Mr. Frank Taylor is a fifth generation tree farmer with 187 acres of pine and hardwood trees based in Louisville, MS. The property where his farm is located has been in his family since 1877. Mr. Taylor’s great great grandparents fought through Jim Crow laws to be able to continue the rich legacy of the land. Mr. Taylor attended Kentucky State University on a football scholarship and graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.
For over 30 years, Mr. Taylor has been a strong advocate for landowners and farmers deeming him the “Voice of Rural America”. In 1997, Mr. Taylor became the President of the Winston County Self-Help Cooperative (WCSHC) based in Louisville, Mississippi. Its primary objective is to assist landowners to maintain their land/farmland for future generations. WCSHC has four focus areas: finance, health, housing and a youth component.
Under his leadership the WCSHC formed partnerships with Alcorn State University Extension Program, Alcorn Small Farm Incubator Center in Preston, MS, Heifer International, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Mississippi Forestry Commission, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Association and Federation of Southern Cooperatives and United States Department of Agriculture.
Through Alcorn, WCSHC has received assistance through the 2501 program. Through this partnership both entities have collectively conducted over 270 outreach meetings and conferences touching over 15,000 lives. WCSHC partnership with Heifer International resulted in a grant in the amount $74,500 to purchase cattle and small equipment to maintain cattle health.
Mr. Taylor has received numerous achievements, honors or awards for his longstanding efforts including Mississippi Association of Cooperatives Volunteer of the Year Award, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Volunteer of the Year Award, Luncheon Speaker for Alcorn State University, Kentucky State University, North Carolina A & T State University, and Tuskegee University Small Farmers Conferences, the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Mississippi Farmer of the Year, Kentucky Colonel Award, Heifer International Project Leader of the Year Award, Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance Outstanding Cooperative Leadership Award, Tuskegee University Cooperative Extension Cooperative Leadership Award, and Pearle S. Reed Excellence in Conservation Award.
Mr. Taylor has served in leadership positions for various organizations including Greensboro Community Action Club, National Association for the Advancement Colored People Winston County Branch, the National Network of Forest Practitioners, and First African American President of the Hinds County Forestry Association, chairman of the Mississippi Grazing Land Conservation Initiative Steering Committee, and serves as Board member of the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center at Alcorn State University since 2016.
Mr. Taylor can often be seen conducting workshops, assisting current and future farmers, serving as editor of the Greensboro Echo Newspaper, News Blast and News Flash on behalf of the Winston County Self Help Cooperatives, visiting farm families, attending farm related events at Alcorn State University and other venues and writing and publishing articles geared toward helping farmers and families.
He is married to Rita Taylor and they have four children: Tarie, Patience, Ashley, and Angela. They reside in Louisville, Mississippi.