Jason Brown

Meet the 2021 YF&R Award Winners

The Bearden Family

By Jason Brown

The Dixon Family

This summer at Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Officers and Leaders conference in Hot Springs, the organization recognized outstanding young farmers and ranchers in Arkansas between the ages of 18 and 35. Recognition is given for innovation, excellence in farming and ranching operations, and outstanding leadership abilities. This year, two outstanding couples were selected to receive the major Young Farmers and Ranchers honors, the Excellence in Agriculture Award and the Achievement Award.

The YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes the accomplishments of individuals or couples who do not earn the majority of their income through farming, but who are involved in farming and Arkansas Farm Bureau. Individuals considered for this award are evaluated on their understanding of agricultural issues, as well as leadership, achievements and involvement in Arkansas Farm Bureau and other organizations. The YF&R Achievement Award recognizes young farmers and ranchers in Arkansas who have excelled in their farming and ranching operations and exhibited outstanding leadership abilities. The award is designed for an individual or couple involved in full-time production agriculture with a majority of their income subject to normal production risks.

2021YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award

The 2021 Excellence in Agriculture Award winners were John Michael and Rachel Bearden. The Beardens operate on a farm that has been in Rachel’s family for seven generations, longer than Arkansas has been a state.

The Friendship (Hot Spring County) couple now owns their own section of the family farm property along the Ouachita River where they have their cow/ calf operation, some timber acreage and raise cattle, sheep and performance horses. John Michael also has a hay business and serves as the Malvern High School agriculture teacher, while Rachel is the Hot Spring County Extension agent.

John Michael attributes his desire to farm to his time at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia.

“For me, a switch went off in college. Being able to work on the SAU farm taught me that this was what I wanted,” said John Michael. “I was able to grow and learn through college and when me and Rachel started dating and we started building our own place, we knew this is where we needed to be.”

The couple started their cow/calf operation with heifers from Rachel’s father’s herd shortly after getting married. They now raise their two-year old daughter Lexi Grace on the farm, making her the eighth generation to grow up there.

The Beardens see the cow/calf operation as a team effort, with John Michael taking responsibility for feeding and Rachel overseeing herd health and management. Though they both call Lexi Grace “boss.”

“We’re glad that we get to raise our daughter to get to do the same things I was lucky enough to be raised to do and she gets to grow up in the world of the family farm too,” Rachel says.

The two have invested in the community around them by hosting area youth at the farm, teaching the value of hard work and the ins and outs of working with animals. Their passion for community and agriculture earned them their spot as winners of this year’s YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award.

“Agriculture is not just our jobs. It’s what we do every day and, when you look at the world and the people involved in agriculture, I think society needs more of those kind of people,” Rachel says when asked about her family’s lifestyle and work. “When you look at folks involved in agriculture, they are folks who value family and hard work and they know that you get out of it what you put into it and you have to do a hard day’s work to get those results.”

As winners of the Excellence in Agriculture Award, the Beardens received an $11,000 cash prize and a trip to the 2022 American Farm Bureau Convention to compete for the national award. *

2021YF&R Achievement Award

A major move paid off with a major honor for 2021 Achievement Award winners James and Ashton Dixon. James established Dixon Farms in 2013 when he purchased a five-house operation in Magnolia. Eight years later, the Dixons left their hometown and moved to Hindsville, where they purchased a new farm and home just two months before winning the YF&R Award.

The Madison County couple has six broiler houses on 44 acres, where they expect to grow 5.7 million pounds of chicken in 2021. The couple plans to raise five flocks annually. They also will remove and sell roughly 1,400 tons of litter per year between flocks.

James grew up around the poultry business, having been raised around his grandparents’ farm. Ashton credits the success of Dixon Farms to James’ intense work ethic, noting the occasional all-nighter shift and relentless focus to succeed as a young farmer.

“I’m super proud of him,” she says of James. “My dad used to say, ‘You’re never going to find someone with the same work ethic that you have,’ … I’m really blessed that I did.”

Ashton acknowledges that the couple took a leap of faith when they left Magnolia for Madison County, but the two are committed to a life in agriculture.

“It was different to pick up roots and leave everything we’ve ever know, and I don’t think either one of us would have done that on our own,” Ashton says of the move. “But, that’s kind of how we complement each other, so we jumped in with both feet together and whatever life brings, we’ve got each other’s back.”

The family received a $35,000 cash prize and a trip to the 2022 American Farm Bureau Convention in Atlanta to compete for the national award. The prizes were courtesy of the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Company. *