Leadership

Thomas H. Nelson, Jr., of Glen Allan, Mississippi, farms along with his family a 9,000-acre row crop operation consisting of Nelson-King Farms; Nelson-King Lands, LLC; E G Nelson Inc.; and Everhope Plantation, LLC; producing corn and soybeans. He is President of E G Nelson, Inc., and manager of Nelson-King Farms. He is a Board Member of Washington County Farm Bureau, which supports and promotes agriculture in Washington County, Mississippi, and is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Avon United Methodist Church in Avon, MS. Mr. Nelson has been a member of First South for over 32 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2026.

Robert Dale Thibodeaux, of Midland, Louisiana, has a farming operation with his family consisting of 10,500 acres, including 5,500 acres of rice, 3,000 acres of soybeans, and 2,000 acres of crawfish. His business interests include Thibodeaux Ag Group, a farming entity; Thibodeaux Brothers Farm, a custom farming and equipment leasing company; Thibodeaux Crawfish, LLC; Krewe du Meanger, a social club; Thibodeaux Brothers Dryer, grain drying operation; Thibodeaux Brothers Water, a land company; Thibodeaux Brothers Trucking, a grain trucking operation; Thibodeaux Land Company; and Acadia Processors, a crawfish processor. Mr. Thibodeaux serves as a board member of Acadia Soil and Water District, which implements conservation practices, and Acadia 5th Ward Port Board, which manages businesses on port property. He is a member of Southwest Farm Cooperative, an ag supplier; Acadia Rice Growers Association; and South Louisiana Rail Facility, an entity that markets and ships rice. Mr. Thibodeaux has been a member of First South for over 41 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2026.

Adam W. Bass, of Columbia, Mississippi, has an 8-house poultry farm, raises approximately 125 brood cows and produces hay for farm use and to sell. He is owner/manager of Back Forty Farms, LLC. Mr. Bass has been a member of First South for over 14 years. He was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2019 and his present term expires in 2025.

Barry A. DeFoor, of Falkville, Alabama, owns and operates 8 poultry houses growing broiler chickens. He also owns a commercial cow/calf operation and is in timber production. Mr. DeFoor has been a member of First South for over 16 years and served as a member of the Regional Advisory and Nominating Committees until he was elected to theFirst South Board of Directors in 2020. His present term on the First South Board expires in 2025.

Amy C. Ellender, of Mer Rouge, Louisiana, serves as an outside director, and is not a member of the Association. She is an attorney and owner of Ellender Law Firm, APLC in Mer Rouge, with areas of practice including estate planning, successions and probate, agricultural leases and contracts, corporate legal work, farm restructuring, and multi district litigation. She is a member of Ellender Properties, LLC, and a director of Christian Life Fellowship, Inc.,a nonprofit Christian summer camp/retreat facility run by her family. Mrs. Ellender received both her B. S. degree in Finance and her J. D. Law degree from Louisiana State University. Her present term as a First South Director expires in 2025.

Dr. Marty J. Fuller, of Starkville, Mississippi, serves as an outside director, and is not a member of the Association. Dr. Fuller is President and CEO of Federal Solutions, LLC, a firm specializing in governmental relations. Dr. Fuller serves as Senior Consultant at Cornerstone Government Affairs, a Washington, D. C. based government/public relations firm. Prior to this role he served as the Director of Federal Relations for Mississippi State University. He also served previously as Associate Director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) and is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University. Dr. Fuller received his B. S., M. S., and Ph. D. degrees in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2026.

Richard T. Hargis, of Effie, Louisiana, has a farming operation with his family, Hargis Farm Partnership, LLC, consisting of 5,100 acres of row crops, including corn, soybeans, and milo. He is owner of High Cotton Cattle, LLC, which includes 225 Braford cows and High Cotton Land Co., LLC, He also is a partner in HFP Trucking, LLC. Mr. Hargis was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2021 and his present term expires in 2024.

Mitchell H. Henry, of Moulton, Alabama, is a full-time cattle producer. His operation, Hardin Farms, LLC, finishes 700 feeder calves a year and maintains a cow/calf herd of 40 head. He also raises hay and corn silage to feed cattle on 400 acres. Mr. Henry serves as secretary/treasurer of the Lawrence County Farmers Federation, an agricultural policy organization. He was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2023 and his present term expires in 2026.

