The 14th annual Louisiana Farmer of the Year Awards Program and Banquet will be held Friday, Feb. 25, at White Oak Plantation in Baton Rouge. The event will be highlighted by an address from retired United States Army L. Gen. Russel Honoré.

This year’s finalists include Charles Gravois Sr., a sugarcane, soybean and cattle farmer from Vacherie; Dennis Kieffer, a beef cattle and hay producer from Montgomery; and Bobby Morris, a sugarcane farmer from Port Allen. The winner will be chosen by an independent panel of judges from Texas A&M University and the University of Arkansas.

The program will begin at 6:15 p.m. with the VIP reception, followed by the banquet and naming of the farmer of the year at 7:30 p.m.

“This honor is significant because it salutes the farmer who stands out among thousands of others,” said Louisiana Radio Network President Jim Engster. “This year’s nominees are testaments to the vitality of agriculture in our state.”

The Farmer of the Year program is sponsored by Louisiana Radio Network in conjunction with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.