Two area farms were recently recognized by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was joined by Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward to induct 41 farms into the Arkansas Century Farm Program.
(From left) State Rep. Danny Watson, Joanna Howard, Michael Howard, Gov. Sanders, Halton Howard, Jack Martin, Norma Martin, Joe Martin and Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward.
M and M Timberlands Farm (est. 1919) of Howard County and Kirkham Farms (est.1898) of Pike County were among the inductees.
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 these families’ contributions to the agriculture industry and our state. The program is voluntary, and there is no cost for participating families.
(From left) State Rep. Justin Gonzalez, Seth Kirkham, Curtis Kirkham Jr., Gov. Sanders, Cameron and Cami Kirkham Lane, Zane Kirkham, Jim Kirkham, Judah Kirkham, Chandra Kirkham with Estrella and Donovan Kirkham, River Kirkham, Katelyn Kirkham and Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward.
Agriculture is the largest industry in Arkansas and contributes more than $24.3 billion to the state’s economy annually. Arkansas has 38,000 farms, and 95 percent are family-owned.
“Our family farmers are the backbone of our state and that’s especially true for our Century Farm families,” said Governor Sanders. “We often talk about farming in terms of economics, which is absolutely critical and very important considering it’s one of Arkansas’ largest industries. But the importance of farming goes much deeper than that. It’s part of our heritage. It’s part of our history and it’s part of our basic survival. Thank you for keeping our country fed, our state growing and our communities strong.”
“The Arkansas Century Farm Program exists to recognize and honor the Arkansas farm families that, for generations, have dedicated their lives to serving others and providing the food, fiber, fuel, and shelter that we all depend on every single day of our lives,” said Secretary Ward.
With the addition of today’s inductees, there are 645 Arkansas Century Farms throughout the state.
The 41 newly inducted farms are located in the following counties: Arkansas, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Clay, Columbia, Conway, Craighead, Cross, Desha, Franklin, Howard, Independence, Izard, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Logan, Madison, Marion, Mississippi, Ouachita, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Prairie, Pulaski, Searcy, Union, Van Buren, and White.
Applications for the 2025 class of inductees will open in February 2025 and close in May 2025.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