Conner V. House, of Natchez, Mississippi, is a forester and co-owner of Good Hope, Inc. where he serves as Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer; Geronimo Hardwood Timber, LLC, an entity that leases out farm land to operators and actively manages tree farm acreage; and Cottonport Hardwood, LLC. He is manager of Alligator Bayou Companies, LLC; Bridge South Development, LLC; Cottonport Hardwoods, LLC; Cotton Valley Hardwoods, LLC. He is President of America Plan & Build Corp. and Miss-Lou Timber Merchandising, Inc. Mr. House was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2021 and his present term expires in 2026.

John G. Ingraffia, of Husser, Louisiana, has been an owner/operator of a dairy farm for the past 40 years. He owns 130 acres on which he manages a herd of 190 dairy cattle. He serves on the Tangipahoa Parish Council, since being elected in 2020. He also serves on the Tangipahoa Parish Consolidated Drainage Board and the Tangipahoa Parish Rural Fire Protection District Two Board. Mr. Ingraffia, a former member of the Regional Advisory Committee, has been a member of First South for over 38 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2024.

Wilson E. Judice, of Franklin, Louisiana, owns and operates Wilson Judice Farms, a small vegetable farm that is in the development stages of producing fresh market vegetables and vegetable plants. He is currently an Agronomist with the American Sugarcane League. He serves his community as a member of the St. Mary Parish Fire Protection District Two Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Hanson High/St. John Elementary Advisory Council. Mr. Judice has been a member of First South for over 11 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2024.

Kevin Kimzey, of Water Valley, Mississippi, is the owner and operator of Kevin Kimzey Farms, a family partnership farming 3,000 acres of cotton, corn, and soybeans. His family also owns 600 acres of pine and hardwood timber. He is a stockholder in Yalobusha Gin Company and a member of Staplcotn, a cotton marketing cooperative. Mr. Kimzey has been a member of First South for 29 years and began serving as a director 2019. His present term expires in 2026.

W. Townsend Kyser, III, of Greensboro, Alabama, is Chief Financial Officer of Kyser Family Farms, a catfish and cattle operation of around 4,000 acres. He is the current President of Hale County Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA), an advocacy organization. He serves as an Executive Committee Member for Catfish Farmers of America, a farming organization that looks after the catfish industry, and is a board member of Black Warrior EMC, a rural electric cooperative. Mr. Kyser is also a director on the Alabama Farm Service Agency committee, a federal governmental entity that deals with lending and government programs. He was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2020 and his present term expires in 2026.

George G. LaCour, Jr., of Morganza, Louisiana, is general manager of GNG Farm Partnership, a family farming operation consisting of 6,000 acres of corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarcane, rice, wheat, and crawfish. He is also a managing partner of GNL Farm, LLC, that consists of sugarcane and soybeans. Mr. LaCour is a partner in Superior Land Management, LLC, a land management company that represents absentee land owners in South Central Louisiana. He also has a business interest in Perkins Road Express Wash, LLC. Mr. LaCour is a member of LaCour & Blake, LLC, a rental property company. He serves as a director of Edgar LaCour Land Company, LLC, a family agriculture land company and Bessie Land Company, LLC, a farm real estate company. He is a manger for Delta Farmland, LLC; Madison Farmland, LLC; and Milam Acres, LLC; all real estate. Mr. LaCour is Vice Chairman of the board of Tri-Parish Gin, a cotton gin; Secretary of the board of Louisiana Sugar Growers and Refinery, a trade organization for sugar; board member of American Sugar Cane League, a sugar advocacy organization; Vice President of the board of PC Electric; President of the board of Pointe Coupee Farmers Co-op; director of Staplecotn Marketing Co-op, a cotton marketing coop; director of Pointe Coupee FSA Committee, a governmental body that deals with agricultural lending and disaster programs; board member of Pointe Coupee Farm Bureau, an agriculture advocacy organization; Chairman of the board of National Cotton Ginners, a trade organization and board member of National Cotton Council, a cotton advocacy organization. He was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2023 and his present term expires in 2026.

Ray L. Makamson, of Itta Bena, Mississippi, owns and operates Ray Makamson Farms, a farming operation consisting of cotton, soybeans, and corn. He is President of Greenwood Gin, Inc. Mr. Makamson has been a member of First South for over 50 years. His term as a First South Director expires in 2024.

