KY Farm Bureau selects Outstanding Young Farm Family

Source: KY Farm Bureau

October 28 - Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) has named Brandon and Taylor Henning of Breckinridge County as its 2026 Outstanding Young Farm Family. This annual award honors a young couple or individual who demonstrates exceptional management skill, innovation and leadership in production agriculture while remaining deeply involved in their community and the Farm Bureau organization. The Hennings placed second in the 2025 contest.

In 2016, Brandon Henning purchased his first farm, where he began raising primarily row crops, and he later expanded by renting additional crop ground. Today, he farms about 300 acres of row crops, including corn and soybeans, and has around 30 head of sheep. Image credit: KY Farm Bureau

The Hennings live on a family farm that Brandon’s grandfather started in 1962, where Brandon now works alongside his father. Brandon began farming in high school, raising five acres of tobacco on a neighbor’s farm that his father had rented, and expanded to eight acres while attending college. He graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture mechanization. Taylor, who holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology, works as a probation and parole officer for the state. The couple has three young children, and both of their sons love going to work with their dad on the farm.

In 2016, Brandon purchased his first farm, where he began raising primarily row crops, and he later expanded by renting additional crop ground. Today, he farms about 300 acres of row crops, including corn and soybeans, and has around 30 head of sheep. He bought his first few sheep in 2019 as a hobby to teach his sons responsibility and expanded the flock in 2021, when he stopped growing tobacco.

Brandon works closely with his father, sharing equipment, labor and decision-making responsibilities. When Brandon graduated in 2015, his father was farming around 600 acres of row crops. That operation has since grown to 1,600 acres, mostly through Brandon’s efforts to secure additional land by sending letters, posting signs and building connections with local landowners. His father has gradually given him more control over key decisions, such as when to plant, which herbicides to use and how to fertilize.

Looking ahead, Brandon plans to slowly buy into the operation as his father nears retirement, continuing to learn from him while taking more control of the farm.

Brandon leads most of the day-to-day operations on the farm, with a primary focus on crop management and logistics. He uses grid soil sampling to create fertilizer prescriptions for each field and selects corn hybrids based on soil type, moisture levels and field history. His corn yields, which averaged around 150 to 180 bushels per acre when he first started managing his own operation, have reached 220 to 235 bushels per acre in each of the past three years.

Image credit: Henning Farms

Brandon has also developed related businesses that help diversify income and support the farm. After his first corn crop in 2016, when the $3.50-per-bushel market price wasn’t enough to cover costs, he started bagging corn and selling it to hunters as deer corn, a business that has continued to grow. Last year, he and two friends started a hunting outfitter service that generates income while managing the deer population that has been damaging crops.

Brandon serves on the Breckinridge County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and chaired the county Young Farmers committee from 2018 to 2022. At the state level, he completed the Leadership Enhancement for Agricultural Development (LEAD) program and has served on KFB’s Soybean and Tobacco advisory committees. He credits LEAD with inspiring him to run for office, and in 2022, he was elected Breckinridge County’s 6th District magistrate, a role that allows him to bring an agricultural perspective to local policy decisions.

Beyond Farm Bureau, Brandon serves on the Farm Credit Advisory Committee and as arena manager for the county fair board, and he chaired the Economic Development Board from 2021 to 2022. Taylor serves on the county fair committee and participated in Annie’s Project in 2024.

“Being recognized by Kentucky Farm Bureau is a real honor for our family,” Brandon Henning said. “Taylor deserves so much credit for everything she does, especially during the busiest seasons when I’m working long hours. The farm is where I’ve found my purpose, and I’m excited to pass that love for the land and the work down to our kids.”

“Kentucky Farm Bureau is proud to name Brandon and Taylor Henning our 2026 Outstanding Young Farm Family,” said KFB President Eddie Melton. “Kentucky agriculture depends on people who are willing to step up and lead, and we’re glad to count the Hennings among those building a strong future for our commonwealth.”

The Henning family will be recognized at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Louisville this December. As state winners, they will also represent Kentucky in the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award competition to be held during the 2027 AFBF Annual Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Second- and third-place honorees for the 2026 Outstanding Young Farm Family Award are Allison and Bennie Nissley of Adair County and Cameron and Riley Hall of Bath County, respectively.