Leadership

Robert Dale Thibodeaux, of Midland, Louisiana, is a farmer. His farming operation with his family consists of 5,500 acres of rice, 2,500 acres of soybeans, and 2,000 acres of crawfish. His business interests include Thibodeaux Ag Group, a farming entity; Thibodeaux Bros Farm, a farming entity; Thibodeaux Bros Trucking, a grain trucking operation; and Krewe du Manger, a social club. He is secretary/treasurer of Thibodeaux Bros Dryer, a drying entity; Thibodeaux Bros Water, a land holding entity; and Thibodeaux Land Company, a land holding entity. Mr. Thibodeaux serves as a board member of Acadia Soil and Water District which implements conservation practices, and Mermentau Port Authority which manages businesses on port property. He is a member of Southwest Farm Co-op, an ag supplier; Thornwell Warehouse, an ag supplier; Acadia Rice Growers, a rice promotion group; and South Louisiana Rail Facility, an entity that markets and ships rice. Mr. Thibodeaux has been a member of First South for over 45 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2029.

Barry A. DeFoor, of Falkville, Alabama, is a farmer. His operation consists of 8 broiler chicken houses, a cow/calf operation, and timberland. Mr. DeFoor is a member of the Alabama Farmers Federation State Poultry Committee and serves as a director for the Morgan County Farmers Federation, both agricultural advocacy organizations. He is a member of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, a beef promotion organization, and the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association, a poultry and egg organization. He also serves on the county committee of the Farm Service Agency, an administrator of federal programs. Mr. DeFoor has been a member of First South for over 19 years and served as a member of the Regional Advisory and Nominating Committees until he was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2020. His present term on the First South Board expires in 2028.

Adam W. Bass, of Columbia, Mississippi, is a poultry/cattle farmer. His operation includes an 8-house broiler farm; a cow/calf operation, consisting of approximately 125 brood cows; and a hay production operation. He is owner/manager of Back Forty Farms, LLC, a poultry/cattle farm. He is a director for Pearl River Valley EPA, a rural electric provider. Mr. Bass has been a member of First South for over 17 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2028.

Clinton J. Dunn, of Itta Bena, Mississippi, is a farmer and a partner in Dunn Farms, Dunn Farms II, and Dunn Farms III, a 4,000-acre farming operation consisting of corn and cotton. He is also a partner in Dunn Fornea, a residential development company and MS Ag Logistics, a seed, chemical, and fertilizer company. His business interests include Ag Concepts, an aerial agricultural application company where he serves as secretary; Arlington Investment, a commercial property business; Dunn Brothers Land Company, an ag land holding company; and Dunn Family Holdings, LLC, an ag, residential, and commercial property company in Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Mr. Dunn serves as commissioner of the Abotlapoota Master Water District, a water and drainage management district. He currently serves as President of Delta Council, an area economic development organization. He also serves on the board of the Greenwood Leflore Airport, a general aviation facility; Leflore County Farm Bureau, an agricultural advocacy organization; Mississippi Property Tax Alliance, an entity dedicated to reducing agricultural property taxes; and American Cotton Producers, a cotton producer and advocacy organization. He serves as vice president of the board for the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation, an implementation and eradication entity and Pillow Academy, an educational institution for K-12. Mr. Dunn is a deacon at First Baptist Church, Greenwood, Mississippi, a religious organization. He is also a producer delegate with the National Cotton Council. Mr. Dunn was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2024. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2027.

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/member of Ellender Law Firm, APLC. She is the financial manager and office manager of her family’s 7,500-acre farming operation, Clark Farms, consisting of corn, soybeans, rice, and cotton. Mrs. Ellender is owner/member of Ellender Properties, LLC, an entity that holds real estate and a member of the Board of Trustees of Christian Life Fellowship, Inc, a nonprofit Christian summer camp and retreat facility. Her present term as a First South Director expires in 2028.

Richard T. Hargis, of Effie, Louisiana, is a farmer and rancher. He has a farming operation, Hargis Farm Partnership, LLC and Gen Three Farms, LLC, consisting of 4,600 acres of row crops, including corn, beans, and milo. Mr. Hargis is owner of High Cotton Cattle, LLC, a row crop and cattle operation which includes 225 Braford cows. He is also owner of HFP Trucking, a commodity hauling entity and High Cotton Enterprises, LLC, a family farming business. His present term as First South Director expires in 2027.

Mitchell H. Henry, of Moulton Alabama, is a farmer. He owns and manages Hardin Farms, LLC. He markets 500 head of stockers annually and maintains eighty head of brood cows. Mr. Henry also harvests hay for the public. He is vice president of Lawrence County Farmers Federation Board which supports and promotes agriculture and politics. He is secretary/treasurer on the Lawrence County Soil and Water Conservation District Board, a conservation entity. Mr. Henry was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2023, and his present term expires in 2029.

