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Arkansas farmer says he’s optimistic about 2023

A northeast Arkansas farmer says the 2023 planting season is off to a much better start than previous years. Derek Haigwood says unlike 2022, they’ve actually been able to work ground this spring.  “We’re really excited to get some ground worked and prepped,” he says.  “And fix what we sloshed in last year because there was such a time crunch, we didn’t get a lot of time to give some tender, loving, care to our fields.”

He tells Brownfield while input prices and availability have improved significantly since last year, parts availability still remains a challenge. “If you pull into our shop and you dismantle a piece of equipment, order the parts you need, we’re usually on a one-to-two-day turnaround at the most,” he says.  “We work our equipment through that shop.  We start with the planters and we go through them and in February we were still working on planters.”

He says they have about 400 acres of rice and 500 acres of corn planted. 

Haigwood raises corn, soybeans, rice, and cotton in Newport, about 90 miles northeast of Little Rock.

AUDIO: Derek Haigwood, Arkansas farmer

**Photo courtesy of Derek Haigwood**