I am the fourth generation of my family to live and work in Northwest Arkansas, and agriculture has allowed me to stay in this place that I call home. As such, I appreciate farming for the quality of life it provides to me, but perhaps more significantly, I feel called to agriculture because it provides a great amount of hope for our shared world. That is, agriculture, when practiced well with skill and care, has the ability to improve the environment (and people and animals within it) through our own production and consumption. The idea that we can consume and sustain ourselves, while regenerating the very resources we are using, is a radically hopeful reality. My goal moving forward is to take what I have learned and begin building my own ranch business based on regenerative grazing techniques – rotational grazing, mob stocking, silvopasture, and multi-species grazing – to create a scaled pasture-based livestock business in NWA. Due to an off-farm job I will be limited in my ability to direct market products initially, and thus will focus at first on stocker cattle and a small cow-calf herd, depending on the type of property I am able to secure. I will focus on wholesaling live animals through word of mouth and auctions as necessary to reduce time spent in processing, distribution and marketing. I will plan to add sheep as a secondary and complementary grazing species in year three or four. I hope to improve the pastures and woodlots available to me through these grazing practices, to the point that I may consider grass-finishing beef on higher quality grasses. I understand that providing a high-quality grass-fed beef product will require several years of pasture improvement and genetic vigor in my cow calf herd, and correspondingly, do not plan to implement this part of my business plan before year three. I am an experienced farmer working within the field of farmland real estate and will complete my MBA degree from the University of Arkansas in May 2020. I have an extensive background in agriculture, finance, and project management that has prepared me well for this next phase of my farming career. I speak Spanish (upper intermediate fluency), am S212 certified by the US Forest Service for tree felling and timber work, and possess an Arkansas real estate license. I am a member of the Arkansas Cattleman’s Association, a freelance writer for Ozarks Farm and Neighbor Magazine and am planning to complete my Accredited Farm Manager certification within the next 12 months.
Benjamin Maddox
