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The Brandon and Catherine Gordon family of Red Bud, Ark., were recently named the White County Farm Family of the Year.
Small Acres,
Big Market
By Larry Burchfield
Family maximizes cash flow for their small farm “I didn’t have very good luck my first Brandon and Catherine (Cat) Gordon have a passion for year,” Brandon said. “It was a lot of growing things, especially fresh trial and error, but I was determined produce. The Gordons own and to make a go of it, so I learned from operate Five Acre Farms in northern my mistakes and kept trying.” It was about this time Brandon and White County, Ark., where they raise a variety of crops, including lettuce, Catherine started dating. The two had carrots, turnips, tomatoes, winter known each other in high school, so it may have been fate they would marsquash and cut flowers. Brandon is the family’s green thumb, ry. Cat took a different path of studies but much like the crops he produces, at Arkansas State University where his background and education has she majored in political science. Her been nurtured. Brandon is a graduate degree aside, Catherine is an integral of the University of Arkansas with a part of the operation, running the farm’s social media accounts, managdegree in horticulture. ing the online and wholesale After college, he worked accounts, and keeping the with a large nursery in household running. Runeastern Oklahoma before Red Bud, Ark. ning the household may be returning to the family acrethe major element for Cathage to start his own hortierine as they have twin 7-yearculture business in 2009 on old boys, Liam and Jasper, and land owned by his grandfatheir 3-year-old daughter Delilah. ther.
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Catherine has also been responsible for initiating and promoting the farm’s cut flowers crop. “This is a labor-intensive business,” said Catherine.” I found out early on if I was going to see much of Brandon, I was going to have to be a full-time farmer. It has worked out well for us. We both are passionate about our farm. I especially love the cut flowers crop. There is a huge market for fresh cut flowers.” Marketing is a crucial element for the Gordon’s success. Initially, farmers markets were a large outlet for the farm’s produce. But an extensive online and social media presence pushed the markets to the background. “We don’t participate in farmers markets anymore,” Brandon explained. “We have all we can process with our online and farm share program. Farmers markets helped us to
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get started, but the logistics were just too much compared to running things from here.” Customers include restaurants, natural food stores and their community-supported agriculture programs (CSA). Year-round deliveries are made to Batesville, Searcy, Cabot, Little Rock, and seasonal deliveries to Memphis. On-farm sales are also available year-round through the small store on the farm. Being labor intensive, there are times that additional labor is required. Extra labor comes from two sources. Aspiring farmers have proven to be very valuable to Five Acre Farms. They tend to share the same enthusiasm as the Gordons. High school and college students also provide excellent parttime labor. The major disadvantage for these groups is they are both temporary. If the farm continues to grow, AUGUST 30, 2021
