Doug Furlong Named Chamber of Commerce Farmer of the Year
And the winner is: Doug Furlong.
The lifelong Barren County resident was honored in February 2009 by the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce as 2008 Farmer of the Year.
The agricultural industry is vital to the overall economy of the Glasgow-Barren County region, and the Agri-Business Committee of the chamber awards a top farmer with the recognition each year.
"I'm a full-time farmer who tends 2,500 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat," Furlong says. "I'm a grain farmer – there's no cattle on my land. And for those 2,500 acres, I work all of them along with my son, Brad, and son-in-law, Keith. We hire seasonal labor when the time is right, but for the most part, it's Brad, Keith and myself."
Furlong, whose farm is in Park City, was also honored in 2009 by being inducted by the Barren County Alumni Association into their Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The induction event takes place each year at Barren County High School, where seven honorees have been recognized annually ever since the hall was established in 2007.
"Farmer of the Year and the Hall of Distinguished Alumni – I'm honored by each recognition," he says. "But honestly, I just go to work every day and do what I enjoy doing."
Furlong graduated from Park City High School in 1968 and began working in the family business, Furlong's Plumbing and Electric. He purchased his first farm – 200 acres – in 1972.
For several years, he ran the plumbing business in the daytime and farmed at night, and he eventually began farming full time in the 1990s. Furlong was a founding member of the South Barren Volunteer Fire Department, and he's a member of the Cattlemen's Association. He also serves on the association's Southern States board of directors.
