Community

2011 District Winners

Eight district winners in the 65th annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program have been selected. The district winners will be judged and the state winner will be announced at the 2011 Farm Family of the Year luncheon on Dec. 9 at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock.

The district winners are:

Darick and Leesa Brown of Viola (Fulton County) in the North Central District. The Brown’s raise commercial beef cattle, commercial meat goats and harvest fescue seed on 2,817 acres. They have three children, Devin, Lakynn and Dalton.

Jerry and Renee Boeckmann of Wynne (Cross County) in the Northeast District. Jerry and Renee Boeckmann grow rice and soybeans on 2,000 acres. They have three children, Heather, Leigh and Tyler.

GC Farms of Augusta (Woodruff County) in the East Central District. Gary and Evelyn Coles own GC Farms. They grow grain sorghum, oats, rice, soybeans and wheat on 11,257 acres. They have three children, Brian, Matthew and Michael.

Maury Hill Family of Fayetteville (Washington County) in the Northwest District. Maury and Daleen Hill grow hay and chopped haylage on 487 acres. They also have 300 cows and calves, plus other stocker cattle. They have two children, Dale and Shannon, and seven grandchildren.

Heath and Betsy Long of Tichnor (Arkansas County) in the Southeast District. The Long’s grow rice, soybeans and wheat on 2,243 acres. They have two children, Shelby and Sydney.

Ken and Rhonda Rudder of El Dorado (Union County) in the Southwest District. The Rudder’s grow garden produce, fruit and hay on 96 acres. They have five children, John, Kevin, Keith, Laura and Rachel.

Chris and Lesley Simmons of Arkadelphia (Clark County) in the West Central District. The Simmons’ grow corn, rice, soybeans and wheat on 4,000 acres. They have one child, Lane.

Leslie and Melissa Oates of Pottsville (Pope County) in the Western District. The Oates run 120 cow/calf pairs, and grow soybeans, wheat and Bermuda hay on 902 acres. They have three children, Garrett, Brett and Carson.