The Arkansas Department of Agriculture this week inducted 36 farms into the Arkansas Century Farm Program.
The Arkansas Century Farm Program recognizes Arkansas farms of 10 acres or more owned by the same family for at least 100 years. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture established the program in 2012 to highlight the contributions of these families to the agriculture industry as well as our state. The program is voluntary and there is no cost for participating families.
The following farms located in Southwest Arkansas were among those inducted into the program:
Dallas County
HEW Farm, est. 1884
Hempstead County
Phillips Family Farm, est. 1883
Nevada County
White’s Chapel Farm, est. 1868
Ouachita County
J Howard Tate Farm, est. 1906
Agriculture is the largest industry in Arkansas and contributes more than $20.9 billion to the state’s economy annually. Arkansas has 41,900 farms and 96 percent are family owned.
“A country that can’t feed itself, fuel itself, and clothe itself can’t survive. That’s why it’s so important to thank and support our farmers,” said Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “[I was] honored to join the newest inductees to Arkansas’ Century Farm Program. These 36 families have farmed the same land for over a century.”
604 farms are currently recognized as Arkansas Century Farms throughout the state. The 36 newly inducted farms are located in the following counties: Arkansas, Carroll, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Dallas, Faulkner, Fulton, Greene, Hempstead, Howard, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Lee, Little River, Logan, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Nevada, Ouachita, Perry, Randolph, and Van Buren.
A full list of this year’s inductees can be found at agriculture.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023Century-Farm-Program-Inductees.pdf. Find the photos from the induction ceremony at flic.kr/s/aHBqjB4WMR. More information on the program and previous inductees can be found at agriculture.arkansas.gov/ arkansas-department-of-agriculture-services/arkansas-century-farm-program/ or by contacting Beth Moore at beth.moore@agriculture.arkansas.gov.