S. Alan Marsh, of Madison, Alabama, is President of Marsh Farms, a 2,450-acre crop farming operation consisting of cotton, soybeans, wheat, and corn. Mr. Marsh is a director of South Limestone Coop, which runs a cotton gin, and a director of Limestone County Farmers Federation, an agricultural policy organization. He is also a member of Staplcotn, a cooperative to market cotton. Mr. Marsh served on the Board of Directors of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank until December 31, 2022. He has been a member of First South for over 47 years. Mr. Marsh’s present term as a First South Director expires in 2026.

James F. Martin, III, of Enterprise, Alabama, farms corn and cotton along with raising beef cattle and hay. He is a partner in Nitram LLC, a real estate ownership company. He is also involved with Enterprise Land and Homes, LLC which buys, sells, and builds residential real estate. Mr. Martin was elected to the Covington Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees in 2020 for a three-year term. He also is a member of the Alabama Farm Bureau Coffee County board and the Coffee Gin Company. He has been a member of First South for over 31 years. Mr. Martin’s present term as a First South Director expires in 2025.

Daniel C. Mattingly, of Belle Rose, Louisiana, is the Agricultural Manager for Lula-Westfield, LLC, two sugarcane processing facilities (raw sugar mills). He assists in managing land holdings of two companies comprised of 40,000 acres, including sugarcane production land, timber property, pasture land and hunting land. He has ownership interests in Savoie Industries, LLC and Dugas & LeBlanc, LTD. Mr. Mattingly serves on the board of Assumption Parish Farm Bureau which promotes agriculture in Assumption Parish, Louisiana. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Savoie Industries, LLC, a sugarcane mill, having served on that board for the past 30 years. Mr. Mattingly has been a member of First South for over 25 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2025.

R. Shepherd Morris, of Shorter, Alabama, is President of Morris and Morris Farms, a 4,100-acre row crop operation growing cotton, corn, and sesame, and an 800-acre timber operation. He serves as a board member of Choice Cotton Company, a cotton marketing organization and River Bank and Trust, a community bank. He is President of Milstead Farm Group, Inc., a cotton ginning operation. Mr. Morris has been a member of First South for over 44 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2024.

Thomas A. Parker, of Lake Providence, Louisiana, has a 5,500-acre farming operation in Lake Providence, Louisiana, consisting of cotton, corn, soybeans, and rice. He also operates a 7,000-acre farm consisting of cotton, corn, soybeans and rice in Parkdale, Arkansas. Mr. Parker serves as a Chairman on the Staplcotn Board, an agricultural marketing cooperative. He is President of Bunches Bend Protection District, a Louisiana governor appointed commission. He owns a farm management company, Deep Current Ag Management, which manages farmland for individuals and private equity. Mr. Parker has been a member of First South for over 33 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2025.

Michael W. Patrick, of Canton, Mississippi, is a partner in Patrick Farms Joint Venture, a farming operation consisting of 3,700 acres of cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans, and timber. He is a member of the Madison County USDA/FSA county committee which administers farm commodity, crop insurance, credit, environmental, conservation and assistance programs for farmers and ranchers. He is a committee member on the Madison County Soil and Water District Board, a unit of county government responsible for soil and water conservation programs within the county boundaries. Mr. Patrick is an owner of Big Black Farms, Inc. and Cotton Pickers, Inc., agricultural corporations, and partners in Patrick Farms Joint Venture. He has been a board member on the AgFirst Farm Credit Council for 10 years. Mr. Patrick began serving on the Board of Directors of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank January 1, 2020, and has been a member of First South for over 32 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2024.

Walter Rodney Richardson, of Leroy, Alabama, is a partner in Richardson Farms, a row crop operation consisting of 4,000 acres of cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans, and wheat. He is a supervisor on the Washington County Soil and Water Conservation Board and a director of the Washington County Farmers Federation which promotes agriculture in Washington County. Mr. Richardson has been a member of First South for over 42 years. His term as a First South Director expires in 2024.

Roy M. Tucker, Jr., of Hamilton, Mississippi, is the President of Tucker Farming Company, a row crop operation in Chickasaw and Monroe counties consisting of 3,000 + acres of cotton, corn, and soybeans. He is also President of Tucker Farms, Inc. and Farmers Gin, Inc. of Hamilton, MS. Mr. Tucker is also a Director of the Mississippi Boll Weevil Eradication Board. Mr. Tucker was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2022 and his term expires in 2025.