Katie Ellington/Mount Vernon News
Kyle and Ashton Walls feed their herd of Mexican Corriente cattle, which are used for rodeos and beef production. The Mount Vernon couple was recently recognized with the Ohio Farm Bureau’s Excellence in Agriculture award. [request]
MOUNT VERNON — Farmers are known for working hard from sun up to sundown. Kyle and Ashton Walls are a prime example. Both work full-time jobs — Kyle is an agricultural and commercial lender with First Knox Bank and Ashton is a business analyst in CNH Industrial’s market solutions division.
After wrapping things up at their respective 9 to 5s, the husband and wife duo head home to their farm, where they raise horses, layer hens and Mexican Corriente cattle.
The Walls were recently honored with this year’s Excellence in Agriculture Award from the Ohio Farm Bureau. According to a press released from the bureau, the award recognizes successful young agricultural professionals who are actively contributing and growing through their involvement with Farm Bureau and agriculture. The award is designed for those who do not earn the majority of their income from agriculture, but continue to stay involved.
Both Kyle and Ashton discovered a passion for farming as youngsters in 4-H. Unlike many of their peers, agriculture was not a lifestyle they had inherited. It was one they chose.
“We don’t come from farm families. We’re first-generation,” said Ashton.
Ashton, a Mount Vernon native, joined 4-H while enrolled at Columbia Elementary School. With the help of friends and a supportive advisor, Ashton began raising and showing market hogs.
“I was just this crazy little sister that had pigs in the backyard,” she said with a laugh.
Kyle grew up in Indiana, where he befriended neighbors who had horses and rodeo cattle. He started helping out on the farm and even raising his own Hereford and Angus cattle.
“It just all snowballed very quickly,” he said. “Not only did we get an education but our parents did as well.”
The couple’s three-year-old daughter Jolee is also showing signs of following in their footsteps.
“She definitely takes after us,” said Ashton. “She loves her animals.”
Being the first farm owners in the family comes with distinctive challenges —the couple had no land or equipment to inherit— but it’s a life they’ve found immensely rewarding. Having second jobs to steady their income has been a key factor in their success.
“Get a good day job,” Kyle advises aspiring first-generation farmers. “You can’t enter this industry without a decent amount of off-farm income. It’s impossible.”
The pair also recommends relying on the wisdom and expertise of others.
“We look a lot to older farmers that are experienced, that are successful. Every single one of them is open with us and honest,” said Kyle. “Find those older mentors and learn as much as you can.”
The Walls added that knowing how to manage finances is perhaps the most important part of running a successful farm.
“Farm equipment is not cheap. Land is not cheap. Being able to understand a business plan as to how to make those assets work for you is critical,” Kyle explained.
In additional to farming, the Walls spend considerable time advocating for a way of life they believe is becoming less understood as time goes on.
“As more and more people become disconnected from agriculture… it’s always so intriguing to people and I think we really enjoy carrying that message of agriculture and sharing with the rest of the world what it’s all about,” said Ashton.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about how food is raised,” added Kyle. “I think agriculture needs more of a voice than it has had in the past. People want to know and there’s definitely more we can tell.”
Kyle and Ashton try to be that voice through their extensive community involvement. Kyle has been president of the Knox County Cattleman’s Association for six years. Last year, he was promoted to fill a vacancy as a director of the Ohio Cattleman’s Association Board. He hopes to run for the position when his term expires in November 2020. Ashton is going into her seventh year as a member of the Knox County Farm Bureau board. She served one year on the Ohio Farm Bureau’s policy development committee and attended the Farm Bureau’s Women’s Communication Boot Camp, which provides training on public speaking and how to advocate for agriculture.
Both have been members of the Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Ag Professionals Committee and the couple served as co-chairs in 2016.
In addition to a cash prize that came with the Excellence in Agriculture Award, the Wallses earned an expense-paid trip to Austin, Texas to compete in the national Excellence in Agriculture contest during the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in January.
“It felt like we were on pins and needles,” said Ashton. “We were certainly ecstatic when we got the phone call.”
The couple isn’t exactly sure what their long-term goals are, but they hope that it will involve even more time on the farm.
“We’re not exactly set in a business plan,” said Kyle. “We’re going to look at each opportunity individually and see if it’s something we want to do.”
