Sherry Saylor
Rick & Sherry Saylor Family
Buckeye - Maricopa County
Inducted in 2022
Mrs. Saylor wears many hats – educator, advocate for the agricultural community as is evident from the many affiliations credited to her name (see below), farmer’s wife and mother to two children and four grandchildren. She has been an inspiration to those she has served with on the various agricultural boards over the years encouraging them to also get involved in not only the agricultural community but their communities in which they live. She doesn’t just preach what she says but acts upon it as her many roles in leadership with Arizona Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau. She has taken an active part in her community as a school counselor working with all students and staff to build a better world for all starting at the school level and fanning out with her student’s life at home and within their community. She has brought agricultural programs to her district to educate students on the importance of agriculture. She doesn’t just talk the talk, but walks the walk at home, at school, and in her community and that includes her church.
The words that best describe Sherry Saylor is her dedication to the agricultural community in Arizona and across the United States. Julie Murphree has described Mrs. Saylor as, “She is someone’ devoted to the promotion of a particular cause…’ and that cause is agriculture. No industry could have a better advocate than her.” As an advocate for the agricultural community every year she has made sure that children within her state and at the elementary schools in Buckeye understand about the agriculture importance to the food chain and its economic impact on Arizona.
Sherry was born and raised in South Carolina. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and education from Westmont College, Santa Barbara. In 1996 she was awarded a Master’s in Counseling. But South Carolina is where she would meet her future husband, Rick, who was working for Dupont selling agricultural products. Within eight months of their marriage, Rick’s family bought a farm in what would be the couple’s hometown, Buckeye and that would bring Sherry and Rick back to Arizona and Buckeye where they farm today. They are the third generation Saylor’s to farm in the state. Her husband and her have been members of the Arizona Farm Bureau since 1974. R&S Farms has grown diversified row crops: cotton, barley, wheat and alfalfa.
Marrying into a farming family, Sherry knew little about farming but was a quick learner. Her learning began with the Arizona Farm Bureau. Sherry said, “I immediately got involved in this community of other farmers and ranchers and there was a lot of education and leadership development through the Young Farmer and Rancher program; Women’s Leadership Committee and Farm Bureau training in general really helped me get the bug to share the story of what we do and why we do it.” Her learning about the agricultural community locally and state lead her to her national interest in agriculture and the various committees she chaired or was a member of.
One of the opportunities Sherry had to learn more about agricultural on a world basis and compare that to the United States came in the 1990s when she went with the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee on a trip to the Ukraine. She interacted with students from three different schools, observe the transitioning of that country from collective farms to a “more competitive open market system” and got to share with her counterparts in the Ukraine about the American agricultural system. As Sherry said, “we were able to go over there and help on a certain level; at least give guidance on how to think about a free-market system and understand the concept of private property.” While she was there, she learned that churches were just beginning to open back up after being made into museums under the Russian government. Sherry and Rick are very active in their church in teaching and the music programs so this was another highlight for her to see religion resurfacing in the country after so many years of its repression by the Russian government.
Through chairing American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee and the collaborative effort of the ten women leaders on the national committee their goal was to “engage women by offering opportunities to develop communication and leadership skills, empowering them as strong effective leaders in agriculture.” This resulted in Communication Boot Camp. As of 2020, the camp has trained 210 women. The attendees learning is centered on advocacy, agricultural literacy and leadership development. The women learn to tell their agricultural story. Sherry has lectured on various topics, most recently at Arizona’s Women in Ag conference, 2021. Her four-point matrix of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual epitomize Sherry’s involvement in her community and how women can be empowered to deal with everyday life situations.
The Farm Bureau gave Sherry “community, organization and opportunity” as she began her new career with her husband in farming starting back in the 1970s. She has been using what she learned early on with the Farm Bureau to help her advocate for the industry she married into. As a elementary school counselor for over 30 years, she has brought the agricultural community into the Buckeye schools. Sherry will always be a strong advocate for agricultural in her community, state and nationally.
Affiliations
Arizona Farm Bureau member 1974 to present
Arizona Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Chair
Arizona Farm Bureau Board of Directors and ex-officio member
Chair of the Arizona Farm Bureau AgPAC Committee
Member of the American Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors and American Farm Bureau Foundation Board
American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee 1990
Chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee 2014
Way Out West Drug Coalition
Awards
Arizona Middle-School Counselor of the Year, 2002
