Front Porch Summer 2019

SUMMER 2019

Porch Front

6 CONTENT Farm Bureau Matters

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Helping Farmers, Helping You

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Soaked Season

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Randy Veach

Warren Carter

Rob Anderson, Keith Sutton, Gregg Patterson and Ken Moore

Rural Road Stories

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Member Services Update

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Taste Arkansas

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Delta Child

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Keith Sutton

Autumn Wood

Rob Anderson and Ashley Wallace Talya Tate Boerner

18 28

Cover design by Bryan Pistole

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

Farm Bureau Matters

by Randy Veach | President, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

T

he record flooding that swept through the Arkansas River in late May and into June, from Fort Smith on the state’s western edge to Pendleton in extreme Southeast Arkansas, was another blow to our state’s farmers and ranchers.

The devastation has changed the year’s outlook for many of our farmers and ranchers who live along the river and its tributaries.

But that tragedy also delivered to me an overpowering reminder of just how resilient our farmers and ranchers are, even when faced with unbearable odds.

There are so many meaningful stories that have surfaced from farm families who were hurt by the flooding, which came about from heavy rains in Oklahoma and Kansas, not so much from rains in the state.

If you are interested, you can see and hear many of their stories on our website at www.arfb.com/news.

There is an amazingly consistent sense of optimism from those farmers, a sort of face-to-the-storm courage that has been uplifting in many ways. These farmers expressed a recurring faith in God and a belief that they will get through this, though it is not always clear how.

Their optimism is a great reminder of one of the chief reasons why agriculture is our state’s largest industry, and why our farmers and ranchers represent some of the best in the world. Economists put the annual economic impact of Arkansas agriculture at more than $21 billion. I would suggest to you today that there is no dollar figure that can fully represent the work of our farmers and ranchers, of the impact they make to our quality of life, the spirit of our communities, or the overall character of this great state. Our farmers and ranchers are, in a word, priceless.

Make no mistake, this round of flooding has been a body blow to farmers and ranchers, many already reeling from a challenging farm economy. Once the flood waters retreated, farmers along the river basin were left with heavy silt and large sand piles along with trees and other items washed across rowcrop fields and pastures. The crops that had been planted were washed away, with so much overburden left behind that a crop

won’t be planted on thousands and thousands of acres this year.

Livestock, in some cases, were carried away in the water, others stranded on high ground with little to eat, and fences were washed away.

We had families whose homes were flooded, who lost precious heirlooms and important items. One truism about a flood is that it does not discriminate. Its ravage is felt equally by all it touches.

That widespread devastation is one reason the Arkansas Farm Bureau made a $50,000 contribution to the Greater Arkansas chapter of the American Red Cross, so they can help families impacted by the flooding begin to recover and move forward. This is the single largest contribution our foundation has made to any disaster relief effort and we know The Red Cross is going to put it to good use. They are already doing good things to help people, particularly those in rural areas that don’t have a lot of options for support.

Farmers not in the flood areas have been trying to make up for lost time from other weather issues that created significant planting delays. That farming spirit pervades across our state.

I have been to Washington D.C. three times in the last couple of months to ensure our congressional delegation understands the impact to our farmers and ranchers – and it’s not just the flooding, but the trade wars, the delayed planting and other issues that are all outside of the farmers’ control. The costs to repair the damages and return our farms, levees and property to pre-flood condition is staggering. This falls at a time when net farm income nationally is down $30 billion in the past five years.

And yet, these farmers and ranchers face tomorrow with a stirring spirit of faith and hope. Our farmers are, thankfully, naturally optimistic. Otherwise, they would not willingly engage in a challenging, uncertain profession that we all understand delivers many, many benefits to our great state.

God bless you and your families. God bless our farmers and ranchers. And God bless Arkansas Farm Bureau.

We had families whose homes were flooded, who lost precious heirlooms and important items.

One truism about a flood is that it does not discriminate. Its ravage is felt equally by all it touches.

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Official membership publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation mailed to more than 190,000 member-families.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Included in membership dues ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU OFFICERS:

President • Randy Veach, Manila Vice President • Rich Hillman, Carlisle Secretary/Treasurer • Joe Christian, Jonesboro Executive Vice President • Warren Carter, Little Rock DIRECTORS:

Jon Carroll, Moro Terry Dabbs, Stuttgart Sherry Felts, Joiner Mike Freeze, Little Rock Bruce Jackson, Lockesburg Tom Jones, Pottsville Terry Laster, Strong Jeremy Miller, Huntsville Gene Pharr, Lincoln Caleb Plyler, Hope Rusty Smith, Des Arc Joe Thrash, Houston Dan Wright, Waldron EX OFFICIO

Magen Allen, Bismarck Donna Bemis, Little Rock Adam Cloninger, Keo Dustin Cowell, Deer Executive Editor • Steve Eddington Editor • Rob Anderson Contributing Writers • Ken Moore, Gregg Patterson, Ashley Wallace, Keith Sutton ADVERTISING

