Sponsored each year by the Alabama Farmers Federation, the Outstanding Young Farm Family Awards Program recognizes young farmers between the ages of 17 and 35 who do an outstanding job in farm, home and community activities. Division winners representing 11 commodities were selected in February. Of those, six finalists will compete for the title of overall Outstanding Young Farm Family for 2008. The winner, who will be named at the Federation’s 87th Annual Meeting in December, will receive $500 cash from Dodge, the use of a new vehicle and other prizes and will go on to compete at the national level for a 2009 Dodge Ram 3500. This month, Neighbors profiles five commodity division winners. Look for features on the six finalists in the coming months.Rising food prices have changed the way some farmers do business, and Chad Tribble is one of them.Chad, a poultry and cattle farmer in Limestone County, said that he had a good cattle year but suffered in the chicken business where rising feed costs and weeks without flocks cut into profits.Now, he has switched poultry companies and is undergoing several changes to his four chicken houses.”We’re growing a bigger chicken,” Chad said. “We’re going from a 4 1/2-pound chicken to a 6-pound chicken, and we’ll only have a 7-day period where we are out of chickens, instead of our normal 21- to 28-day period.”
Chad says that it takes the whole family — wife Stacy, daughter Gracie (8) and son Gabe (4) — to make things work on his farm.”When we work in the poultry houses or when we are working cows, we do it as a family, together,” Chad said. “Our kids see and know that no matter how small the job is, it is just as important as any big job.”Chad said his two children enjoy being able to help out around the farm.”My son was having so much fun the other day just picking up some sticks around the pasture,” Chad said. “And our little girl would rather stay out here with me every day.”