomy with a concentration in Integrated Crop Management. While in school he began to gain field knowledge and experience through internships with Bayer CropScience in 2017 and Nutrien Ag Solutions in 2018. In January of 2019, he began working as an…

Trippe Pilgrim grew up on his family’s farm in Merigold, MS. They farmed predominantly soybeans and rice. Trippe’s passion growing up was to be a farmer, until he went to work under Brian “Bozo” Ward in the Summer of 2011. After one summer, he knew crop consulting was the career he wanted to pursue. Trippe…

Wes McPherson’s love of agriculture started at a very young age when he grew up on his parent’s farm in Inverness, MS. His love of farming and desire to help other farmers led him to pursue a career in Agriculture at Mississippi State University where he graduated with his Bachelors in Integrated Pest Management in…