Reed Family Named State Farm Family Of The Year

Nathan Reed said it was very humbling to join his father, Stanley Reed, in 2005 helping to plant crops on the family farm.

That work was rewarded last Thursday when the younger Reed and his family received the 2014 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year.

“I can definitely say I am honored. I am not deserving of it, but am humbled by it,” Reed said of the award given each year by the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Nathan Reed said he went to law school at the University of Arkansas and passed the bar. He then went into a partnership with his father, a University of Arkansas Board of Trustees member and longtime Farm Bureau board member and president who passed away in 2011.

His parents, Stanley and Charlene Reed, also received the Lee County Farm Family of the Year in 1984.

Nathan Reed said he and his wife, Kristin, have three children – two and a half year old twins, Stanley Eldon and Jane-Anne, and a one-year-old daughter, Katherine.

The family grows corn, cotton, milo and soybeans on 6,000 acres in St. Francis County. Nathan Reed said the farm is centered in the Forrest City, Hughes and Haynes areas.

TECHNOLOGY AT WORK
Nathan Reed said his family has always farmed cotton, but noted technology has made the work a lot easier.

“Technology has changed since 2005, in everything and especially in agriculture,” Reed said. “When I started, we used one of the first GPS systems. Now, there is a GPS in every tractor.”

Reed said the technology, based on global satellites, has helped farmers with everything from spreading fertilizer to helping to check soil samples.

Another one of the changes involves the use of iPhones and iPads to watch the weather, Reed said.

“Now, you have instant access to information. You used to have to sit and wait. Now with an iPhone or iPad, the weather, you know when and where it will rain within five minutes,” Reed said.

He said the technology has allowed farmers to plant with more environmental efficiency as well as working in a cost-productive manner.

Farmers are looking to be cost-effective in planting crops due to a reduction in commodity prices, Reed said.

Another technology initiative Reed hopes to see take off involves water management. Reed is a big supporter of Delta Plastics and a consortium of agricultural interests in Arkansas that launched a new water conservation software program earlier this year that leaders say could reduce water usage by 20% by the year 2020.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS
A Farm Bureau official said the award given to the Reed family shows the family’s support of agriculture.

“The Arkansas Farm Bureau congratulates Nathan and Kristin for being named Arkansas Farm Family of the Year,” Farm Bureau president Randy Veach said. “Nathan is one of the state’s fine young leaders and comes from an outstanding farm family. His late father, Stanley, represented Farm Bureau and Arkansas agriculture with distinction, serving on our state board of directors for 21 years, including five years as president. I know Stanley would be very proud of his son’s family receiving this recognition.”

Several other families were honored last week with district awards.

They are:

· Sloan and Rhonda Hampton of Stuttgart (Southeast District).
· The Gross family of Hot Springs (West Central District).
· Warren and Becky Webster of Washington (Southwest District).
· Roy and Suzanne Runsick of Melbourne (North Central District)
· Billy Joe and Courtney Wilkins of Lamar (Northwest District).
· Keith and Jill Forrester of Tyronza (Northeast District)
· Richard and Jennifer Broach of Vandervoort (Western District).