Acton Family Farms LLC

09/25/2025

This isn’t just something I’m saying. Our entire farming community is talking about it. Let’s all talk about it. We take farmers for granted. They just exist, but what happens if they don’t?

Arkansas agriculture industry leaders warned again Tuesday of a need for aid to mitigate a crisis that has reached a breaking point for family farmers.

09/09/2025

Farmers continue to struggle in Northeast Arkansas and around the country.

09/08/2025

It’ s Alfalfa Time!

09/08/2025

This is why we as a farm take conservative so seriously. Most of the farms under our care flow into Paint Creek.

An excellent shot of the confluence of Paint Creek and the Scioto River on the south side of Chillicothe by Tim Anderson Jr. back in 2016. That's Paint Creek coming in from the left, and the Scioto coming in from the right. 
Color differences between streams can be due to sediment load (such as dirt),  dissolved organics (such as tannic or humic acids from decaying vegetation), algae blooms, or other stuff. 
Do these solutes and such affect the health of fish and other aquatic organisms? You betcha. Dirt is often cited as the number one pollutant in our waterways. It clogs up the gills of fish and tadpoles and makes it difficult for them to breathe, for one thing. 
We owe a lot to our local farmers who use good soil conservation practices, and to agencies like the Ross County Soil And Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service who help the farmers do it right! 
Matter of fact, somebody should bake some delish cookies and drop them off at their offices on Western Avenue.
💛💪

09/05/2025

Well after taking 11 years off I have finally created my own Facebook profile again and will no longer have to use Pipe’s. I will continue to update and manage this page and will not let you down on farm updates. I will use my personal account more for my agriculture Mental Health advocacy, my personal endeavors and my writings.

09/04/2025

Huge shout out to Brady Riley and the crew at C & J Electric for fixing the lightning strike mess in the barn. We are so grateful to be getting the lights turned back on and the cattle appreciate the fans blowing again.

09/02/2025

Conservation isn’t just about the soils and waters of our farm but so much more. We work year round to make sure pheasants, quail, rabbits and doves have places to live, eat and hide. Even in the deepest snow we will take corn and hay out to our game animals to ensure a healthy population. We do this to make sure we have a stong healthy population and that we never harvest more than our share. It is our role to make sure everything under our care last many more generations.

Yesterday, the boys got to be a part of their first dove hunt. The doves harvested will help feed our family. The boys were nervous and didn’t know what to expect but by the end of the evening they were ready to plan the next adventure.

08/27/2025

Video of the fawns, audio is low because I’m whispering. I didn’t want to scare them

08/27/2025

The wildlife seem to be attracted to us.
Sunday while doing the feeding the kids came running back into the house telling us there was a huge bird in the barn. Turns out, with a little internet research, we had a juvenile Coopers Hawk hanging with the calves. Then yesterday while cutting even more Johnsongrass something awesome happened, I’ve never been approached by a fawn and to have a pair of them was really cool.

08/26/2025

While also on the topic of conservation, we hold a special place in our hearts for Monarch butterflies. This species is remarkable in all they do. In recent times, their numbers are decreasing rapidly and there’s potential that my grandchildren will only hear stories, but it will not be because we didn’t do our part.

While doing general farm mowing and w**d control dad needed to mow down some milk w**d plants that were hiding around several clumps of Johnsongrass. Milkw**d is the only food source for the monarch caterpillar and we try not to ever mow it but in this instance it had to be done. Anyway, dad stopped the tractor before mowing and checked all the milkw**d plants for caterpillars and cocoons. Man did he hit the jackpot. He called me and together we rounded up all the little buggers and I was able to take them to an educator at the Adena Local Schools where they will be used to educate the next generation of conservationists and then released as butterflies.

08/26/2025

Conservation is a huge part of what we do here on the farm. Currently we are planting a cover crop of oats, peas and radishes on all of our wheat stubble that wasn’t planted to double crop soybeans. This mixture will help not only hold the soil but reduce soil compaction, aid in nutrient retention and increase our soil organic matter. We don’t do this for direct financial gain, we will not harvest it. This is part of the long game planning for the future and taking care of the soils we farm.