A Vietnam War veteran, Sam Givhan of Safford, came home to his family farm in west central Alabama. He diversified the farm and made it more profitable by adding a catfish farming enterprise to the existing mix of beef cattle and field crops.

As a result of his success in raising cattle, catfish and row crops, Givhan has been selected as the state winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. Givhan now joins nine other state winners from the Southeast as finalists for the award. The overall winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga.

Last year, he farmed 4,200 acres, including 2,323 acres of rented land and 1,877 acres of owned land. A farmer for 42 years, his crops include cotton, soybeans, wheat and corn. Drought last year depressed his corn and soybean yields, but his wheat yielded 42 bushels per acre and his cotton produced 820 pounds of lint per acre.

His beef herd includes about 420 cows and 20 bulls. His catfish operation features ponds covering 250 acres.

He now lives on the farm where he was born and raised.

Givhan gives his wife, Lynne, much of the credit for the success of his farm. He met her when he was a student at Marion Military Institute and she was attending Judson College. They married in 1964.

“It was very tough for our farm and for many farms during the early 1980’s, with drought, grain embargoes and low prices,” he said. “Lynne’s off-farm job and her income was a big help in paying our living expenses.

As the Alabama state winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo award, Givhan will receive a $2,500 cash award and an expense paid trip to the Sunbelt Expo from Swisher International of Jacksonville, Fla., a $500 gift certificate from the Southern States cooperative and the choice of either $1,000 in PhytoGen cottonseed or a $500 donation to a designated charity on behalf of Dow Agrosciences.

He is now eligible for the $15,000 that will go to the overall winner. Other prizes for the overall winner include the use of a Massey Ferguson tractor for a year from Massey Ferguson North America, another $500 gift certificate from the Southern States cooperative and the choice of either another $1,000 in PhytoGen cottonseed or a second $500 donation to a designated charity on behalf of Dow Agrosciences.