Farmer of Month - January 2015 - Loren Barber
TEXARKANA, Ark. –
We would like to encourage everyone to take time to thank a farmer, because it is the work of American farmers and ranchers that help put food on our tables. While farming and ranching is a job farmers’ love, it is also a profession that exposes them to a tremendous amount of risk, possibly more than any other.
The Farmer of the Month for January, that we would like to show our appreciation for, is Mr. Loren Barber. Mr. Barber grew up in Kilgore, Texas. He then attended college in Hillsboro, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he majored in business administration.
He said he has been farming for nine years. His family has raised beef cattle for several generations but he is the first to raise any other commodities. His start was when his family acquired Two Rivers Plantation, near Doddridge, AR, with plans of making it a cattle ranch. However, some of the blackland was unsuitable for cattle, so he decided to try growing some wheat and it did well. That is how he became the first in his family to farm other commodities along with cattle, such as wheat, soybeans and rice.
His loves the entire process of farming, from planting to shipping out truckloads of grain. He says, “It is very fulfilling and rewarding when it all comes together.”
Mr. Barber wants the public to know that the commodities he produces are grown with pride in the U.S.A. He also likes that he is able to produce the food we all eat.
In his spare time, he raises bucking horses for rodeos and does leather work.
When asked how the 2015 flood affected him, he said that out of 1,750 acres, about 1,500 acres were flooded for about two weeks. They were able to evacuate half of the cattle before the county road was underwater. All of his crops were destroyed except for about 40 acres of wheat. Even his home was flooded with 2 feet of water for 12 days, but “luckily, I had a two-story so I was able to stay upstairs.”
FUN FACTS:
A pound of rice delivers four times the food energy as the same serving of potatoes or pasta
In the United States, one acre of wheat yields an average of around 40 bushels of wheat. Wheat is grown in 42 states in the United States.
One acre of soybeans can produce 82,368 crayons.
By Jennifer Caraway
County Extension Agent - Agriculture
The Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Media Contact: Jennifer Caraway
County Extension Agent - Agriculture
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
400 Laurel Street, Suite 215 Texarkana AR 71854
(870) 779-3609
jcaraway@uada.edu
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