Contact David Brown at Publishing Concepts for advertising rates dbrown@pcipublishing.com (501) 221-9986 Fax (501) 225-3735 Front Porch (USPS 019-879) is published quarterly by the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation 10720 Kanis Rd., Little Rock, AR 72211 Periodicals Postage paid at Little Rock, AR POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rhonda Whitley at rhonda.whitley@arfb.com Front Porch • P.O. Box 31 • Little Rock, AR 72203 Please provide membership number Issue #112 Publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation reserves the right to accept or reject all advertising requests.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

Helping Farmers, Helping You

by Warren Carter | Executive Vice President, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

B

y this point, it’s likely that you’ve heard the news that the owners of C&H Hog Farms in Newton County reached an agreement with the state on a conservation easement that will bring the farm’s operations to an end. This was a private and personal decision by the good, hard-working families who own C&H and it was based on what they felt was best for their future.

Throughout this long struggle, Arkansas Farm Bureau’s support for Jason and Tana Henson, Phillip and Julie Ann Campbell and Richard and Mary Campbell of C&H has not wavered, and we wish them success in whatever endeavor they now choose to pursue.

You cannot tell this story without emphasizing that C&H had no environmental violations during more than five years of operation. Gov. Asa Hutchinson himself pointed this out when he announced the settlement, saying that the Hensons and Campbells had “obtained the (operating) permit fairly and have operated the hog farm with the utmost care from the beginning.”

That critical point has sometimes been missed. The farm underwent exhaustive testing and evaluation, both by ADEQ and EPA, and there has been no credible scientific evidence that it caused harm to the Buffalo River. That fact cannot be overlooked, despite the flawed and frequently dishonest arguments from opponents.

Arkansas Farm Bureau’s mission when founded in 1935 was to advocate for the interests of farmers and ranchers, and we will continue our efforts based on that honorable objective. As I have said before, the reason we were involved in this fight was simple: We speak for Arkansas farmers and ranchers, and we proudly stand up for those farm families who work hard to provide food for the rest of us, care for their land and animals, and

play by the rules. That is a precise description of the three families who operated C&H. When I spoke out for C&H in the past, I made it clear that it was personal to me. I grew up on a small hill country farm in east-central Mississippi and I watched my parents fight and sacrifice to keep our farm during times of financial strain. I saw them swallow their pride, hold their heads up, and demonstrate integrity and dignity through the way they carried themselves. Watching and being a part of my family’s farm struggle inspired me in my career and ultimately led me to Arkansas in 1987 to work for the Farm Bureau.

So, it’s still personal to me.

And, in truth, it’s personal for all of us at Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Our support for C&H was simply a high-profile example of our daily mission. We are inspired every day to stand up for Arkansas farmers and ranchers and we’re guided by what they need to survive and thrive – the policies and principles laid out each year through our grassroots policy development process.

That grassroots process is now kicking into gear for 2019. From our annual Officers & Leaders conference in late July and onward through the fall, we will be holding meetings around the state and hearing directly from our members. They will debate and decide on the issues that we will fight for and the rights and values we will defend in 2020 and we will finalize our focus at our annual convention in early December.

This is perhaps my favorite time of year. I am eager to hear what our members want and expect from us.

Arkansas Farm Bureau is ready to work hard on their behalf and on behalf of the largest industry in the state – an industry that has an annual impact of more than $20 billion. The struggle for C&H Hog Farms may have ended, but the fight for the farmers and ranchers of Arkansas continues.

Arkansas Farm Bureau’s mission when founded in 1935 was to advocate for the interests of farmers and ranchers, and we will continue our efforts based on that honorable objective.

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Soaked Season: Rain would not go away this spring and Arkansas agriculture paid the price

By Rob Anderson

A painful year for farmers began with heavy and too-frequent rains and took a turn for the worse in late May and early June, when the Arkansas River hit record levels, washing out cropland, roads and homes all along its route from Ft. Smith down past Pine Bluff. The final scope and impact of the flooding is not yet known, but early estimates from the state show nearly 900 homes in eight counties sustained major damage or were destroyed.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

John Lewis, a senior forecaster for the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, took a look at the data and summed it up succinctly: “It’s been very wet.”

In fact, Lewis may be understating the case. According to data from the National Weather Service, the first six months of 2019 have been the fifth wettest on record in the state overall, with measurements at 18 unique data collection stations around state – including North Little Rock, Marianna, Star City, Cabot and Paragould – setting records for all-time wettest January-June periods.

Most of these 18 stations have been measuring rainfall data for 50 years or longer.

During a presentation in February, Lewis used a graphic that showed many areas east of the Rocky Mountains already had well above average soil moisture, including Arkansas. “I’ve been in Arkansas for 25 years and I haven’t seen it that wet at any time over that 25-year period,” he said.

