Adona family honored for farming operation

Mariea and James Harvey, far left, are the 2015 Perry County Farm Family of the Year. Their family includes their daughter Katesha Abernathy, standing, third from left; the Harveys’ grandchildren, sitting in the wagon, Kyra McGehee, Kymper Abernathy and Cameron Harvey, holding Breylynn Abernathy, and, standing, Hayden Harvey and Zava McGehee; and Mariea’s parents, Carmon and Pat Wise, far right.
Mariea and James Harvey, far left, are the 2015 Perry County Farm Family of the Year. Their family includes their daughter Katesha Abernathy, standing, third from left; the Harveys’ grandchildren, sitting in the wagon, Kyra McGehee, Kymper Abernathy and Cameron Harvey, holding Breylynn Abernathy, and, standing, Hayden Harvey and Zava McGehee; and Mariea’s parents, Carmon and Pat Wise, far right.

ADONA — Although James and Mariea Harvey have owned their farm for just 10 years, they have been around farming most of their lives. Mariea, 50, grew up on a farm in Perry County, and James, also 50, quickly became involved in farming when he moved to the county in 1979 and met Mariea and her family.

The Harveys are the 2015 Perry County Farm Family of the Year. They have three adult children and several grandchildren.

“Being named the Perry County Farm Family of the Year is an honor,” James said. “We were both surprised by it.”

Mariea said they are both on the Perry County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and have known other families who received the honor.

“We just didn’t know how the committee chooses the family,” she said.

James said he talked with Jesse Bocksnick, county extension agent for agriculture at the Perry County Cooperative Extension Service.

“I learned the families are nominated by people from the community and that the [nominated] families are involved in helping the community out,” James said.

“We do try to help the community as much as we can,” he said. “We help with the premium sale at the Perry County Fair, and we help with the sheriff’s department, working accidents and other things.

“We also are active at the Church of Christ at Oppelo and are now helping build a new building there. And Mariea is active with 4-H. We stay busy.”

The Harveys’ older daughter, Maranda, 32, and her husband, Robert McGehee, live on Round Mountain in Perry County. They have four daughters: 16-year-old twins, Summer and Winter; 9-year-old Zava; and 4-year-old Kyra. Maranda is a registered nurse at CHI St. Vincent Morrilton.

The Harveys’ son, Lucas Harvey, 27, and his wife, Charleigh, live in the Homewood community of Perry County. They have two sons, Hayden, 8, and Cameron, 6. Lucas works for C&P Construction, an excavation contractor in Casa.

The Harveys’ younger daughter, Katesha, 22, is married to Derek Abernathy. They live in Birta and have two children, Kymper, 5, and Breylynn, 2. Katesha is a licensed practical nurse at Legacy Heights Nursing Home in Russellville.

The Harveys own 64 acres in Adona.

They have three chicken houses and raise chickens for Wayne Farms in Danville.

“We get them on day 1 and raise them to about 9 1/2 pounds or nine weeks. We have chickens just about all of the time. We normally have a 14-day break between flocks,” James said.

“It takes me about a day to decake just one house,” he said. “We do all the work ourselves. The grandkids are now starting to help us.

“We raise 2.3 million pounds of chickens yearly.”

The Harveys also raise 15 to 20 feeder calves each year.

They have quarter horses as well.

“We raise, show and sell the horses,” James said. “Family members learn how to ride and show horses. They also learn the responsibility of taking care of them.”

Mariea participates at various horse shows, and Katesha is a barrel-racer.

James and Mariea sell 750 tons of chicken litter yearly to supplement their farming endeavors.

“We also use some litter to fertilize our pastures instead of using commercial fertilizers,” James said.

“We sell and feed hay that is produced off our pastures as well.”

The Harveys raise pigs, goats and rabbits for their grandchildren and 4-H members to show in the county and state fairs.

“Our grandkids are working to pay off their animals,” James said. “They are learning the importance of taking care of them. This includes what to feed and how much to feed and water. They also learn how important it is for [the animals] to get exercise.”

The family uses the animals’ manure for fertilizer in the garden.

James is the son of the late Billy and Billie Harvey.

“My dad was Billy, and my mom was Billie, and my brother’s name is Billy, too. I also had an uncle Bill,” James said with a laugh.

“When I first met the family, I asked, ‘Is everybody named Bill?’” Mariea said.

James was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, and moved to Perry County in 1979.

“I was a military brat,” he said. “I’ve been to the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan, where I lived for three years.

“When my dad retired, we lived first in Jacksonville and then Maumelle before moving to Casa. I graduated from Perry-Casa High School in 1983.

“I worked for Arkansas State Parks for 30 years, retiring in 2011 as a construction manager. I helped build some of the parks. Petit Jean State Park has always been my favorite. I worked on the new lodge (Mather Lodge). I got to see the start-to-finish [construction] of the restaurant, but I retired before the new lodge was finished.

“The parks are all interesting. I learned a lot about the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and how they built some of the buildings in the parks. We often had to repair some of those facilities, and we had to make our work look the same as the original work.”

James has been a deputy reserve officer with the Perry County Sheriff’s Office since 1998; he is currently commander of the Perry County Reserve Unit. He is also the deputy coroner for Perry County and a member of the Adona Volunteer Fire Department.

He served as chief of police in Perry for seven years, retiring in 2011.

Mariea was born in Morrilton, the daughter of Carmon and Pat Wise of Casa. Mariea’s parents still farm in the area.

Mariea is also a graduate of Perry-Casa High School.

“We met when he came to Casa in the ninth grade,” she said of James. “We started dating when we were in the 10th grade. We were high school sweethearts.”

The couple were married in 1982.

Mariea worked a variety of jobs in the Perry-Casa School District — teacher’s aide, custodian and kitchen supervisor. She now helps on the farm.

Mariea has also been a deputy reserve officer with the Perry County Sheriff’s Office since 1998. She is the city clerk for Adona and a leader for the Rose Creek 4-H Club. She has also been a member of the Arkansas Horse Show Association since 2001.

The family attends the Church of Christ in Oppelo.

“If it were not for my parents, we would not have this farm,” Mariea said. “They helped us with financing the farm. James’ parents helped us, too.”

Mariea said their house has a lot of history.

“It was built in 1886 and used to be called the Loudermilk Farm,” she said. “There used to be a lot of homecomings here. The old rock school is next to our property.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I remember driving by here and seeing the house. I always wanted to live here.

“Then in 1990, it was totally redone, and I really wanted to live here. I never dreamed I would be able to do so.”

The Harveys hope to grow their farm.

“We hope to build three more chicken houses in order to expand our operation,” James said, adding that the family hopes to increase its cattle herd as well.

“We have done feeder calves in the past,” he said. “We plan on raising our own cattle in the future.”

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