Conner V. House, of Natchez, Mississippi, is a forester and co-owner of Good Hope, Inc. a timber operation, where he serves as secretary/treasurer. He is also a member/manager of Geronimo Hardwood Timber, LLC, a land and timber leasing operation. He is a member of Cottonport Hardwoods, LLC, a logging and barging operation. He is president of Miss-Lou Timber Merchandising, Inc., a timber operation; a member of Geronimo Minerals, LLC, a holding company; and a member of Lotta Crude, LLC, an oil and gas company. Mr. House is also a member of Shinola-Taras, LLC; Shinola-Durant, LLC; Shinola-Mill Services, LLC; and Shinola-Yazoo Timber, LLC, all timber operations. He is secretary of America Plan and Build Corp, a development entity. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2029.

John G. Ingraffia, of Husser, Louisiana, is a hay farmer. He was owner/operator of a dairy farm for over 40 years before retiring in September 2023. He has 130 acres used for hay production. Mr. Ingraffia serves as a councilman on the Tangipahoa Parish Council, a local governmental entity. He is also a member of the Tangipahoa Parish Consolidated Drainage Board, a local government entity for the drainage district, and the Tangipahoa Parish Rural Fire Protection District 2 Board, a volunteer fire department. Mr. Ingraffia, a former member of the Regional Advisory Committee, has been a member of First South for over 41 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2027.

Wilson E. Judice, of Franklin, Louisiana, owns and operates Wilson Judice Farms, a small vegetable farm, where he grows fresh market vegetables and vegetable plants for direct-to-consumer sales. He is also owner of Bayou Teche Family Farm. Mr. Judice is currently a senior agronomist with the American Sugarcane League, where he conducts research and provides field level recommendations for sugarcane growers in Louisiana. He is a member of the St. Mary Parish Fire Protection District Two Board of Directors, a volunteer fire department. Mr. Judice has been a member of First South for over 14 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2027.

J. Kevin Kimzey, of Water Valley, Mississippi, is a farmer and manages Kimzey and Kimzey Farms LLC, a 3,000-acre family farm consisting of cotton, corn, and soybeans. His family also owns six hundred acres of pine and hardwood timber. Mr. Kimzey is a stockholder in Yalobusha Gin Company, a cotton processing facility. He is a member of Staplcotn and ProCot, cotton marketing cooperatives. He is a director of Yalobusha County Farm Bureau, an agricultural advocacy organization, and serves as commissioner of Yalobusha Soil and Water, a conservation program. Mr. Kimzey has been a member of First South for over 32 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2029.

W. Townsend Kyser, III, of Greensboro, Alabama, is a catfish and cattle farmer. He is chief financial officer of Kyser Family Farms, LLC, a catfish and cattle operation of approximately 4,000 acres (some owned and some leased), and 700 +/- acres of catfish production and 600 +/- cow-calf production. He serves as a director of Black Warrior Electric, a rural electric cooperative. He also serves as a member of the AgFirst Legislative Advisory Committee, a Farm Credit advocacy organization. He is a board director of Hale County Farm Bureau, an advocacy organization. Mr. Kyser serves as an executive committee member of Catfish Farmers of America, a farming organization serving the catfish industry; and as a director of Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives (AREA), a trade group supporting state rural electric cooperatives. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2029.

George G. LaCour, Jr., of Morganza, Louisiana, is a farmer and general manager of GNG Farm Partnership, a 6,000-acre family farming operation consisting of corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarcane, rice, wheat, and crawfish. He is a managing partner with his sister of GNL Farm, LLC, farming sugarcane and soybeans. Mr. LaCour is president of Bouanchaud Farms, Inc. and Schwab Farms, Inc., part of the family farm operation. He is secretary/director of G&M Farms Inc, part of the family farm operation. He is vice chairman of TriParish Gin, LLC, a cotton processing facility; secretary/board member of Louisiana Sugar Growers & Refiners, an agricultural marketing cooperative; and president/board member of Pointe Coupee Farmers’ Cooperative, a farm supply entity. Mr. LaCour serves as a director of Staplcotn Cooperative Association, a cotton marketing coop; Superior Land Management Inc. a land holding entity; Louisiana Rural Electric Association, Inc., a trade organization for Louisiana rural electric cooperatives; American Sugarcane League of the U.S.A., Inc., a trade organization representing sugar; Pointe Coupee Electric Membership Corporation, a rural electric cooperative; and Pointe Coupee Farm Bureau, an ag advocacy organization. He is on the Pointe Coupee FSA County Committee, administers federal farm programs; and manages Perkins Road Express Wash LLC, a car wash. Mr. LaCour served as a member of the First South Regional Advisory Committee until he was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2023. His present term as First South Director expires in 2029.

S. Alan Marsh, of Madison, Alabama, is a row crop farmer and president of Marsh Farms, a 2,100-acre farming operation consisting of cotton, soybeans, corn and wheat. Mr. Marsh is the president of South Limestone Gin Coop, a cotton gin and storage of cotton seed, and a director of Limestone County Farmers Federation, an agricultural advocacy organization. He is also an advisory committee/member of Staplcotn, a cotton marketing cooperative. Mr. Marsh has been a member of First South for over 50 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2029.