Heavy rains in the Midwest and Arkansas have led to high run-off rates, Lewis says, which means that when it rains, the water tends to directly from the ground into rivers and streams, contributing to the flooding in the Arkansas River Valley and a dangerously high Mississippi River. Meanwhile, heavy rains also impact lakes, and that water sometimes has to be pushed out, adding to the swelling of streams and rivers.

As the year began in Arkansas, Lewis says, the “problem child” areas were the eastern and southern parts of the state, with the White and Ouachita Rivers running high and causing flooding of agricultural lands across a large area. “Here lately, it’s been the Arkansas River that’s come into play – and we’re talking about record flooding along the Arkansas. We’ve never seen it as high as it was (in June).”

Lewis’s colleague Brian Smith found some data that illustrate just how wet it has been. Smith, climate services program manager at the National Weather Service’s North Little Rock office, noted that several periods of record rainfall over the past year and beyond.

“We’ve seen the wettest August to June on record, as well as the wettest July to June on record,” Smith says, referencing the periods between last year and this year. “Also, in the last five years – 60 months – we’ve seen the wettest such period on record, with 292.99 inches for the entire state.”

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Arkansas River flooding as seen from Petit Jean Mountain.

“Many people don’t remember a period quite like this,” says Jarrod Hardke of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service about the wet 2019 season.

While much of the public and media attention went to the Arkansas River flooding, the heavy rainfall began causing problems last year and had a huge impact on planting season.

Abraham Carpenter Jr. of Carpenter Produce in Lincoln County says that in the 50 years his family’s multi-generation business has been operating, this season may end up being the most challenging.

“We’ve been doing it for 50 years and we’ve had some difficult years, but I think I would say that this year has been more tough than all the rest because we’ve just had so much rainfall,” he says.

“We’ve never been in a position where we didn’t get the majority of the crops planted in the spring, but with all the rain we’ve received this year, we’re in that position now. We just couldn’t plant it.”

Carpenter says the rain resulted in delayed planting for some crops and replanting of crops that were damaged by the moisture.

“I probably got one fourth of my greens crop planted and … 25 to 30% of the watermelon planted. We just couldn’t get in there and put the crop in,” he said. “Things that people (customers) were really counting on early – like English peas and beets – rain just washed them away. It’s too late to come back and plant those crops.”

“Moisture has definitely been the big issue this year,” says Jarrod Hardke, associate professor and rice extension agronomist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. “It’s been unusual. In 2018, we had a period of extreme heat early, then went from September to just recently

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Farm equipment sits directly next to flood waters along Highway 113, south of Blackwell.

continued on page 10

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<<continued from page 8

Though summer weather patterns typically mean less widespread and heavy rain, the potential for above-average rainfall could last into next year, according to the National Weather Service’s John Lewis.

with frequent rain. Many people don’t remember a period quite like this.”

Hardke says many farmers have had to work in “small bites” of time – “two-to-three-day windows where it was dry enough.” The rains, he explained, meant that soil never got dry enough to condition properly for planting.

Accurate estimates and data on crop loss will come later in the summer, but Hardke says there will definitely be a major reduction in acreage over expectations, particularly with the rice crop in the state.

Nevertheless, he says that there are some positives to consider.

“A majority of the rice that is in the ground looks pretty good.

Temperatures have remained relatively mild by Arkansas standards. Heat hasn’t been excessive, so it’s progressing well,” he says.

The National Weather Service’s Lewis sees some reason for optimism as well.

“If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that we are in the summer,” he says.

“Climatologically, in Arkansas, as we move deeper into the summer you just don’t end up with a lot of widespread, heavy rain. It’s usually a lot of isolated and scattered afternoon thunderstorms where you get rain and your neighbor doesn’t and vice versa.”

Still, as farmers know all too well, things can still go wrong and the region remains in a pattern favorable for rains.

“We’re in an El Nino pattern, so we’re not looking for that hot and dry summer,” he says, adding this pattern means above average rainfall could be possible into early next year. While this shouldn’t be a major issue for the remainder of summer and fall, it could mean more trouble in winter, he said. However, long-range predictions are difficult and there aren’t many clear indications of what could be ahead.

“In a one- to three-month time range, odds are favoring above average rainfall over northern and northwest Arkansas,” says Smith. “But there is little signal for the remainder of the state to indicate one way or another.”

A view from atop Petit Jean Mountain of Arkansas River floodwaters covering farmland.

