Henry Witcher, 15, and Shannon Bateman, 13, won in their respective categories in the 2024 Arkansas Farm Bureau Dairy Foods Cooking Contest on July 18 at the state fairgrounds in Little Rock.
Jase Sheppard, 11, and Caitlin Cooper, 16, won in their respective categories in the 2024 Arkansas Farm Bureau Rice is Nice Cooking Contest on July 18 at the state fairgrounds in Little Rock.
Meet the finalist! Hannah Walker and her husband Cody run a cow-calf operation near Mountain Home. On weekdays, Hannah works within the Mountain Home School district, and on the weekends she and Cody operate County Line Beef, LLC, a direct-to-consumer beef operation. Hannah and her family look to be the face of agriculture in their community. Their two kids Claire and Charlie are active on the farm and in 4-H.
Meet the finalist! Dalton and Skiver Dilldine farm 5,500 acres where they grow wheat, soybeans, cotton, corn and rice. They also bought a commercial grain facility in 2022 and have turned it into an efficient storage solution. Watch to learn more about their family and farm.
Meet the finalist! Garrett and Mallory Moix of Toad Suck own a Bermuda grass hay farm that serves the equine industry and they also run a 130-head cow-calf operation. Mallory works off the farm as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. They love to include their three daughters in all their farming adventures.
Meet the finalist! Justin and Laycee Story of Cauthron have 851 acres where they run a 145-head cattle operation and 150 Black Belly and Dorper Cross sheep. The Storys moved to Arkansas from Florida in 2021 after inheriting the farm and have become a strong part of the ag community in Scott County. They have three children who help on the farm.
Meet the finalist! Caleigh Watlington and her husband, Coe, have a small cow-calf operation in Buckner where they also sell alfalfa hay. Caleigh is an agricultural loan officer for Farm Credit of Western Arkansas. Being raised on a beef and poultry operation, farming has always been a big part of her life, and they are ecstatic about raising their daughter in the same environment they were raised in.
Meet the Stroud family! Cody and Olivia are fifth-generation farmers and have blended two operations where they run cattle in Carroll, Izard and Sharp Counties. Efficiency has been their greatest key to continued success. They have a 1-year-old son, Grayson, who is the proud owner of three cows and three sheep.
The 77th annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program has announced its eight district farm families, representing a wide variety of Arkansas agriculture, the state’s largest industry.
Judges will visit farms to determine the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year, who will be announced Dec. 13.
Searcy County Farm Bureau was announced as the 2023 ArFB President’s Award winner at the organization’s State Convention in Little Rock. This is the top award in the LEAD awards program in which Farm Bureau recognizes counties all over the state for their hard work in promoting agriculture and educating the public on the importance farmers and ranchers play in everyday life.
