M E M B E R SC E N E
THE PATH TO
Becoming a Farmer Two couples, two very different success stories.
Young people often ask Farm Credit for the best way to start farming. Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. The bad news is that land (when you can find it), livestock and equipment are expensive. The good news is that with passion, a plan, hard work, a good mentor and a bit of luck, there are still ways to make it happen in western Arkansas.
For some, it's almost in their DNA. From childhood, Chrisie Smith had a long-standing goal – a career on the family ranch. She attended Arkansas Tech University but declined the opportunity to play basketball. Instead, while earning her agribusiness degree, she chose to return home every weekend to help her parents work cattle. Schwerin Farms is 1,000 acres of rolling pastures in Gentry, AR. Today, it’s home to cattle, horses, a few dogs and three generations of Chrisie’s family. The Smith family, young farmers in Gentry, AR. Photographer: Luke Davis, Main Street Studios
Chrisie and her husband, Kaleb, met as youth and bonded over their shared passion for showing cattle. Their friendship grew and they married in 2010.
Becoming farmers A pivotal event paved the way for Chrisie’s goal of working on the family ranch full-time. The house and acreage adjoining her family’s ranch became available to purchase. “It was a God thing,” Chrisie said, smiling and remembering the day her dream started becoming reality. Sitting in their now renovated farmhouse she added, “Coming back here has always been what I wanted to do. When this house and property became available, it all came together.” Today, Chrisie, Kaleb and their boys, Paden (age 6) and Paxton (age 4), live on the ranch near her parents, Dennis and Marlene Schwerin. They work on the beef cattle ranch full-time, managing 250 cows with calves and 800 stocker cattle.
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While the majority of the cattle are owned by Schwerin Farms, Kaleb and Chrisie have a satellite project of stockers and cow/calf pairs that functions within the larger operation.
