I grew up in the small community of McGehee on our family farm. I was 10 years old when the historic 1980 drought happened, and I can remember my dad trying desperately to irrigate what we could but losing most of his crop. This, coupled with high interest rates, set the tone of his farming career and left my brother and I very determined to not let economics rule our lives.
Living on the farm seemed like a prison sentence. I remember not seeing friends the entire summer break, only to get to school and hear about their time spent golfing or at the swimming pool. To this day, I’ve only played golf three times in my life, and most of my school friends wish they would have learned what I learned on those summer breaks.
Farmland around McGehee varies greatly in soil types. Most farms have a mixture of cotton soils and clay that is mostly suitable for rice and beans. My brother Sam and I farm rice, cotton, corn, and beans, which is uncommon since rice and cotton are incompatible.
In 2010, I applied for the USA Rice Leadership Program. I can remember sitting in the interview and being asked how it was that no one ever heard of me. I told them I’d been focusing on building the farming operation but was now eager to learn more about the industry that comprises and serves our main crop. I describe the leadership program as a master’s degree in rice. During those two years, I had the privilege to meet leaders throughout the industry, visiting mills and farms in multiple states. The focus of this course is to train the next generation of leaders.
All rice-producing states have some form of checkoff that goes toward research and promotion, but until I got involved with the leadership program, I had no idea what all happened behind the scenes to keep our industry moving in the right direction. We have people working on our behalf throughout the industry making sure issues like exports, domestic consumption, EPA regulations, Farm Bill, and crop insurance have favorable outcomes for our industry. If you’re a producer between the ages of 25-45, I strongly suggest you take the time to invest in your career by applying to this program.
Currently, I am the chairman of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion board and serve alongside eight other farmers with various backgrounds and leadership positions throughout our industry. This board is responsible for distributing the checkoff money collected yearly. 50% funds research and 50% funds promotional efforts domestically and globally. Arkansas averages around $5.8 million in annual checkoff collections split between research and promotions. Rice is our state’s largest crop, creating over 25,000 jobs and over $1 billion to our state’s economy. In my opinion, we should invest more to protect such a vital part of our state’s economy.
Our various agricultural trade organizations are the only things that stand between us as individual farmers and the regulations that threaten our livelihood. Issues around burning, water use, chemical regulations, and the Farm Bill need our constant attention, and I’m thankful that every day, we have experts from the University of Arkansas and USA Rice working on our behalf. Since our checkoff is restricted to only research and promotions, it leaves us dangerously vulnerable to outside influences that intend to change our business through imports, government regulations, or unforeseen issues. We as an industry are simply playing defense, and the more I know, the more it scares me for the future of agriculture and my family.
These are what I consider my secrets to success:
■ Seek out experts in your industry and go visit their operations. Most people are open and honest about their successes and failures. Learn from their mistakes.
■ Hire good people!
■ Learn about the flywheel effect and the compound effect.
■ Cost plus profit divided by yield equals breakeven. Know your numbers!! Understand all in cost. What does it cost to actually farm? Land, taxes, insurance, living expenses — not just seed and chemicals — but everything. This is a hard one that I struggle with.
■ It’s not a lifestyle. It’s a business. The farm gets paid first.
A few facts about my personal life:
■ I have been married to Lesli for 33 years and have raised two children who are successfully pursuing their careers.
■ I have taught Bible class in our church for 27 years and currently lead a foreign mission team with Lesli to Honduras.
■ Life is preciously short, and I hope mine has been spent on things that matter… faith, family, farming.
— Jim Whitaker
McGehee, Arkansas