Alabama’s Watson Joins Elite American Farm Bureau Advocacy Class

By Marlee Jackson
(334) 613-4219

A rising star in Alabama agriculture, Ellie Watson will soon put her advocacy skills in action nationwide through the American Farm Bureau Federation's Partners in Advocacy Leadership (PAL) program.

Farm Bureau announced Watson's appointment to the elite class of 10 farmers and industry professionals May 7. The director of Sweet Grown Alabama, Watson is the state's inaugural PAL delegate.

"It's rare you meet a young person with Ellie's gift for telling folks about agriculture," said Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell, who nominated Watson for the position. "There's something special about Ellie. She's a hard worker who knows agriculture, and people listen when she speaks. I'm convinced PAL is getting one of our best."

Watson's PAL class will spend the next year honing advocacy, storytelling and policy skills through four institutes that include a stint in Washington, D.C., plus an international experience.

She will graduate in March 2028.

Watson's work builds on a strong legacy of leadership. Her late great-grandfather, Hollis Isbell, was a respected leader in the U.S. cotton industry, a heritage continued by her grandfather, Neal Isbell.

The sixth generation on her family's row crop farm, Watson formed an appreciation for agriculture watching family, including her father, Todd, tend the Colbert County soil.

"As a child, I remember listening at family meals and holidays as family talked about checking irrigation, moving equipment or the weather," Watson said. "Everything revolved around the farm. That's when I started to grasp how involved agriculture was. It's not a job they went to from 8 to 5. It was a lifestyle. Through Sweet Grown Alabama and the Farmers Federation, I've been able to give back to this industry in a way that honors their legacy."

Watson has taken Sweet Grown Alabama from a visionary concept in 2019 to a successful marketing program with hundreds of members and broad-based private and public support. An enthusiastic communicator, she effectively bridges the gap among traditional agriculture operations, niche farmsteads, grocery stores, restaurants, artisans and food manufacturers.

In addition to her day job, Watson gives back to the farm community. She chairs the Autauga County Young Farmers, serves on the State Young Farmers Committee and mentors students at her alma mater, Auburn University. She's also a graduate of the Federation's elite Agricultural Leaders For Alabama program, where she was instrumental in developing recommendations to address the industry's workforce development challenges.

Her most important role, however, is at her home in Autaugaville, where she and husband Dalton are raising their daughter, Charlotte.