Judy and Mark Anderson stand in center, surrounded by immediate and extended family members at AA Farms. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Farm Bureau.

For 21 years up at AA Farms just north of Hope, Mark and Judy Anderson, their children and now six of their 11 grandchildren have kept things going and growing. For that and many other reasons, the Andersons have been selected as Hempstead County’s 2023 Farm Family of the Year by the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Both Mark and Judy had experience working on farms when they were young. Mark said his dad had a farm that he later sold.  “I never got it out of my blood,” Mark said. “I always wanted to go back. So we worked at it and worked towards it.”

Judy Anderson’s father had a cattle farm himself. “I was always helping him do one thing or another,” Mark said.

Judy and Mark Anderson. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Their first careers, though, required different kinds of work. For Mark it was driving trucks and then working for the Arkansas Highway Department where he worked his way up to bridge inspector. For Judy it was the community college in Hope that ultimately became University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. Before she left to devote herself full time to AA Farms, she was Dean of Enrollment Management.

During the 1980s, Mark said he noticed that farmers who went into hog production did quite well. So in 2000, when about 60 acres north of Hope went on sale, the Andersons went for it. The property already had a facility to shelter 300 sows.  

After about 18 months, though, troubles arose. The company that contracted to take the piglets decided to shut down its hog farms in Arkansas and notified the Andersons by phone call on a Sunday night at 10:30. “There wasn’t much sleep after that,” Mark said.

It took some time, acquiring the use of more acres of land for the management of waste, and some costly upgrades to the barn, but the Andersons managed to find another company to work with and were back in business. Not an easy business, but one they’ve made work and continue to expand. “We went from 60 acres to 320 acres. We've had some sicknesses, with the hogs, some scares, and production drops and highs and lows, but we’ve worked through it all,” Mark said.

Now, with a new, state-of-the-art barn added in 2016, the Andersons have 1,300 sows. Their piglets, when they reach the right age, are picked up by a company with whom the Andersons have contracted.

The Andersons' hog facility contains 1,300 sows.

This very month, the Andersons are having six poultry houses built on their land, which will eventually host broilers as they grow from day-old chicks to full-fledged chickens ready for processing.  When the houses are built, the Andersons will host 924,000 birds a year.

On touring the farm itself, you will notice about a dozen majestic quarterhorses of all age-ranges clustered in a separate meadow. The Andersons sell 8 to 10 foals a year.  You notice the big hog barn next, but you’ll also see a big red barn next to it built decades ago housing tractors and other equipment.  Several dozen acres are used to grow hay suitable for the horses.

Two of the Andersons’ grown sons work full-time on the farm. Joey, their oldest, has worked there for six years, while Leith, their third child, has worked there for 20. He has bought 260 acres adjoining his parents’ place where he raises cattle and hay. Their second child, Britany Chambless, with husband Matt, has cattle and horses. Their fourth child, Brooke Fisher, with husband Eric, run their own farm in Spring Hill.

Asked about the value of raising a family on the farm, the Andersons are not hesitant to say. Judy said, “There's really nothing like it. Like any other family, you're going to have your moments. But it sure makes it a very close-knit family. Everybody appreciates the land. It teaches them things that they can't learn in school. To love the land. It teaches them to love nature. It teaches them all about God's creation.”

Mark agrees. “Absolutely. From my perspective, it's I just can't see where it hurts a kid to get out and get sweaty and get off the iPhone and do something different.”

As for the motivation to keep going, Mark agrees that being a food-producer for the world is high on the list along with being able to work with family. “One thing that you think about quite a bit. If the farms go down, if the agriculture end goes down, it's going to be bad in a hurry,” he said. “But that and just trying to raise a family. Out here in the open air sometimes it really gets bad when there's two feet of snow on the ground and things like that are really tough, but I just wouldn't want to go back to work for the public.”

Judy also puts in a vote for the farm life over the town variety. “You just have a heart for it,” she said. “You just love it. It’s not something that you have to do. It’s something that you want to do.”