Crawford County: Williams Family Farm

By Randy Rice Arkansas Farm Bureau has selected the Williams family as Crawford County’s 2023 Farm Family of the Year. Jared and Jessie Williams have owned and operated their farm for 17 years. Jared’s family is multigenerational cattle farmers. He and Jessie both exhibited livestock throughout their childhoods through programs such as 4-H and FFA.

“Our current cattle herd began from the heifers and bulls that I exhibited,” Jared said. “Likewise, the sheep herd began from my herd of show sheep. It is a great honor to be selected as Farm Family; to be in the same category as families before us. We are humbled to have the opportunity to represent our community in this way.”

Their first year of farming, the

Williams owned a total of 45 acres of farmland. Currently, they operate on an impressive 619 acres – 305 acres that they own and 314 acres that is rented. One hundred and sixty acres is for hay production that on average yields 3.85, 1,100-pound, 4-by-6-foot bales per acre. Their herd of cattle consists of 70 cows and calves, four bulls and 15 yearlings. In addition, they have 300 sheep and goats. The cattle, sheep and goats are sold through livestock auctions. Recently, they set up the option to sell fat lambs and kids directly to a processing plant.

“We expanded our sheep and goat operation in the last year by raising our average headcount from 75 head on hand to 300 head on hand,” Jared said. “In order to further increase our sheep and goat operation, we are looking to add outside runs onto the sheep and goat barns that would allow for an increase in capacity of the confinement system.”

The Williams also plan to build an additional barn, which will allow them to increase their sheep and goat production and the capacity of their feed and hay storage. They also intend to purchase more land over the next couple of years.

“Being a farmer is a part of who we are,” Jessie said. “It’s not just what we do. We come from a family of farmers who have all made their impact on this world. Farming is hard and mostly thankless, but it is about being a part of something bigger in this world. It is a great honor to take responsibility and care for our livestock, who are then able to care for us in the form of feeding our family and others. It’s our way of life.”

Jessie is the customer service manager for Arvest Equipment Finance. Jared is a field representative for Fort Smith Livestock Auction. He also helps local farmers work their cattle herds, which provides cash flow between having livestock ready to sell.

“We have recently dealt with a loss of leased land to run cattle on due to lessening interest in the public to lease their land to others,” Jared said. “At this time, we are unable to purchase additional land, though we are including new land purchases in our future goals. With this hardship, we have decreased our cattle herd until available ground can be found to utilize.

“As we could not expand the cattle herd, we maximized our efforts into

It is a great honor to take responsibility and care for our livestock, who are then able to care for us in the form of feeding our family and others. It’s our way of life. - Jessie Williams

expanding our sheep and goat operation. Bud Braselton, Jared’s late grandfather, had multiple turkey houses on the property that were no longer in use. The turkey houses were renovated into a confinement system for sheep and goats which allowed us to expand the operation.”

Jared and Jessie have a son, Dakota, 13, and a daughter, Hailey, 7. They love life on the farm as much as their parents do.

Jessie likes to retell one of her favorite stories about life on the Williams farm: “When our children were 8 and 2, they had gone out to the barn to ‘help’ Jared with some chores. I was cooking dinner when I got a text message from Jared with a picture of my children and they are covered in mud … head to toe, caked in their clothes and their hair. And all it said was, ‘They are headed home.’

“I met them at the back door before they tried to come in the house and get their muddy clothes off, and told them, ‘Now look, you gotta be sprayed off before you come in this house.’ So, we got the water hose and I watched my children jump around and laugh and scream in the water, and I realized that this is my favorite thing about living on a farm. Our children had so much fun roaming around the barn and pasture, finding that perfect mudhole – something so simple – but they were so free at that moment.

“And as they continue to grow, we watch them become more independent and more adventurous. They want to learn about their way of life and have a connection with this world around us in a way that I’m afraid many children are losing. We might not give them the fanciest and newest of things in this world, but I believe that giving them this way of life is the best gift of all.”

For those just starting out in farming, Jared advised, “Find an old farmer and listen to everything they have to say. Don’t try to grow too fast; take your time. Watch your money and make smart decisions when starting out. Don’t be afraid of older equipment, not everything needs to be shiny and new.”