Farm Family Recipe: Mamaw’s Squash Dressing

by Maddison Stewart, Arkansas Farm Bureau Every family has that one recipe. You know, the one that makes you think of your family. The one that makes you happy when you’re cooking it and then makes you very happy when you eat it. The Sims family of Conway County, Western District Farm Family of the […]

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Growing Sweet Potatoes Part 2

Shawn Peebles of Woodruff is one of a select group of sweet potato growers in Arkansas and the only grower of organic sweet potato growers in the state. He and other sweet potato farmers are busy harvesting their crop in time to get them to grocery stores for the holiday meal season. In this second […]

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Growing Sweet Potatoes Part 1

Fall is officially here, but, in typical Arkansas fashion, it doesn’t quite feel like it yet. Nevertheless, Thanksgiving will be here in no time, and that means it’s also “sweet potato season.” Growers like Shawn Peebles of Woodruff are busy pulling their crop from the ground in time to get them to groceries and on […]

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Lock, Stock & Barrel: The Ralstons, Part 2

Tim and Robin Ralston saw an opportunity in milling and packaging their own rice, but that opportunity was a huge risk. It still is, but they are feeling good about their decision. Tim says they mill everything they grow. “But when you stack it up against some of the big corporate mills, it’s really very, […]

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Lock, Stock & Barrel: Ralstons Aim for Farm-to-Table Rice

Ralston Family Farms  is unique. When it comes to rice, it’s a “vertically integrated farm.” What’s that you might ask? It simply means they grow, mill, package, market, sell and ship the rice. Everything is done from the farm. It’s the closest thing to farm-to-table you can get without having Tim and Robin cook and […]

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Farmer Q&A: The Hills of Howard County

Nathan and Nicole Hill are swine, poultry and cattle farmers near the community of Newhope on the Pike and Howard County line. They’ve been married 13 years. Nathan is 35 and left a job as a high school football and baseball coach, while Nicole left a nursing career in Hooks, Texas to move back home […]

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Going Organic: A Q&A with Shawn Peebles

Shawn Peebles is an all-organic farmer. He runs Peebles Organic out of Augusta and everything he grows on the 1,500 acres he farms follows the strict organic guidelines necessary to be certified as “organic produce.” He’s been at it for 15 years, growing edamame, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes and processor pumpkins. Organic farming is […]

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Farmer Q&A: Brandon Searcy, Cross County

Meet Brandon Searcy. Brandon and his wife Amy farm 2,400 acres of rice, soybeans and corn near Wynne in Cross County. We caught up with him on his farm on a windy day and he told us what it’s like working daily with family members and discussed his deep involvement as an active Farm Bureau […]

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Farmer Q&A: Chris Branscum, Perry County

Perry County Farm Bureau president Chris Branscum has a sod farm and small cattle operation near Perryville. He has been growing and selling turfgrass since 1989 and talked with us about this niche type of agriculture.  Going Deeper After shooting the video, we spent a few more minutes with Chris to find out a […]

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Farmer Q&A: Corbin Brown, Cross County

Corbin Brown, past president of Cross County Farm Bureau, continues an active leadership role on a state and local level. We recently visited with him on his farm near Wynne, where he told us about his 3,000-acre rice-and-soybean farming operation and shared thoughts on how his participation in two unique programs — LeadAR and Arkansas […]

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