GRAVELLY — Life on Young Gravelly Road in the far southwest corner of Yell County is quiet, except for the sounds of children, grandchildren and lots of animals.
Located near the Fourche River in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, the location of the Fourche River Ranch might be called “remote,” even “isolated.” There is no cellphone service and a limited internet connection, but Jerry Jones calls it “God’s country.”
His wife, Kathy, added: “When the fog hangs on, it looks like one of the first days on Earth. It’s just beautiful.”
The Jerry Jones family is the 2016 Yell County Farm Family of the Year. They raise 250 head of Brangus cattle on the Fourche River Ranch and eight houses of broilers on the Rock Creek Farm, which is the newest addition to their farming operation. They also have six horses and 18 dogs.
“We’ve got a lot of kids and a lot of animals,” Jerry said with a laugh.
“What fits better with a farm than a family?” Kathy asked.
The Joneses own 1,040 acres and lease another 500 acres. They market their cattle at local sale barns and raise the broilers for Tyson Foods Inc. in Waldron.
“I’m tickled that we have been named Yell County Farm Family of the Year. I appreciate it,” Jerry said.
“What a wonderful honor to be among Yell County farm families [of the year],” Kathy said. “I’ve always known about the award but was shocked when Jerry called me one day at work with the announcement.”
Jerry, 64, and Kathy, 58, have been married for 10 years. They have a blended family.
Jerry has two sons, a daughter and a stepson; Kathy has one son.
Jerry’s youngest son, Luke Jones, 21, works on the farm and on a farm that belongs to his aunt. He lives in Bluffton.
Jerry’s older son, Jeremy Jones, 26, and his wife, Kim, live in Bluffton. Jeremy is a water-quality technician with the Yell County
Conservation District and helps on the farm when needed. Jeremy and Kim have two daughters — Natalie, 7 months, and Mia, 5.
Jerry’s daughter, Jennifer Richardson, 39, lives with her husband, Todd, in Bluffton. The Richardsons have two daughters — Belle, 14, and Abbey, 11. Jennifer is a counselor in the Danville School District.
Jerry’s stepson, John Mark Hickey, 34, and his wife, Leslie, live in Hartman. The Hickeys have one daughter, Abby, 12, and one son, Gabe, 11. John Mark works for Nicholson Manufacturing Inc., headquartered in Sydney, British Columbia, Canada.
Kathy’s son, Clint King, 36, lives in Plainview and has four daughters — Kayden King, 12; Abigail King, 6; Piper Tedford, 10; and Alexxys Tedford, 8. Clint is a welder and carpenter with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
Jerry Jones grew up on the farm, the son of the late Farris and Sue Belle Jones of Bluffton. Jerry’s parents were the Yell County Farm Family of the Year in 1970.
Jerry has two sisters — Nancy James of Bluffton, who along with her husband, Larry Wayne James, were the Yell County Farm Family of the Year in 2010, and Melinda Cullins, also of Bluffton.
Jerry graduated from Fourche Valley High School in 1970 and bought 100 acres and joined his dad in farming.
“I’ve been raising cows ever since,” Jerry said.
He went to college, graduating from the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry.
“I came back and worked for the U.S. Forestry Service, Fourche [Ranger] District of the Ouachita National Forest at Danville for 16 years, then changed over to the U.S. [Army] Corps of Engineers, where I worked as a forester for Lake Nimrod and Blue Mountain Lake for 16 years,” he said.
“I’ve lived in Gravelly all my life,” he said.
Jerry met Kathy at the Corps of Engineers, where she is an administrative and support assistant at the Nimrod Lake dam. She has been with the Corps for 29 years and hopes to retire “after I get 30 years,” she said with a smile.
Kathy is originally from Plainview. She graduated from Plainview High School in 1975.
Kathy is the daughter of Bob Forrest and Melva Martin, both of Plainview, and has one sister, Carla Gassaway, also of Plainview.
“My dad farmed, too. I love going out and finding baby calves. I learned to hunt and fish with my dad, … ride horses; I loved it. … I still do. That’s how we grew up,” Kathy said.
“It’s hard for young people to get into farming, but it’s a good life and a good way to raise a family,” she said.
“We don’t have technology on the farm. We don’t have cellphone service, but I can get the internet most of time. The only time I miss technology on the farm is if we have a problem,” she said.
“Growing up, we didn’t have technology, but we always sat down as a family for meals,” Kathy said.
“The best part of farming with your family is knowing this is an excellent way to raise
children to know to depend on God and each other for strength and solving … problems,” she said. “We could not hope for a better life for our kids and grandchildren than to carry on the farm after we can no longer manage.”
Jerry said he hopes to continue to expand their farming operation.
“We recently added the eight Tyson broiler houses to our operation,” he said. “We wanted to be more diversified and have the [chicken] litter to use in our cattle operation.
“We will consider adding more acres to our operation as they become available. If you sit still, you are going backward.”
Jerry said the family has planted hardwood seedlings along the river where the banks have eroded and try to maintain buffer strips along the river both for conservation and wildlife habitat.
“The good Lord gave us this land. … We need to use it, but protect it,” he said.