Bourbon County Farm Bureau

10/11/2026

BCFB Annual Meeting Recognition: Farm Woman of the Year, Candy Sullivan

Bourbon County Farm Bureau strongly supports and advocates for women in agriculture. This person is a true pioneer woman of the Ag Industry and an excellent mentor for many young farmers in our area. She has given many of us chances and advice that helped shape the younger generation of farmers here in Bourbon County. She has been involved and immersed in agriculture her entire life growing up on a cattle farm, raising top notch Charolais cattle, and working in beef branding, cattle buying, and commodities for many years. These experiences have shaped her into a visionary for our industry.

Her hard work and determination speak for themselves. She balances grit, leadership, and care for the land and what it provides. She never takes a day off and puts her livestock and others way ahead of herself. Bourbon County’s 2026 Farm Woman of the Year is Candy Sullivan.

We will continue to feature all of our local award winners over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

10/10/2026

This month's featured Membership Benefit is offered by Stepping Stone Farm, an 8th generation farm and agritourism business, providing fresh, local produce, family fun on the playground, festivals, U-pick opportunities, and a brand new event venue space. Bourbon County Farm Bureau members can get one free season pass per family!

10/06/2026

BCFB Annual Meeting Recognition: Legacy Farm Award

🐴Shawhan Farms, Ted Custer & Matt Koch

Shawhan Farms has become a world-recognized institution that we are proud of here in Bourbon County, offering foaling, quarantine, raising horses, and a yearling-breaking program. Shawhan also does sales prep for yearlings and weanlings for major sales events such as Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton. Shawhan has foaled such winners as Lemon Muffin and raised Saudi Cup Winner Senor Buscador. Shawhan Place bred, raised, and sold the highest yearling in the July Fasig-Tipton sale this year. Because of their multi-generational family legacies to farming and to the equine industry, being the proud stewards of over 400 acres of Bourbon County Land, we proudly present the 2026 Legacy Farm Award to Shawhan Farms.

Theodore “Ted” Kuster has been a thoroughbred owner and breeder for over 50 years, has owned and managed the likes of Westview Farm and Hillside Stock Place. Ted received his General Agriculture degree from the University of Kentucky in 1965. He served as a member of the Kentucky State House of Representatives and Chairman of the Kentucky Parole Board from 1993-2007. Ted served as a director for Kentucky Bank (now Stock Yards Bank) for over 35 years, is a past president of this board—Bourbon County Farm Bureau, and vice president of the Paris/Bourbon County Library Board. Ted was also on the board of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers, and received Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager of the Year in 1986. He bred such racing winners as High Stakes Player and Hilda’s Passion before Shawhan Farms.

Matt Koch's family is also no stranger to the thoroughbred industry. Matt is a Marine veteran who served as a Captain and an intelligence officer with tours in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Matt is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and the Kentucky Horse Shoeing School. Since assuming office in the Kentucky State House of Representatives in 2019, he Chairs the House Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations. He also serves on the Agriculture, Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs committees. Matt was also a past Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Manager of the Year.

We will continue to feature all of our local award winners over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

10/02/2026

BCFB Annual Meeting Recognition: Outstanding Youth Contests

Congratulations to the following students who competed in the local Farm Bureau youth contests!

🎤Outstanding Youth Speech Contest:
🥇1st place female- Eleanor Jones
🥈2nd place female- Ana Melendez
🥉3rd place female- Clara Fritsch

🥇1st place male- Carson Waugh
🥈2nd place male- JJ Jackson
🥉3rd place male- Carter Purcell

🎵Variety Contest- local winner Mia Young

🔬Science Exhibit
Finleigh & Andie Robin
Kaidence Standiford

We will continue to feature all of our local award winners over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

10/01/2026

Congratulations to Mrs. Adams, our Excellence in Ag Literacy award winner for this year! Join us at our annual meeting October 1st to help us celebrate her achievements and recognize several other local shining stars of ag for the year! Hope to see you there!

We would like to congratulate Mrs. Adams for receiving the Excellence in Ag Literacy award from Kentucky Farm Bureau.

09/30/2026

Reminder for tomorrow night, we hope to see you there!

Mark your calendar to come join us next Thursday at our annual meeting!

09/24/2026

Mark your calendar to come join us next Thursday at our annual meeting!

09/17/2026

🚨 REMINDER🚨 youth contest applications are due September 22nd!

🎤Outstanding Youth Contest involves an application, interview and a 2-minute speech
🎵Variety Contest is a talent competition
🔬Agriculture Science Exhibit Contest involved showcasing a science experiment relating to agriculture

For in-depth information on all contests, visit our website: https://sites.google.com/view/bourbon-county-farm-bureau/events-programs/youth-contests

09/15/2026

Thank you to all who braved the heat and came out to our first ever Customer Appreciation & Membership Drive Event! We served about 200 free meals to community members to show our appreciation for our local Farm Bureau members🍔

Special thanks to our volunteers from the board of directors and the insurance agency for cooking, packaging and facilitating the drive-thru line, as well as those businesses who donated door prizes in addition to the ones we provided. All door prize winners will be contacted today to notify them of their winnings!

09/15/2026