James F. Martin, III, of Enterprise, Alabama, is a self-employed farmer and member of James Martin Farms, LLC, a row crop operation consisting of peanuts, cotton, soybeans and corn and a beef cow operation that includes pasture and hay production. He holds an Alabama real estate license and is a member of Keyton Crossing, LLC and Danin, LLC, both development entities. He is also a member of Nitram, LLC, a land acquisition and sales company. Mr. Martin serves on the board of ALFA Coffee County, Alabama Farm Bureau, an ag advocacy organization, and Covington Electric Cooperative, a rural electricity and distribution cooperative. He is a stockholder in Coffee Gin Company, a cotton gin, and participates in land transactions with Enterprise Land and Homes, LLC. Mr. Martin has been a member of First South for over 34 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2028.

Daniel C. Mattingly, of Belle Rose, Louisiana, is a contracted agricultural manager for Lula-Westfield, LLC, owner and operator of two raw sugar mills. Mr. Mattingly manages the maintenance of the land holdings of Savoie Industries and Dugas & LeBlanc which is comprised of 44,000 acres, including sugarcane production land, timber property, pastureland, and hunting land. He negotiates on behalf of companies with famers, ROW, etc. He is a director of Savoie Industries, LLC, a land-holding company and is a member of Dugas & LeBlanc, Ltd., a land-holding company. Mr. Mattingly serves on the board of Assumption Parish Farm Bureau, an agricultural advocacy organization. He is a graduate and member of the first class of the Louisiana Class of Agricultural Leaders started in 1988 and has been a member of First South for over 28 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2028.

R. Shepherd Morris, of Shorter, Alabama, is a farmer and president of Morris and Morris Farms, a 4,300-acre row crop operation consisting of cotton, corn, and sesame, and 800 acres of timber. He serves as vice chairman of Choice Cotton Company, a cotton marketing organization, and as director of River Bank & Trust, a community bank. He is president of Milstead Farm Group, Inc., a cotton ginning operation, and president of Macon Co. Farmer’s Federation, a county ALFA and ag advocacy organization. He serves as chairman of the State of Alabama FSA Committee. Mr. Morris is a partner in Fourmor Farm & Timber, LLC, a farming entity. He has been a member of First South for over 47 years and his present term as a First South Director expires in 2027.

Thomas H. Nelson, Jr., of Glen Allan, Mississippi, farms with his family a 9,000-acre row crop operation consisting of EG Nelson, Inc.; Nelson-King Farms; Nelson-King Lands, LLC; and Everhope Plantation; producing corn and soybeans. Mr. Nelson is stockholder and president of EG Nelson, Inc., a row crop operation, and Nelson – King Lands, a land-owning entity. He is partner and manager of Nelson-King Farms, a row crop operation. He serves on the board of Washington County Farm Bureau an agricultural advocacy organization and serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Avon United Methodist Church, a local church. Mr. Nelson has been a member of First South for over 35 years. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2029.

C. Mark Nicholson, of Philadelphia, Mississippi is a poultry and cattle farmer. He is president of Nicholson Farms of Philadelphia, Inc., a 6-house broiler farm, a feeder calf operation that includes approximately 150 feeder calves per year, a 515-acre cattle farm that includes approximately 150 head, and a hay production operation. He serves on the board of Neshoba County Co-op, a feed, supply, and outdoor retail entity. Mr. Nicholson was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2024. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2027.

J. Nolan Parker, of Lake Providence, Louisiana, is a farmer and a partner in New Generation Farms, a row crop operation consisting of 5,000 acres of cotton, corn, soybeans, and rice. He is also a parter in Parker Farms Partnership, a row crop operation consisting of 6,000 acres of cotton, corn, soybeans, and rice. He is a member of Brown Park LLC, Parker Land, and West Co Partnership II, all farming entities. Mr. Parker is the operations manager for Revive Delta, LLC, a farming entity. He was a Flight Operations Tech II for Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and Graduate Research Assistant with Mississippi State University. He was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2025, and his present term expires in 2028.

Walter Rodney Richardson, Jr., of Leroy, Alabama, is a farmer. He is a partner in Richardson Farms, a row crop operation consisting of 3,800 acres of corn, soybeans, and peanuts. He owns 40 brood cows, 3 bulls, and 25 calves. He also has four residential rental properties. Mr. Richardson is a stockholder in Escambia Peanut Company, a peanut buying point, processing, and warehousing facility. He serves on the board of Washington County Farmers Federation, an agricultural policy organization, and Jackson Academy, an educational institution. Mr. Richardson is a member and past president of Washington County Cattlemen’s Association. His present term as a First South Director expires in 2027.

Roy M. Tucker, Jr., of Hamilton, Mississippi, is a row crop farmer. He is president of Tucker Farms, Inc., a family real estate entity, a partner in Tucker Farming Company, a family row crop operation in Chickasaw and Monroe counties, Mississippi, consisting of 3,000 + acres of cotton, corn, and soybeans. Mr. Tucker is president of Farmers Gin, Inc. of Hamilton, MS, a cotton gin. He is also a board member on the Mississippi Boll Weevil Eradication Board, an entity that manages assessments on cotton acres and implements programs. Mr. Tucker was elected to the First South Board of Directors in 2022, and his present term expires in 2028.