An awards ceremony honouring Chatham-Kent's top farmers and agriculturalists is returning for its 76th year.
The Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce will host the 76th annual Rural Urban Awards on November 23 at the Chatham-Kent John D. Bradley Convention Centre.
This year's recipients include "Agriculturist of the Year" Danny Ellis, "Agriculture Innovator of the Year" Dennis DeBot, "Youth Agriculturalists of the Year" Morgan and Mitchell Andreson, and "Friend of Agriculture" Ken McEwan.
Dennis DeBot, who was chosen as the Agriculture Innovator of the Year, runs DeBot Farms in Wallaceburg.
The company was founded by Albert DeBot in 1947 and started with only 200 acres of land. DeBot and his two sons, Remi and Dennis, became one of the region's leaders in the agriculture industry and continued to grow the company to where it is today, farming over 6,000 acres.
"We farm quite a bit of land and we're always trying to find new ways to do things," said DeBot. "We do the best we can with the latest technology, such as equipment, to produce number one crops."
This is the first award of its kind for DeBot.
The family's latest venture features a unique way to eat a local delicacy, corn.
The Popcorn Barn was introduced by DeBot Farms in 2019 and is being marketed locally. It features popcorn that pops off of a cob, as you put the cob in a special bag into the microwave to make popcorn.
"People are looking at what we are doing on our farm and they are taking an interest in what we are trying to do and follow suit," said DeBot.
The event will feature several presentations from this year's recipients.
"I am looking forward to saying my speech and listening to everybody else's awards," said DeBot.
The ceremony kicks off at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed by dinner and the awards program at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the ceremony are $53 and can be purchased online by clicking here.