Steve "Chicken" Morris, a chicken farmer from Marion, Va., is the second Smyth County farmer to appear on the reality series "Survivor."

Morris, 47, will be the oldest of 16 contestants vying for the $1 million top prize when the reality show moves to China for its 15th season.

He is preceded by Tom "Big Tom" Buchanan, a goat and cattle farmer from Rich Valley, who won (after some rule wrangling) $100,000 on "Survivor: Africa."

And two alumni of last year's "Survivor: Cook Islands" were former Virginia Tech students: Adam Gentry and Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui.

Morris was born in Marion and grew up raising poultry. His resume includes stints as a bouncer, security officer and logger, according to his bio on the "Survivor" Web site.

His competition in the Chinese province of Jiang Xi includes a Christian radio talk show host, a gravedigger and a Montana beauty queen.

"I'm damn far from being the best-looking one in the group," Morris says in a mountain twang during a show promo.

"Survivor: China" begins at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 on WDBJ (Channel 7).

-- Pete Dybdahl