Louisiana Young Farmers, Ranchers Take the National Stage at 2026 American Farm Bureau Convention

By Allie Shipley
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

A group of Louisiana young farmers and ranchers is headed to Anaheim, California, to compete at the 2026 American Farm Bureau Convention, Jan. 9–14. 

Frankie and Mallory Sotile of Ascension Parish 

Frankie and Mallory Sotile will represent Louisiana Farm Bureau in the Achievement Award competition. This award recognizes an individual or couple between 18 and 35 for outstanding achievement in production agriculture and leadership achievement. 

The young couple runs a fourth-generation sugarcane farm in Ascension Parish, which has been in the Sotile family for more than a century. While Frankie focuses on the fields, Mallory, a first-generation farmer by marriage, juggles a career in healthcare while raising their two young sons and offers steady emotional support when the challenges of agriculture hit hard. 

Randi Lyn Toups of Lafourche Parish 

Randi Lyn Toups is competing in the Excellence in Agriculture competition. This contest recognizes young farmers and ranchers ages 18 to 35 who do not earn the majority of their income from an owned agricultural operation but contribute to the industry. 

Toups is an Agricultural Science educator at Central Lafourche High School. She grew up working on her parent’s cow-calf operation and was a member of FFA and 4-H. She earned an Agricultural, Extension Education degree from LSU with a minor in Animal Science. She is currently working on a Master’s in Ag Education.  

Abbygail Davis of St. Tammany Parish 

Representing Louisiana Farm Bureau in the Discussion Meet competition is Abbygail Davis. This competitive event simulates a committee meeting where discussion and active participation are expected from each participant who is evaluated on an exchange of ideas and information on a pre-determined topic. 

Davis is a St. Tammany Parish native currently majoring in animal science at LSU, focusing on livestock production. Her family farms cattle, meat goats, and dairy goats. 

To learn more about the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farms & Ranchers program, visit https://lafarmbureau.org/yfr. 

To learn more about the American Farm Bureau Convention, visit https://annualconvention.fb.org/.