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State of Arkansas Rainfall December 2018-June 2019 Time Period Rainfall Departure from Normal Rank (Wettest or Driest) Record Wettest December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019

7.76” 4.51” 7.77” 3.98” 8.33” 9.06” 6.18”

+3.39 +0.47 +4.05 -0.79 +3.29 +3.91 +2.10

8th Wettest 48th Wettest 7th Wettest 46th Driest 10th Wettest 10th Wettest 15th Wettest

12.34” in 1982 12.52” in 1937 11.81” in 2018 10.87” in 1945 12.39” in 1927 11.03” in 2009 9.19” in 1928

State of Arkansas Rainfall All-time Wettest January-June Rank

Time Period

Rainfall

1 2 3 4 5

January-June 1945 January-June 1957 January 1990-June 1990 January 1927-June 1927 January 2019-June 2019

42.75” 41.30” 40.48” 40.22” 39.83”

State of Arkansas Rainfall All-time Wettest 12-month Periods Rank

Time Period

Rainfall

1 2 3 4 5 6

November 1944-October 1945 March 2009-February 2010 December 1944-November 1945 February 2009-January 2010 February 1945-January 1946 July 2018-June 2019

74.06” 73.99” 73.67” 73.38” 73.17” 72.91”

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Severe flooding caused by high water on the Arkansas and Fourche Rivers covers farmland in Perry County.

ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

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After the Flood Jessica and Cory Hamilton

By Gregg Patterson Jessica and Cory Hamilton lost their crops to the recent flood. All of their crops. The wheat was golden and two weeks from harvest.

The shoulder-high corn was a rich green color and visible as far as the eye could see. Their soybeans were in the ground. The Hamiltons farm 1,300 acres in the Paris Bottoms of Logan County, north of Paris along the Arkansas River.

They lost everything when water overtopped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ levee. The water poured in submerging roads, crops, pastures and ag buildings beneath 20 feet of water. As the sun began setting that evening, the Hamiltons watched from their home high above as the bottoms began flooding from one end to the other.

“We watched it fill up like a swimming pool,” Jessica said. “It was very hard to watch.”

The Hamiltons are not alone. Jessica says “we’re all in the same boat. They’re all farms down there. It’s all families down there. They’re all like us. They all have kids. They all farm. We’re all the same. It’s just a tough situation that nobody wanted to see. It’s a big hit.”

Chris summed it up. “It’s a matter of timing. Everyone has put their cash in the ground at this point, and you’re waiting for harvest,” he said. Now that’s gone.

Uncertainty was the key word in the immediate aftermath of the flood.

“We don’t know how much dirt work is going to have to be done,” Chris said. “Who knows what’s down there now.”

More than a month later, the Hamiltons had the chance to plant soybeans on about 500 acres. They took advantage of the opportunity.

Within the week, a five-inch rain wiped out more than 60% of the new planting.

“We’re going to replant it. Our odds are not good,” Jessica said.

“But we’re going to keep going.”

They’re also planting some Sudan grass to supplement what to date has been a poor hay crop for cattle forage.

“There’s a hay shortage. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. I’m getting angry with this farming mess,” she said in a half-serious tone.

“We’ve had drought before. We’ve had hail. We’ve been through it all, but certainly not to this stage ever.”

If all goes well, the soybeans will be ready in early November, but that’s a big if with beans planted that late.

“And now our big worry is an early frost. The way this year is going, that would be par for the course; to get an early frost and our beans not being ready for it,” she said.

Still, they remain undaunted.

“I’m hoping for 30 bushels an acre,” Jessica said.

The young couple plans to keep farming.

“There’s next year and the year after that,” Jessica said, laughing.

“What are we supposed to do? That’s the nature of the farmer. There’s next year, always next year. And that’s the truth.”

Jessica and Cory Hamilton lost their corn crop to the flood. This image shows what remained of the once-shoulder-high crop after the 20-foot floodwaters receded.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU â&#x20AC;¢ SUMMER 2019

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The Worst Washout: Jill Evans Edwards, Saltillo

By Keith Sutton In a typical year, Jill Edwards of Saltillo farms 600 acres of rice, soybeans and corn in the Lollie Bottoms area of Faulkner County, west of Mayflower. She also has a 1,400-acre cattle farm near Saltillo.

“We’ve experienced flooding three of the last five years on our row-crop farm, which is adjacent to the Arkansas River. But this year has been the worst,” she says. “With the extremely high water we’ve seen, there’s also been flooding on the cattle farm, even though it’s 15 miles from the river. When the river overflowed into Lake Conway, the water backed up into some of the pastures and hay fields at Saltillo, which we didn’t really expect.

“The flooding this year started when the river broke over the bank on Memorial Day, May 27,” she continues. “And for us, the flooding hasn’t ended yet. We still have water in our fields, and now [as of June 27] the river has come up again. Due to the damage from previous flooding, there are issues with our flood gates and on the levee at the farm next to us, which is causing river water to come back in on us as it rises again.

We’ve had water covering our fields for a full month as of today.”

Damage is extensive and varied.

“We have a lot of sand deposits on the farm, anywhere from two inches to four feet deep,” she says. “A lot of that was on our Bermuda grass fields. There’s no sign of grass any more. It just looks like a beach out there. So we’ve been panning and using dozers to try and push the sand off and get the Bermuda to come back through.

