Catlin Young of Caldwell County has been selected as Kentucky’s American Soybean Association (ASA) Corteva Agriscience Young Leader.
Officials with Kentucky Soybean made the announcement on social media Wednesday and said this national program allows young soybean farmers from around the country to gather for a challenging leadership experience. The Young Leaders program offers the opportunity for participants to enhance their leadership skills as well as meet and learn from other young leaders.
According to the post, the Young Leaders program is unique among leadership opportunities that exist for soybean growers as it is designed to include partners in the role of “significant other” in the training. The couples will attend sessions together so that both parties understand the importance of helping to shape national policy and advocate for agriculture, and have the tools to do so.
The announcement says Young raised soybeans on her own farm this year, in addition to helping on her grandfather’s Lively H Farms. Young’s partner, Aaron Vinson, works full time on her grandfather’s farm, while Young works at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center in Princeton. She is a graduate of Murray State University’s Hutson School of Agriculture with a degree in Agri-Science/Agribusiness.
In addition to soybeans, Young reportedly has a flock of sheep. She has owned her farm for just over a year and says that she has already enrolled in Caldwell County’s EQUIP and utilizes several best management practices, including cover crops, no-till, pasture management, a livestock pipeline for watering, and planting pollinator habitat.
As part of Young’s status as Kentucky’s ASA Corteva Agriscience Young Leader, she will serve as an ex-officio member on the board of the Kentucky Soybean Association.
Officials indicate that Young Leader duties begin at the end of November when the couple will travel to Johnston, Iowa, the corporate headquarters of Corteva, for part one of a two-part training session. Part two will take place in March during the Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida, which is the annual meeting of the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers.
