Couple received the start of their cattle operation as a wedding present

meet yourneighbors The Gift of Farming By Noralee Townsend

Jason and Tori Greene were gifted the start of their herd as a wedding present

Most producers start their cattle herd by buying from other producers, production sales and sale barns. For this family, their cowcalf operation started as a gift.

The Greene family owns a cow/calf operation of crossbred cattle in central Arkansas overlooking Greers Ferry Lake. They also raise hay for their operation and sell the hay commercially.

When Jason and Tori Greene got married in 1999, they started the farm. They did not cattle, as Tori’s dad gifted them their first herd. They did not buy cows until a few years ago, as they traded cattle with nearby family. Tumbling

“We started building our herd Shoals , Ark. around six or seven years ago,” Tori said.

They are very strategic with their herd as they keep all of the heifers out of their calf crop and sell the bull calves. They make a profit off the bulls. Tori said the most unique part of their farm is their variety of mixed breeds. “One day my goal is to buy a red Hereford bull,” Tori said with a laugh as she wants to have Hereford crosses. They have multiple farms throughout Tumbling Shoals, Ida and Heber Springs. “We started getting into the hay business about four years ago,” Greene said. They have two pieces of each piece of equipment including cutters, tetters, rakes and balers. They fertilize their fields with local chicken litter. They like to help local producers. Jason and his father Charlie started selling the hay commercially. They cut hay at all the farms

they own. They also help their older neighbors out when hay season arrives.

“We do a lot for the older folks that can’t do as much,” Tori said. “After we finish baling, we split thirds with them.”

By the end of September, they baled around 1,900 bales of hay this year.

With many producers facing hardship with the 2022 drought, the Greene family decided to post hay for sale on Facebook. A producer from a state away reached out, and drove for two days with a semi to pick up hay.

The producer who bought the hay contacted eight people selling hay and Tori was the only one to reply to them.

Tori said it was a humbling experience because they were blessed to be able to bale that much hay in the middle of a drought and in the end help a fellow producer.

As their farm started as a gift, the Greene family wants to help people as much as possible. They are real people wanting to help out other producers. The agriculture industry is not easy but it’s families like the Greene family that help keep the agriculture community strong.

“We started out extremely small and just grew ourselves more and more,” Tori said. “Hopefully one day our kids will be able to have their own herds.”