“We’ve also got fences down all over. There’s a lot of debris everywhere, and trees down throughout the farm. The fields are no longer level. There are tall ridges of sand on them, so they couldn’t be rowwatered even if there were crops on them. There are no crops, though, because all the rain and water in the fields has prevented us from planting this year. We thought a couple of the fields were dry enough to plant, but when we worked the ground, we found the flooding had left a silty material on top of the original ground, and our tractors couldn’t pull implements

through that. Once we break through this silty ground that the river has deposited, we get into ground that is soft and causes the tractors to lose traction. We’ve tried to open the ground and air it out but have yet to be able to work the soil properly.”

Edwards says she has bought seed and still hopes to plant soybeans if the weather cooperates. “It might not be the prettiest bean crop because the fields aren’t in the shape they need to be in,” she says.

“But it would be the difference between somewhat of a crop and no crop at all. With the water up again, though, it’s a waiting game to see if conditions improve enough that we can plant.”

She’s hopeful that federal funding will be approved to help with cleanup, but that, too, is a waiting game. “We’ve applied for assistance, which could help pay for tractors, dirt pans, bulldozers, dump trucks, loaders, labor and fencing. But they haven’t approved the money yet, and until it is approved, we don’t know whether we’ll get assistance or not. We may just be out the money all on our own.”

When asked what more she would like people to know about the flood problems, Edwards says, “I don’t think any of us know what to expect. Everything is ongoing, and it’s hard to figure out where to begin. Do we rush and try to get something planted, or should we wait because it may go back under water? No one is certain. We’re talking about the entire annual income for some farmers like us, so important decisions have to be made even when the answers aren’t clear. It’s overwhelming.”

Flood waters covering the Lollie Bottoms area of Faulkner County, looking toward Jill Edwards’ farm.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

Flood of a Lifetime: Wes McNulty, Jefferson County

By Ken Moore

“This farm has been in our family since 1955. My father is 79 and has seen a lot of floods come and go, but nothing of this magnitude. This is by far the worst flooding event we’ve experienced. I’m 50 years old and have been managing the farm since 1992. Nothing even remotely close to this has occurred in my lifetime,” said Wes McNulty, a rice, corn, wheat and soybean farmer in the Pastoria and Sherrill communities north of Pine Bluff.

Like many others who farm in the Arkansas River Valley, a levee system protects much of McNulty’s cropland. However, because bottomland soils are so fertile for growing crops, many farmers plant some of their acreage along the river inside the levee, knowing that if there’s a flood they risk losing those crops.

“On our farm we had approximately 500 acres of crops that we lost,” McNulty said when asked how damaging the flood was on his farm. “We had some 300 acres of wheat that would have been ready to cut in a matter of days that we lost. And I had about 200 acres of rice that went under (water). Of that 200 acres of rice the vast majority was damaged beyond repair. Those rice and wheat acres were inside the levee and we couldn’t protect them.

“Outside the levee one of the things we learned is that the ‘flat valves’ or gates they have to close off when the water gets high, all of them seeped. In those instances, particularly on some of my property and my neighbor’s property next to me, it was hard to control the amount of water flowing through those gates. We tried putting hay bales and sand bags in front of them but they all leaked to a certain extent and some bad enough to where it did back up on some cropland,” he said.

McNulty sees an opportunity to learn from this flood and make improvements for the future.

“I guess some good news was we didn’t have a lot of physical damage to the land. There was one area where I noticed an eddy that formed and washed out a hole about six feet deep, but nothing we weren’t able to repair. All in all, I think our levee system did its job. I know we learned some pretty good lessons in what we need to do to protect and

maintain it in the future. If it wasn’t for the levee system we would have lost everything, so we’re grateful for that,” McNulty said.

“We were very fortunate we didn’t have a lot of physical damage to our ground inside the levee, but further south I heard there was a lot of damage from sand piles and these eddies that scour the ground and create really deep holes. That damage won’t be repaired easily, if it ever is.”

The river rose to historic levels in Jefferson County, coming within inches of overtopping the levee. McNulty said this served as a “wake-up call” for all farmers who depend on that infrastructure to protect their land.

“The main thing I think is some of the levee systems in our area are an afterthought until we have a catastrophe like we just had,” he said. “At this level it really put stress on the system. Much of this infrastructure was installed in the 1920s and 30s, and hasn’t been tested since the last time we had a flood of this magnitude.”

McNulty said he and his neighbors narrowly averted a much worse catastrophe.

“At its peak the river level was within three-tenths of a foot of coming over the levee in an area where a levee crossing had been knocked down to get some equipment across. We put sandbags in and shored the levee up as best as possible there, but if the river would’ve risen just three-tenths of a foot more it would have been compromised and 20,000 acres or more in this area would have been flooded.

“The lesson learned is these levee gates and much of the infrastructure need more attention. If we get it I think we will be more prepared in the event another flood like this occurs in the future.”

