District Farm Families of the Year Selected
LITTLE ROCK — District winners of the 63rd annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program have been selected.
The eight district winners will be individually judged and the state winner will be announced on Dec. 11 at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock.
The district winners are:
Lonnie and Betty Medford of Brinkley (Monroe County) in the East Central District. The Medfords have two adult sons, Lonnie Jr. and Ryan. They grow 1,200 acres each of rice and soybeans, along with wheat and corn. In addition, they have custom planting and equipment rental operations. Kyle is a member of the Arkansas National Guard.
Mark and Susan Trucks of Batesville (Independence County) in the North Central District. The Trucks own Batesville Poultry Equipment and produce 17 million pounds of poultry a year through their 25 poultry houses. Additionally, they grow 150 acres of hay. They have three grown children, Tracie, Trey and Leslie, along with three grandchildren.
Gino and Lucetta Baioni of Marion (Crittenden County) in the Northeast District. Their operation consists of 155 acres of rice, 200 acres of wheat, 100 acres of milo, and 160 irrigated and 885 non-irrigated acres of soybeans. The Baionis have four adult children, Greg, Melissa, Beth and David. Gino was born on a farm near Marion and has been farming with his son David for 20 years.
Bill and Delia Haak of Gentry (Benton County) in the Northwest District. The Haaks operate a dairy herd and raise beef cattle. They also operate a business that provides bedding to 40 poultry producers, grow Bermuda, fescue and soybeans. The Haaks have two sons, Luke and Jake, and six grandchildren.
Michael and Becky Knoll of DeWitt (Arkansas County) in the Southeast District. The Knolls own MIBEK Farms where they raise 1,240 acres of rice, 1,898 acres of soybeans, and 663 acres of corn. They have two children, Gunnar, 15, and Dagan, 13.
Chet and Kelly Brown of Warren (Bradley County) in the Southwest District. The Browns have breeder hens and roosters, and produce more than 550,000 dozen hatching eggs per year. Additionally, they have AQHA registered horses, crossbred heifers and grow hay on 75 acres. They have three sons, John Peyton, 8, Joseph, 7, and Matthew, 3.
Brian and Elizabeth Walker of Horatio (Sevier County) in the West Central District. The Walkers have 10 broiler houses producing more than 2 million chickens per year. They also have cow-calf and feeder cattle operations and grow hay. They have two children, Reese, 3, and Rhett, 1.
Bob and Pat Schaefers of Conway (Faulkner County) in the Western District. The Schaefers have four children, Daryl, Chris, and James Schaefers, and Angela Rawls. They have nine grandchildren. Their 1,440-acre operation consists of corn, soybeans, wheat, Bermuda hay, and beef cattle. On 25 acres the Schaefers have a popular agri-tourism business called “Schaefers Corn Maze.”
The Farm Family of the Year program begins each year with selection of top farm families in each county and culminates in December with selection of the state Farm Family of the Year. County, district and state winners all are judged on their farm production, efficiency and management, family life and rural/community leadership and values.
Sponsors of the Farm Family of the Year program are Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Press Association, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas and the three Farm Credit agencies that serve Arkansas, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas and Midsouth Farm Credit. Support for the program is provided by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.
Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of more than 227,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.
