La. Farm Bureau Outstanding Young Farm Woman: “Somebody Needs to Feed the World.”
By: Neil Melançon and Kristen Oaks-White
Baton Rouge, La.— Working cattle together can be the best form of marriage counseling, if cowboy wisdom holds true.
For Danielle and Brandon Vail, it’s definitely hard work—work that often doesn’t get recognized. However, this year, Danielle’s being recognized for that work as the 2020 Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Outstanding Young Farm Woman.
“It’s a bit of a surprise, especially since I’ve only been in farming for six years, since I married my husband,” Vail said. “It’s a humbling experience. I don’t know everything, but I’m learning every day.”
While she is certainly humble, Vail’s husband, Brandon, is definitely proud—not just of her progress, but as a farmer herself.
“I'm glad she loves it and, I mean, it makes me really proud of her,” Brandon Vail said. “Even the rest of my family, like my dad and my sisters, are really proud of her for how much she has learned, how much she's picked up and how much she does on her own with no one asking her at all.”
Vail may have only recently begun to farm, but she has farm roots. Her father was a farm hand and her godfather was a racehorse stable manager. Vail went to McNeese for a bachelor’s degree in equine science, and a master’s degree in environmental and chemical engineering.
“I started in vet school and worked at a vet clinic,” she said. “I enjoyed my career as a vet tech, but realized it wasn’t for me. So, instead, I married a professional gambler and became one myself.”
Aside from the risk, Vail says there’s joy every day on the farm.
“I get away from the city and into wide open skies, the beautiful environment,” Vail said. “You just look out over a rice field or a freshly-clipped pasture and it’s beautiful. I can just look at my cows for hours, watching them feed or the calves play.”
There’s a point to the Vail’s 2,000 acres of rice and cattle that goes beyond work and pleasure, she said.
“Having faith that you know that you were put here for a purpose to do it,” Vail said. “You need to continue to do it, because there's nobody behind you to replace you. We know the struggle that there's just not a whole lot there. Somebody needs to feed the world."
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Outstanding Young Farm Woman Award recognizes women for outstanding achievement and leadership development. Contestants should derive a majority of their net income from an owned agricultural operation.
As the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Outstanding Young Farm Woman, Danielle Vail will receive a $2,000 Farm Bureau Bank Gift Card, courtesy of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company; a trip to the American Farm Bureau FUSION Conference in Portland, Oregon, March 2021, courtesy of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation; $500 cash, courtesy of BASF; a $250 Choice Hotel gift card, courtesy of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation; and a $250 Farm Bureau Bank Gift Card, courtesy of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Companies.
Founded in 1922, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization representing more than 148,000 member families.