News

Technology and climate; biggest changes on century farm

The owner of a century old grain farm in Arkansas says technological advancements and climate patterns have been the biggest changes over time.  

Kay Trice of Stuttgart in east central Arkansas tells Brownfield she has seen several technologies improve over her 75 years on the farm, starting with the way their irrigation system is ran.  

“You can turn the pump on from home now. My daddy used to go out in the middle of the night when we had a rain to turn the pumps on to get the water running into the reservoirs. There have been numerous changes and it has been amazing to watch.”

She says weather patterns have also changed over time, as she has slowly seen a decrease in annual rainfall on their farm- to the point of severe drought this year.

“I am worried for the future of farming. We may have to do something different, we may have to change the crops that we grow or find crops that are very tolerant to drought. I hope that I am overreacting to it, I hope it isn’t going to be that bad.”

Trice’s family farm was one of 37 recently inducted into the Arkansas Century Farm Program.