SHERIDAN — Farming is a family project for Chris and Elizabeth Hale and their daughters, Rebekah, 18, and Juliann, 17. They raise a variety of produce, as well as animals, on their 30-acre farm.
The Hales are the 2016 Grant County Farm Family of the Year.
“It’s pretty neat,” Chris said of the honor. “It’s a lot of work to have on the side.”
Chris, 51, is a full-time electrician; he owns Triple H Electric Co. in Sheridan. Elizabeth, 42, works full time for an insurance company in Little Rock.
Rebekah is a recent graduate of Sheridan High School. She will attend Oklahoma State University in the fall, majoring in animal science; she hopes to become a veterinarian.
Juliann will be a senior at Sheridan High School in the fall. She hopes to attend Conners State College in Warner, Oklahoma, and major in agriculture business.
“We both have full-time jobs off the farm, so what we do on the farm, we do as a family,” Chris said. “Our family works and plays hard together. We all know what has to be done, and we all pitch in to make it work.”
Produce grown on 1 acre of their farm includes potatoes, beans, squash, peppers, okra, sweet potatoes and peas. The crops are sold at farmers markets and through individual sales; produce is also donated to local food banks.
The Hales raise 32 head of swine — both crossbred swine and registered Hampshire and registered Yorkshire swine. They have approximately 45 chickens that produce approximately 25 dozen eggs per week, which are sold or donated to food pantries. They also raise sheep.
The family sells the swine to individuals and to local 4-H and FFA members for showing at county, district, state and jackpot shows. The farm’s swine are also sold at national swine shows and auctions and at market. Sheep are sold to breeders and at market.
The Hales also raise hay.
“The hay operation is a partnership,” Chris said. “We average 1,000 bales a year, which are sold to individuals. The hay is produced from rental acreage at various locations other than our farm.”
Chris grew up in Sheridan, the son of Bill and Mary Hale. Chris has three siblings: Randy Hale of Sheridan, Terry Ray of East End and Kim Handloser of Sheridan.
Chris graduated from Sheridan High School in 1983 and “went straight to work” as an electrician.
“But I always piddled with farming,” he said.
Elizabeth was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma.
“My dad farmed as a row-cropper,” she said.
Elizabeth graduated from Holdenville High School and attended Oklahoma City University for two years.
She said she and Chris “met on a blind date — a fishing date at Lake Ouachita.
“He was practicing for a fishing tournament.”
They have been married 19 years.
When they first began farming 18 years ago, “We wanted to be more self-sufficient in feeding our family,” Chris said.
“We started by planting a few plants, and it just continued to grow throughout the years,” he said. “Our girls joined 4-H at the age of 5 as Cloverbuds and have remained in the program through high school. When they reached their freshman years in school, they joined the Sheridan FFA chapter. At the ages of 8 and 9, they got their first lambs, poultry-chain chickens and registered Champagne rabbits to show at the county fair. From that point on, the livestock production bloomed.
“The second year they showed, we added swine. From then on, the livestock production grew, and we turned it into a breeding program as well. We strive to raise show-quality swine to sell to others and produce quality meat for market.”
The Hales all work in the garden.
“We prepare the soil, plant and harvest together,” Chris said. “While one person may be staking tomatoes, someone else may be treating for insects, while someone else is snapping beans or picking the peppers.
“When it comes to our livestock, it is done the same way. We all four participate in the care and maintenance of our livestock. It’s not unusual at all to find all four of us outside every evening and weekends cleaning pens, giving pigs a bath, shearing sheep, collecting eggs, playing with the dogs.”
Rebekah and Juliann have been Junior Ambassadors at the Arkansas State Fair for the past three years.
Rebekah was selected as a finalist for the 4-H state record book, and Juliann was selected for the 4-H Teen Star Program this year.
Both daughters have been chapter officers in the Grant County 4-H Livestock club and the Sheridan FFA Chapter.
Chris said the family’s goal is “to continue to improve our hog genetics for better show-quality swine for our local kids to compete at a higher level of livestock shows — also, to produce hogs that can withstand from a production standpoint, … sows that can stand up on concrete, make excellent mothers, produce piglets that produce high-quality pork that you can see the results in the show ring.”
“At the Arkansas State Fair, we had a hog that we raised, along with her mother and her grandmother here on the farm, that placed in the Top 25 in the market show out of nearly 800 head,” he said. “We also raised the Grand Champion Hampshire Boar at the Arkansas State Fair in 2014.”
Chris and Elizabeth are active in community organizations when time permits.
Chris is a member of the Grant County Fair Board.
Elizabeth is a member and secretary of the Grant County Fair Board. She is a 4-H leader for the Grant County Livestock Club.
Chris and Elizabeth are members of the Sheridan FFA Alumni Club. They donate to local scholarships to help area students attend college and help students with their projects at the Arkansas State Fair. The couple also sponsor children to attend Special Olympics.
The Hales are members of Immanuel Baptist Church in Sheridan, where Chris is a member of the church building committee.
Several years ago, Chris competed in bass-fishing tournaments.
“There is not enough time for that anymore,” he said, but he does have time to hunt, as he is president of a local deer club.