Wes McNulty (center), his son Jake (right) and Jefferson County Farm Bureau agency manager Terry Horton (left) look at Arkansas River floodwaters that destroyed part of McNulty’s rice and wheat crop inside the levee that protects cropland in the Pastoria and Sherrill communities.

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Story and photos by Keith Sutton

U

THE WELDON GIN COMPANY HISTORIC DISTRICT nless you’re a resident of Jackson County, chances are pretty good you’ve never heard of Auvergne or Tupelo, two small Delta communities on Highway 17 southeast of Newport.

It’s also unlikely you know about Weldon, a town of 75 residents nestled between that pair of unincorporated boroughs.

If you are a student of Arkansas’ agricultural history, however, you might want to plan a road trip to Weldon. There you can visit the Weldon Gin Company Historic District, a fascinating hub of cotton-gin architecture and technology. In June 2008, the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

It would be hard to overlook the gin complex at the corner of Weldon Avenue and Washington Street. It’s smack in the middle of the little town — on your right if you’re driving north

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on Highway 17. The two-and-a-half-story cotton gin itself is the main structure, with adjacent facilities that include a seed warehouse, cotton warehouse, seed-loading hopper and a refuse burner that resembles a huge badminton shuttlecock. None of these are operable any more, but if you visit, you can walk around the grounds and peek inside the gin windows to see the mammoth machinery that helped make cotton king for farmers in this area of Arkansas.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SUMMER 2019

The Weldon Gin Company complex is still remarkably intact despite the fact that portions of it were constructed more than 100 years ago. No changes have been made to the gin structure itself, and all the ginning machinery inside is still intact.

that newer technologies and newer buildings had to replace older ones to meet the needs of the business. Consequently, after the Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to Weldon in 1936, the old steam-powered, timber-framed cotton gin was replaced with a modern, electrified, all-steel gin in 1939. At the same time, the refuse burner was installed on the east side of the site to burn hulls, stems and other debris. When the White and Black River Valley Railway ceased operations through Weldon in 1940, a seed-loading hopper was added north of the gin so cotton seeds could be placed in open-topped truck trailers for transport. Two pre-existing structures — the seed warehouse on the west side of the property and the cotton warehouse on the north side — remained on the site and can still be seen today.

Business remained steady through the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s because acreage controls set by the federal government ensured a steady, though at times small, cotton harvest each year.

During this same period, however, rice and soybean crops grew in value and, gradually, the amount of cotton grown by Jackson County farmers decreased. By 1980, production at the Weldon Gin had fallen to just 1,000 bales per season. As a result, it was no longer profitable to operate and was closed. Fortunately, the buildings and other structures of the complex were preserved.

Should you visit the site, you’ll immediately notice the large main gin building sitting perpendicular to the highway. It is an all-steel structure covered with corrugated siding. A large overhanging awning with combination shed and gable roof

The unusually shaped Burn-O-Matic was added in 1939 to allow complete disposal of waste material from the ginning process.

The history of Weldon dates back to 1831 when Alvin McDonald and his family moved to the area from Tennessee. They settled near Newport, but two years later, Alvin, just 18 years old, purchased 930 acres of farmland several miles to the south. There he raised cotton and began operation of a small cotton gin.

At that time, the cotton gin was considered among the most important structures found on southern plantations. Besides being instrumental in the financial status of the farmer, it served as a social center for the local population. The presence, or absence, of a gin influenced the amount of cotton taken to market, as well as the final price received for the crop.

The word “gin” is an abbreviation of the 18th-century designation “cotton engine.” It refers specifically to the machinery that separates the seeds from the cotton lint. Buildings that housed the equipment also came to be known as gins. The word “ginning” describes the procedure of seed removal and the turning out of finished bales.

McDonald built his first small gin just for ginning his own cotton. But as cotton farming grew in the area and cotton prices rose, the demand for cotton-ginning services also grew. As a result, men like Alvin McDonald and his sons were able to convert their farm gin operations to facilities capable of handling raw cotton from dozens of area growers. Finished bales were shipped to a compress in Newport via the White and Black River Valley Railway, and seeds were shipped by rail to the Newport Cotton Seed Oil Company.

The Weldon Gin operated in this fashion for close to a century.

But as the cotton harvest increased and cotton prices decreased through the 1920s and 1930s, the McDonald Brothers Company, which had always maintained a controlling interest in the gin, knew

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This seed hopper, installed in 1942, was used to load cotton seed into transport trucks after the White and Black River Valley Railway ceased operation in 1940.

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extends the length of one side. This protected the unloading area from the elements. A scale and pneumatic loading equipment rest in the ground along the center. Pipes and lifters used for unloading cotton are housed under an unusual, dual, cross-gabled porch roof, and sliding doors provided access from balers and other equipment to the loading dock. Pipes lead to the refuse burner and seed-loading hopper.

The seed warehouse and cotton warehouse are wooden frame structures on concrete piers with corrugated steel roofs. These pre-date the 1939 gin building and were used to store cotton bales and for loading railroad cars with seed for transport to oil mills.

