INDUSTRY U P DAT E S
DOWN on the
FARM by Cole Plafcan
A
griculture in Arkansas is big business! Agriculture
is the state’s largest industry, adding approximately $16 billion to the economy annually. Arkansas produces a wide variety of agricultural products ranging from row crops, livestock, timber and poultry, just to name a few. This output is all produced or raised across approximately 49,000 farms throughout the state. They are located across all areas of Arkansas and 97% of these farms are family-owned. Agriculture in Arkansas and across America is continually challenged on many fronts, and 2022 is no exception. These challenges include increasing input and feed costs, weather events, labor concerns, volatile prices, global trade disruptions, political unrest, lingering supply chain issues and rising interest rates. To weather these 30
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SUMMER 2022
difficulties, today’s farmer and rancher must be continually thinking about his or her strategy to navigate these headwinds. Producers must be more strategic in their short- and long-term planning versus the traditional labor-intensive mindset. Simply working hard is no longer a recipe for success. When I reflect on the farming relationships that have been successful, those farmers have diligently created teams of strategic partners to assist in their overall decision making. These partners, among others, include input and equipment suppliers, consultants, accountants, lawyers, commodity buyers and certainly their lender. Agriculture and agricultural lending are relationship businesses. Being able to leverage these teams, especially when facing the dayto-day challenges of farming and ranching provides confidence in decision making. When all the advisors are working in unison, success is
