Southern AgCredit recently promoted seven associates. 

Ted Murkerson was promoted to chief strategy officer.  He began his Farm Credit career in 1992 working for Northwest Florida Farm Credit and later joined Southwest Georgia Farm Credit, both within the AgFirst District. He was formerly a relationship manager at Farm Credit Bank of Texas and joined Southern AgCredit in 2008 where he was chief credit officer for 16 years.  Murkerson served on the Farm Credit Chief Credit Officer Workgroup as well as several FCC Services steering committees. He is a graduate of Troy State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration and lives in Jackson, Mississippi.

Brent Barry was promoted to chief credit officer.  Barry holds a bachelor’s degree in forest management from Mississippi State University. He joined Southern AgCredit as a loan officer in May 2003.  Since then, he has served the Association as Hattiesburg’s branch manager, regional vice president and regional president.  He currently resides in Flora, Mississippi with his wife, Dana, and their 3 children.  

Clayton Davis was promoted to vice president of operations.  Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State University.  He joined Southern AgCredit in January 2006 as a loan officer trainee.  Davis was promoted to loan officer and then branch manager of the Greenville branch of Southern AgCredit before becoming a regional vice president then regional president, his most recent position at Southern AgCredit.  Davis lives in Avon, Mississippi with his wife, Kelli, and their 3 children.    

Justin Morris was promoted to regional president.  Morris began his Farm Credit career working for the Farm Credit Administration as a bank examiner.  In 2011, he joined Southern AgCredit as branch manager of the Shreveport branch office and was later promoted to senior vice president of lending. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Southern Arkansas University and master of science degree from the University of Arkansas. He is a member of numerous organizations including Farm Bureau, Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association, the Louisiana Cotton and Grain Association, and the Shreveport Club. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Louisiana Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Caddo Parish 4-H Foundation, and the Cypress Bayou Corporation. He and his family reside in Benton, Louisiana.

Pate DeMuth was promoted to vice president/relationship manager.  He joined Southern AgCredit in 2018 as a loan officer in the Ridgeland branch office. DeMuth holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering, technology, and business as well as a master’s degree in agribusiness management from Mississippi State University.  He and his wife, Nora Grace, live in Raymond with their daughter.

Nathan Taylor was promoted to branch manager of the Gulfport branch office.  He was a summer intern at Southern AgCredit in 2014 and was hired as a relationship manager in the Brookhaven branch office in August 2016. He transferred to the Gulfport branch in January of 2021. He holds a bachelor of science in business administration and a master of business administration from The University of Southern Mississippi.  He is a member of Coast Young Professionals, serves as a board member for the Harrison/Hancock County Forestry and Wildlife Association, and as a Deputy Commissioner for the Harrison County Soil and Water Conservation District.  Taylor, a McComb native, now resides in Gulfport with his wife, Mindy, and their two children. 

Jeff Williams was appointed to legislative officer.  He also serves the Association as general counsel in the Ridgeland, Mississippi, administrative office. Before joining Southern AgCredit, he was a partner at a local law firm, Hubbard, Mitchell, Williams & Strain, which he helped start. Williams also is a lieutenant colonel in the Mississippi Air National Guard and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves. He received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Mississippi and his bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy. A Jackson native, he now resides in Brandon, Mississippi.