Lincoln Parish Couple Named Finalists for Louisiana Farm Bureau Achievement Award

By Kristen Oaks-White

Louisiana Farm Bureau News

DUBACH, La. — John and Savannah Scarborough have built a farming operation rooted in soil health, livestock production and direct connections with their customers. Now, their innovative approach to agriculture has earned them recognition as one of three finalists for the 2026 Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award.

The award recognizes outstanding young farmers and ranchers who have demonstrated excellence in production agriculture while growing successful businesses and contributing to their communities. The winner will be announced during the 104th Annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention in New Orleans.

At Scarborough Farms in Dubach, regenerative agriculture isn't just a philosophy — it's the foundation of the operation.

Nestled in the rolling hills of Lincoln Parish, the farm includes cattle, sheep, pigs and microgreens, all working together in a carefully designed system intended to improve the health of the land.

For John Scarborough, farming has been a passion since childhood.

“I started farming at around 13. I started to farm myself. Nobody else was in farming in my family, but I loved every single minute of it there,” he said.

That passion eventually grew into a full-scale farming operation and a shared vision with his wife, Savannah.

“When we first kind of got started, I was still teaching,” Savannah said. “So I was like, you can do what you want to do. Just, just I'm cool with that. Go ahead.”

What began as support for her husband's dream soon became a lifestyle she embraced herself.

“I can't even imagine having to drive to work and spending all day inside, and then coming home and not having much time to enjoy what we've built,” she said.

The Scarboroughs intentionally designed their farm around regenerative principles, creating a system where each enterprise benefits the others.

“We knew we wanted to be regenerative. We knew that we wanted to stack those enterprises together in a way that really benefited each other,” John said.

Today, sheep and cattle graze broadleaf weeds, pigs help break down organic material and improve soil health, and scraps from the farm's microgreen operation are recycled into compost and livestock feed.

“So I'm not taking anything from the land. I'm not killing anything on the land,” John said. “The goal for me is just simply I want to regenerate. I want to build and leave behind as much as I possibly can.”

The result is a farm that functions as its own ecosystem.

“What really makes it unique is it is its own ecosystem,” he said. “And I feel like that if I walked away in five years, everything could actually be growing by itself.”

Building that system wasn't always easy. When John first began experimenting with regenerative agriculture, he often felt alone in pursuing practices that were unfamiliar to many producers around him.

“Oh, and when I first got started, nobody cared. Nobody knew what regenerative was, so I felt like I was pioneering it,” he said. “All the farmers around me, I'd go over there and talk to them and they're like, well, you don't know what you're talking about. You know what it's like. So it was just I felt alone. But yet at the same time, I enjoyed the fact that I was embracing something that seemed brand new.”

While John focuses on production, Savannah has helped build the farm's direct relationship with customers. Through restaurants, farmers markets and repeat buyers, she has become an important link between the farm and the people who enjoy its products.

“I love meeting new chefs and connecting with them and hearing what they're how they're using them and what they like about them,” she said.

Customer feedback remains one of the most rewarding aspects of their work.

“That's really the most rewarding part is with any of our products, our customers either, you know, they come back second, third, fourth time, but then they'll send me pictures and they'll be like, we love what y'all are doing. It tastes amazing. This is how I used it. Y'all are doing a great job,” Savannah said.

For the Scarboroughs, farming is about more than raising livestock or growing crops. It's about building a life centered on stewardship, sustainability and family.

“I think it's just the love of the land, caring for animals and I can't imagine really doing anything else,” Savannah said.

The winner of the 2026 Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award will receive a $35,000 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to the American Farm Bureau Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they will compete for the national Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award in January 2027.