Huneycutt Farms named Farm Family of the Year
LITTLE ROCK — Huneycutt Farms in Arkadelphia on Thursday was named the 2022 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year, according to a news release from the Arkansas Farm Bureau.
The honor was announced at a luncheon in Little Rock honoring the county and district Farm Families of the Year.
Brothers Ted and Steve Huneycutt have been farming for 35 years. Ted and his wife, Cindy, have four adult children, Sara, Trey, Luke and Greyson. Steve and his wife, Leanne, have four adult children, Josh, Jessica, Ashley and Logan, the release said.
They grow cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans, hay and raise cattle on 4,000 acres. In addition to the farm, they operate Benchmark Ag, an risk management service, providing producers with cash sale recommendations along with commodity future, options and crop insurance.
The family also owns the Barn at Richwoods and is constructing its own meat processing plant, Ouachita Valley Meat Company, which will offer products and processing capabilities for producers interested in selling their own products.
“Our family has worked tirelessly to build a business that is beneficial, not only to our families, but to farm families across our region,” Ted Huneycutt said in the release. “It’s an incredible honor for our family’s commitment to this industry to be recognized amidst so many other deserving families.”
As Arkansas Farm Family of the Year, the Huneycutts will compete with nine other southeastern state winners in the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year program in Moultrie, Ga.
“Now in its 75th year, the program is one of the longest-running farm family recognition programs of its type in the United States. It begins with selection of the top farm family in each county. Then, eight district Farm Families of the Year are selected. The competition is judged on production, efficiency and management of farm operations, family life and rural/community leadership and values,” the release said.
Huneycutt Farms was the West Central District Farm Family of the Year. The seven other district winners for the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year honor include Bubba and Jay Lindsey of Forrest City (St. Francis County), East Central District; Ben and Mandy Hays of Pleasant Plains (Independence County), North Central District; Terry and Clay Smith of Paragould (Greene County), Northeast District; Kevin and Teresa/Kenyon and Josie Hostetler of Green Forest (Carroll County), Northwest District; Clay and Shannon Young of Poplar Grove (Phillips County), Southeast District; Tim and Jana Robertson of Hope (Hempstead County), Southwest District; and Stobaugh Brothers Farm/William, Robert & Barry Stobaugh of Atkins (Conway County), Western District.
A video of this year’s official Farm Family of the Year announcement can be viewed at http://www.arfb.com/farmfamily.
Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas and Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas are sponsors of the program. Additional program support is provided by the Arkansas Agriculture Department, Arkansas Department of Career Education, the Arkansas Press Association, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.
Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of almost 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life, the release said.