Searcy family honored by Century Farm program
SEARCY — Born in Kentucky in 1801, William Smith made his way to Arkansas and settled in White County in 1853, establishing what is now known as the Smith Family Farm LLC, one of 32 farms recently recognized as 2021 Arkansas Century Farms.
Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward said 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 began the Century Farm program in 2012 to highlight the contributions of these families to the agriculture industry, as well as their overall contributions to the state.
“It was quite a process to get this approved/validated by the Department of Agriculture, as hours were spent in the White County Courthouse going through old books and documents,” said Jeff Dan Smith, who represents the fifth generation of the Smith family. “It was worth the time and effort to receive this award.”
Jeff Dan said his ancestor “settled at the original farm property, on the south end where the Searcy Municipal Airport is located. U.S. Highway 67/167 bisected the property, and the Smith family still retains approximately 30 acres of the original settlement.”
Jeff Dan traces his lineage from William Smith to a son, Robert H. Smith, who was born in 1846 in Kentucky and was a Confederate soldier in Arkansas.
“Robert H. Smith had a son, Jeff D. Smith, who was born in Searcy in 1861,” Jeff Dan said. “Jeff D. Smith had two sons — Hubert Smith Sr. and O.H. (Odus Horace) Smith — and three daughters.
“Hubert Smith Sr. had Smith Vaughn Furniture in Searcy, and O.H. Smith was a farmer, growing cotton and cattle on additional property in the Gum Springs community, just west of the airport.
Both gentlemen had several sons and daughters who were in the military, teachers, electricians and merchants, both in White County and across the country. Several were involved in World War I and World War II.”
Jeff Dan Smith is a grandson of the late O.H. Smith and his wife, Beeda O’Donnell Smith, and a son of the late Jeff O’Donnell Smith and his wife, Sara Ann Word Smith. Jeff Dan has one sister, Elizabeth Smith Johnston of Southlake, Texas.
Today’s Smith Family Farm consists of 185 acres in the Gum Springs community, with some property within the Searcy city limits on West Booth Road. Presently, cattle, hay, pine trees and several horticulture crops, which include pumpkins, sweet corn, Indian corn and several blackberry and blueberry plants, are being grown on various parts of the farm. Jeff Dan is presently growing the horticulture crops and oversees the cattle and hay property on the family farm.
“I participate in the Searcy Farmers Market,” Jeff Dan said, adding that he and his wife, Diane, have three daughters and 10 grandchildren who
“enjoy the farm but not the work.”
Jeff Dan, who is retired from a long career in field research and development with both the Syngenta and DuPont chemical companies, is active in the Arkansas Blackberry Growers Association, which he serves as secretary-treasurer.
Several members of the Smith family attended the recent Arkansas Century Farm recognition program at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock.
“The secretary of agriculture and the governor did a great job at the presentation,” Jeff Dan said.
Hutchinson noted that agriculture “is Arkansas’ largest industry, contributing more than $21 billion to the state’s economy annually and providing one of every six jobs in the state.”
“Arkansas consistently ranks in the top 25 nationally in the production of more than 15 agricultural commodities,” Hutchinson said.
“Year after year, decade after decade, in the face of many challenges, Century Farm families put everything on the line to earn a living and produce our food, our fabrics, our forests,” the governor said. “Farm families are great for our economy, but they are much more than that. The work ethic, common sense and family values that are the bedrock of a family farm are a model for all Arkansans. For the good of Arkansas, I hope their children and grandchildren choose to continue on the family farm and that, someday, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture will create an Arkansas Two-Century Farm program.”