SANDY, Utah. December 5, 2016 – Kathie Iverson of Washington County was the winner of the Utah Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher ‘Achievement Award’. The award was presented at the recent Utah Farm Bureau Annual Convention and is considered the top honor for young farmers and ranchers in Utah.

The Achievement Award is a competition that recognizes those young farmers and ranchers that have excelled in their farming or ranching operations and honed their leadership abilities to superiority.

“This was a thrill to win this award,” said Kathie Iverson. “I am grateful for all Farm Bureau has offered me through education, experiences and knowledge, and I’m excited to represent our county and state at the national level.”

The contestants are evaluated on a combination of their farming operation growth and financial progress of operation, Farm Bureau leadership and leadership outside of Farm Bureau. More specifically, the judges look for excellence in management, growth and scope of the enterprise and self-initiative that are displayed throughout the operation.

Kathie, her husband Kelby and their family live and farm in Hurricane, where they own and operate Western Legacy Farm and Ranch. The family grazes cattle near the mountains of Kolob in the summer, and also along the area of land known as the Arizona Strip during the winter and spring. The family has also expanded into a variety of additional activities, many of which spread the message of agriculture to their community. These have included boarding horses, a summer ‘Farm Camp’ for kids, a fall pumpkin patch & ‘Headless Horseman’ attraction, cattle drives, Western riding lessons, farrier services, and more.

Kathie and her husband have six children, and the couple is very involved in their kids’ schools. Kathie is a strong advocate for agriculture and helping those in her community and abroad to be familiar with how food gets on their plate. She regularly hosts farm tours and works with her community to be a positive advocate for agriculture.

Iverson, representing the Washington County Farm Bureau, competed with six other finalists from around the state for the award. She received a 2016 Polaris Ranger ATV courtesy of Utah’s Polaris dealers, an insurance policy for the ATV from Farm Bureau Financial Services, and an expense-paid trip in January to the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Phoenix.

Iverson will compete at the American Farm Bureau annual convention against Achievement Award winners from across the nation. National winners of the Achievement Award their choice of either a Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra Truck, courtesy of General Motors.