Eight farm families were selected as tops in their respective districts for this year. An overall winner for the state will be selected from the eight and honored later this year.
Winners all are judged on their farm production, efficiency, management, family life and rural/community leadership.
The district winners are:
• Michael and Sarah Oxner of Searcy (White County) in the East Central District. The Oxners own Red River Farms where they grow 2,700 acres of rice, 2,100 acres of soybeans, 300 acres of corn, 280 acres of cotton and 700 acres of moist soil, millet, and native grasses for wildlife. They have three children, Mary, Laura, and Paten.
• Mark and Nancy Satterfield of Norfork (Baxter County) in the North Central District. The Satterfields are registered seed stock producers of Charolais and Angus cattle with a production herd of 110 cows. The Satterfields sell semen from most of their bulls and they’ve had champion bulls and females in both Arkansas and Missouri. They have two children, Taylor and Justin.
• Lammers Farms Partnership located in Manila (Mississippi County) in the Northeast District. Lammers Farms Partnership is a family operation with three generations of farmers. Louis and Carol Lammers, their children Jeff Lammers and Laura Weiss, and their respective families, are partners of Lammers Farm. Louis and Carol Lammers also have seven grandchildren. On 6,662 acres Lammers Farms grows 530 acres of irrigated upland cotton, 1,072 acres of non-irrigated upland cotton, 2,060 acres of long grain rice, 80 acres of grain sorghum, 1,207 acres of irrigated soybeans, 742 acres of non-irrigated soybeans and 971 acres dedicated to the Conservation Reserve Program. Lammers Farms Partnership also owns a grain storage facility in Blytheville that is currently leased to Riceland.
• Randy and Anjie Cockrum of Rudy (Crawford County) in the Northwest District. Randy and Anjie Cockrum have 578 acres, 400 of which produce hay. They also have 160 cow/calf pairs and a meat processing operation. When calf prices are low the Cockrums market their calves as beef through their processing operation. They have three children, Siera, Tyler and Shelby.
• Curt and Ellen Rankin of Lake Village (Chicot County) in the Southeast District. The Rankin’s farm consists of 500 acres of corn, 1,950 acres of irrigated soybeans and 150 acres of non-irrigated soybeans. They have two children, Seth and Jacob.
• Darrell and Jennifer Ford of Hope (Hempstead County) in the Southwest District. The Fords graze about 700 yearling calves per year. The cattle-grazing operation also provides pasture for outside farmers. The Fords own 100 cows and about 25 percent of the calves they graze. The Fords also co-own the Hope Livestock Auction, which sells roughly 45,000 head of cattle each year. They have four children, Kade, Kylan, Grace and Aubrie.
• Jeremy and Leslie Allmon of Murfreesboro (Pike County) in the West Central District. The Allmons have 103 cows, 92 calves, 35 heifers, two bulls, two poultry laying houses containing approximately 28,400 hens and 100 acres of hay on their 420 acre operation. They have one child, Holden, who is 2.
• Larry and Marilyn Huddleston of Waldron (Scott County) in the Western District. The Huddlestons run 100 cows, 700 stocker calves and produce hay on 1,340 acres. They have two children, Hannah and Cole.
Sponsors of the Farm Family of the Year program are Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Press Association, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas and the three Farm Credit agencies that serve Arkansas, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas and Midsouth Farm Credit. Support for the program is provided by the Arkansas Department of Career Education, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.