Beginning Farmers and Small-Scale Farms in Northwest Arkansas

2020 U of A Graduate Maebrie Cruce, author, Beginning Farmers and Small-Scale Farming in Northwest Arkansas

Maebrie Cruce is a recent University of Arkansas graduate. During her last semester, she was an intern at the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust and she attended one of the NWA Farmlink networking events before COVID-19 restrictions limited social gatherings. In addition to helping with the Kessler Mountain Outdoor Classroom during her internship, Maebrie was intrigued about new farmers getting a start, local food and family farms. She took it upon herself to research the subject as well as talking with others for a class writing assignment.

The article is very thorough and includes interviews with some program leaders involved in the NWA Food Systems initiative, as well as others who have both farmed and are familiar with farming in our area. There also are a few NWA Farmlink farm seekers featured in the story where you can learn more about them beyond their profiles.

Here is a link to Maebrie’s story, “Beginning Farmers and Small Scale Farms in NWA.”  While the statistics shared present a sobering account of the loss of farmland in Northwest Arkansas,  the future of local food and farms is promising thanks in part to the next generation of farmers dedicating themselves to a livelihood in agriculture.  Thank you Maebrie for taking an interest in this topic. For more information about any of the programs or information highlighted including NWA Farmlink, please contact 479-966-4666 or email info@nwafarmlink.org