Farmer Beth Killingsworth Discusses Life On The Tractor

In our latest edition of Talk Business Quarterly, we take a look at several movers and shakers in the agricultural field. Meet Beth Killingsworth, a former banker who opted for a tractor instead of a calculator.

Talk Business contributing writer Larry Brannan reports:

It’s certainly not your average career path for a young lady with an Arkansas State University degree in Agri-business with an emphasis on finance — especially since she had an offer to begin a banking career upon graduation. But 25-year-old Beth Killingsworth, from the small Woodruff County town of Morton, had different ideas. She grew up on her grandfather’s huge farm; farming was in her blood, and after many heart-to-heart talks with her grandparents and mentors, she made the choice to become a farmer.

In an agricultural state like Arkansas, farming is a common occupation for … well … men. A woman sitting in that combine at harvest time and all the sweat, toil, and preparation that got her there is totally her responsibility, that’s rare indeed. So rare, Killingsworth has never met another woman farmer — a woman who owns a farm, manages it, and is totally responsible for its day-to-day operation and several hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment.

Killingsworth started farming four years ago and most of her land was acquired from her grandfather after he retired. A decision once made, she has never regretted.

“Well, I think when you grow up on a farm you always say the grass is greener on the other side,” Killingsworth said. “I thought maybe I didn’t want to be involved in farming.  I weighed everything and did the pros and cons on what I was happier at or where I was happier, as far as a career, and I just realized this is what I wanted to come back to.”

“I’m not the type to take a job and six months down the road say ‘I’m sorry, I’m not happy here.’ I have to have 100 percent knowing that’s what I want to do, and that’s how I felt with farming. I just knew it’s what I wanted to do.”

Learn more about this young farmer’s career path and why she’s made the early decision to farm.  Access the full story here.