The refuse burner sits to the east of the main gin building. It was constructed as part of the 1939 upgrade of the mill complex. Known as the Industrial BurnO-Matic, it was made by the Industrial Blow Pipe Company of Memphis, Tennessee. The burner is a steel frame structure that sits on a concrete foundation. The exterior sheeting is welded steel. On top of the refuse burner is a fine steel grate that prevented cinders from blowing away and causing wildfires. A large-diameter vent on the burner’s west side was part of the pneumatic system that delivered stalks, hulls and other refuse to the burner.

For those who enjoy Arkansas history or the history of agriculture and our state’s rural communities, the Weldon Gin Company Historic District is a marvelous playground that will transport you to a time when cotton was king. So, plan a visit someday soon.

You’ll be glad you did.

Seeds from this original warehouse building were loaded on railroad cars for transport to a cotton oil mill in Newport.

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p The cotton warehouse predates the 1939 gin building.

It was originally used for storage of cotton prior to ginning and still contains some of the original equipment used there.

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M E M B E R S E R V I C E S U P D AT E

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o you have a reliable car seat for your summer travels?

Did you know as an Arkansas Farm Bureau member you can get a discount on Cosco brand car seats? An infant safety seat is $25 and a booster seat is $15. As a member, you can order up to 3 seats a year. Stop by your local Farm Bureau office today and pick up an order form.

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he 62nd annual Arkansas Farm Bureau Dairy Foods Contest was held June 6 at the State Fairgrounds in Little Rock. The annual event is held during June to celebrate National Dairy Month and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sponsored by Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Dairy Cooperative Association. The contest is divided into two categories: Main Dish and Party Ideas.

By Rob Anderson and Ashley Wallace Photos by Ashley Wallace

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Eighteen-year-old Kalin Key of El Dorado and 16-year-old Faith Fritch of Hiwasse bested five other finalists in their respective categories to take the event’s top honors this year. Key’s Almost Cajun Creamy Shrimp and Grits dish earned the top spot in the “Main Dishes” category, while Fritch’s Salted Caramel Mini Cheesecakes recipe won in the “Party Ideas” competition.

The seven contest finalists were selected from dairy foods contests conducted by 45 county Farm Bureau organizations around the state.

Kalin, daughter of Kim Key, handled the pressure of cooking her dish on site and under the three-hour contest time limit. She said she was happy to have the opportunity to participate. “It was an honor to be named a finalist and was really cool to see all the different recipes that you can use dairy products in,” she said.

To learn more about Fritch and see her tasty dessert recipe, visit TasteArkansas.com. For this issue of Front Porch, we decided to try making Key’s winning dish for ourselves and we were definitely happy with the results. Follow the instructions below and see what you think of this prize-winning dairy recipe:

Kalin Key

Almost Cajun Creamy Shrimp and Grits Ingredients:

1 cup coarsely ground grits 3 cups water 2 teaspoons salt 2 cups half and half 2 pounds uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined Salt to taste 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste 1 lemon, juiced 1 pound andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch slices 5 slices bacon

½ green bell pepper, chopped ½ red bell pepper, chopped ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped 1 teaspoon minced garlic ¼ cup butter ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup chicken broth 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions: • • • • • • • • •

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Bring water, grits and salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan with a lid. Stir in half and half and simmer until grits are thickened and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Sprinkle shrimp with salt and cayenne pepper; drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside in a bowl.

Place andouille sausage slices in a large skillet over medium heat; fry sausage until browned, 5 to 8 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Retain bacon drippings in skillet. Transfer bacon slices to paper towels, let cool, and crumble.

In the skillet with bacon drippings, cook and stir garlic, green, red and yellow bell peppers for about 8 minutes.

Stir shrimp and andouille sausage into the vegetables and mix to combine.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour to make a smooth paste. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is medium brown in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully, mixture burns easily.

In the large skillet, pour the butter-flour mixture into the skillet with andouille sausage, shrimp and vegetables.

Place the skillet over medium heat and pour in chicken broth, bacon and Worcestershire sauce, cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens and the shrimp become opaque and bright pink, about 8 minutes.

Mix sharp cheddar cheese into grits until melted and grits are creamy and light yellow. Serve shrimp mixture over cheese grits.

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D E LTA C H I L D In Delta Child, author Talya Tate Boerner draws on her Mississippi County childhood to deliver readers back to a simpler time when screen doors slammed, kids tromped cotton, and Momma baked cornbread for supper every night. Boerner, a fourth-generation Arkansas farm girl, has been published in "Arkansas Review," "Deep South Magazine," and "Delta Crossroads." Her award-winning debut novel, "The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee," is also set in northeast Arkansas. Follow her blog "Grace Grits and Gardening" (www.gracegritsgarden.com) for more tales of Arkansas farming, gardening, and comfort food.

