The Standridges • Dennard, • Van Buren County
North Central District Farm Family • Cattle
By Caleb Talley
Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest industry, contributing more than $21 billion to the state’s economy each year. Because of our diverse landscape and unique climate, Arkansas produces a wide array of agricultural products and is among the nation’s leaders in a number of commodities.
Arkansas leads the nation in rice production, churning out 50 percent of America’s rice. As a result, Arkansas is also home to the country’s largest rice exporter, Riceland Foods. Arkansas is second in the nation in poultry production, with more than 2,500 farms raising chickens across the state. The nation’s largest poultry processor, Tyson Foods, also calls Arkansas home.
According to Farm Bureau, Arkansas has more than 14 million acres of farmland. More than 6 million acres of that are crops, while livestock and hay production make up the remaining 8 million acres. And across all those acres, Arkansas excels in the production of the following commodities: beef cattle, cotton, dairy, aquaculture, pork, horticulture, poultry, rice, soybeans, wheat and so much more.
“Farm families are multigenerational, and that, to me, is what’s so important,” says Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “They’ve survived good times and bad times, tough economies, and they have been able to make a living for their family.
“They’re leaders,” he adds. “They’re survivors. And they’re hard workers. They’re community oriented. That’s the nature of a farm family. You help your neighbors, and that’s helping our communities.”
In honor of the state’s largest and most vibrant industry, Farm Bureau continues to highlight the people who make it all possible: the Arkansas Farm Family. Each year, Farm Bureau celebrates the men and women and their families who make up the state’s most important business sector through their Farm Family of the Year program.
Each spring, a family is chosen from each of the state’s 75 counties. Of those 75 families, eight are chosen to represent their district. Arkansas Money & Politics has joined forced with Arkansas Farm Bureau in showcasing these hardworking men and women and their families, honoring them for all they do for their state and their community.
These eight families are diverse in what they farm, how they farm and why they farm. They represent various commodities, backgrounds and trades. But they all have one thing in common. They’re all salt of the earth people who hold this state together, both economically and societally. Learn more about these families and how their farms contribute to the Arkansas ecosystem.
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Lacey and Jared Standridge, along with their three children, 13-year-old Sydney, 11-year-old Sam and 9-year-old Shelby, own an assortment of livestock at their ranch on Highway 65 in Dennard, just north of Clinton. At Standridge Ranch, also known as Hartsugg Cattle Company, these independent operators raise top-quality cattle that work for them as well as the people they sell to.
Lacey and Jared come by ranching honestly; both are the fifth generation of their families involved in the beef cattle industry. Like most people involved in agriculture, the Standridges “started with a dream and passion of loving the land and what the land can produce,” Lacey says. “To be honest, it’s all we’ve both ever known, in one way or another.”
The pair moved to Dennard with the intentions of pursing equine interests. Jared is a world-champion roper and the pair owned several well-trained horses. But their interests were soon diverted to backgrounding calves. Backgrounding is the process of growing steers and heifers from weaning until they enter the feedlot, a system that uses pasture and other forages.
As their children got older, Lacey and Jared designed a way to incorporate the young Standridges into the family farm through a show cattle program. The program allows individuals or organizations to lease their longhorn and Corriente cattle for various purposes. The show cattle are leased by stock contractors, rodeo event organizers and roping clubs. The family has leased out as many as 300 heads of cattle out at a time at the local, state and even national level.
“[The program] has allowed our children to be involved at an age-appropriate level and teach them things they could learn nowhere else,” says Lacey. “Responsibility, sacrifice, determination, building confidence and, sadly, loss at times… Introducing our children to the ranching way of life could prepare them for their future in the best way possible, in our opinion.”
Their show barn, located at the family ranch, is also used by local Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters to train for livestock competitions. In addition to their show cattle, the Standridges have a 100-head commercial cow herd that is used primarily in their embryo program to produce calves that are marketed after backgrounding.
While membership in their show cattle program continues to grow, the Standridge family is always looking for ways in which to better market their product. They’re active participants in local livestock markets, selling cattle at area sale barns. The family also utilizes social media when marketing their livestock.
Unlike most professional ranchers, both Jared and Lacey maintain full-time jobs outside of their ranch. They own S&P Insurance Partners in Clinton, where Jared serves as president. As a result, time management has been a major challenge in accomplishing their goals as ranchers. “We have learned to get up early and go to bed many nights later than we’d like. We have been able to hire a full-time employee at the ranch, and our children help more and more every day.”
In addition to helping out on the ranch, the Standridge children are active in and outside of school, too. The oldest, Sydney, will be entering eighth grade. She’s active in Beta Club, basketball and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is a student council leader. Sam, who’s entering fifth grade, plays baseball, football and basketball, but his passion is fishing. Sam also takes care of 20 laying hens and sells their eggs locally. Shelby, who will be in fourth grade, also plays basketball, sings and acts. She spends much of her time riding her horse, though.
The Standridges hope to expand their ranching operation by allowing consumers the opportunity to purchase cattle through
online bidding. They also aim to create a better relationship between ranchers and the general public, helping others understand where their food comes from. “We want to make our children and others aware that feeding the world is a big responsibility, one that should never be taken lightly. And that’s exactly what American farmers and ranchers do every day.”
Lacey and Jared Standridge are members of the Van Buren County Cattlemen’s Association, American Junior Simmental Association, American Maine-Anjou Association, American Chianina Association, American Charolais Association and American Hereford Association. Jared serves on the FFA Foundation Board, and Lacey is a former chamber of commerce board member. The Standridges are members of the First Baptist Church of Clinton.
Read more farm families: The Watsons
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