Digging to

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once told my sister we could dig to China, and she believed me. I didn’t say it to trick her. The possibility of such a feat seemed real. Back then, we believed in everything.

Forethought wasn’t part of the equation. We spent no time organizing, beyond waiting until Momma ran the vacuum to put our plan into action.

S c r e e e e e e c h went the kitchen drawer. I snatched two of Momma’s largest spoons, the sort used for serving peach cobbler.

Then, ever so slowly, I closed the stubborn drawer.

OFF went the vacuum.

“What are y’ all eating? Don’t ruin your lunch,” she yelled to us from the living room.

“We won’t. We’re going outside to play!” With that, we sprinted out the back door and into a morning already scratchy with heat.

Right off, I knew the perfect spot to dig. The area where the turnrow met the field served no purpose that I could tell. With nothing growing, it was an empty space waiting for us. “We’ll dig here,” I said. I outlined a circle in the soil with the toe of my Keds.

Recent rainfall had made the ground as soft as cookie crumbles. At first, scooping spoonfuls of soil took no great effort.

We hummed and sang songs we’d learned at church camp the week before.

It only takes a spark, to get a fire going…

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China

Did Chinese farmers really wear cone-shaped hats like those we saw in the encyclopedia? I thought about the Guinness Book of World Records. Breaking a world record by digging our way to China held immense interest to me. I imagined how a fancy Memphis or Little Rock reporter would interview my sister and me, snap a photograph of us standing beside our hole near the edge of Daddy’s soybean field.

Even Daddy would be proud.

“What gave you the idea?” the reporter would ask.

“I just thought it up,” I’d say. Then I’d flash the Ultra Brite smile I’d been practicing in the bathroom mirror.

We continued digging.

Soon, the sun pressed down, scorching the bridge of my nose and my shoulders. The space behind my knees became slick with sweaty grime. When I adjusted my legs, dirt clung to my shins.

A killdeer flitting overhead called to one of his friends. Was he making fun of us?

“I’m thirsty,” my sister said, her voice croaky and dry.

“Try not to think about it.”

“But I can’t help it.”

Prone to dramatics, she clutched at her throat and gaped her mouth like a hooked fish. But the skin above her lip had turned pale. Her freckled cheeks blazed. With nothing to drink and a furious sun overhead, I came face-to-face with the harsh truth.

I had always been pretty good at thinking up ideas — building a

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Stock Photo

by Talya Tate Boerner

treehouse from warped plywood, discovering clues for mysteries that didn’t exist, and digging to China on the hottest day of summer so far. But a true leader would have headed to the field with a comprehensive plan. At a minimum, she would have filled Daddy’s extra thermos with ice water and made her sister tote it.

“On your break, you can get a drink out of the hose,” I said in an effort to keep my worker on the job.

“When are my breaks?”

I shrugged. “I guess whenever you need one.”

My sister took a long tepid drink from the water hose by the pump house. So did I. When we returned to our work, the enormity of Project China hit me. Simply walking from the edge of the field to the pump house (and back) had taken us a good five minutes. At our current rate of shoveling, to dig that distance would take us years. Maybe our whole lives. Even then, we wouldn’t be anywhere except a few yards underneath our own field.

I blinked. Bright orange sunspots flashed behind my eyelids. Daddy’s no-nonsense voice echoed in my head. Finish what you start.

We kept digging.

Finally, Momma called to us from the carport with the promise of sustenance. “Girls! Lunch!”

She didn’t have to ask twice. (But she did hose us off before allowing us inside her clean kitchen.)

In absolute silence, I enjoyed the best ham sandwich of my life. (I’m fairly sure my sister felt the same.) I took teeny tiny

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bites, chewing slowly, dragging lunchtime into As The World Turns. I drank three glasses of iced tea, let my ice melt, and drank that too. We even volunteered to wash the dishes for Momma.

Afterward, neither of us mentioned digging to China. We decided to play Chinese Checkers instead. We stayed at the kitchen table all afternoon moving marbles around, game after game until day gave way to night.

Hours later, I lay in bed and imagined sitting underneath the stars at the edge of Daddy’s soybean field, still digging to China.

I fell asleep thinking there was probably a better way to break a world record.

I didn’t even like Chinese food.

When the new morning streamed through our bedroom window, I remembered our partially, no, barely dug hole. I wondered, for the briefest instant of time, if we should give it another go. I jumped from bed, ran to my desk, and found northeast Arkansas on the globe, right where it always was.

Momma had been right. Things really were clearer in the light of day. Even if we had shoveled our way through the earth and popped out on the other side of the planet, we wouldn’t have visited China! We would have found ourselves swimming in the Indian Ocean somewhere between South Africa and Australia.

Geography had never been my best subject.

Still wearing my pajamas, I raced outside to fetch Momma’s spoons half-buried on the edge of the turnrow. To this day, Momma doesn’t know about the time we left her spoons outside overnight. Or that we used her sterling silver ones.

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