2023 Sharp County Farm Family of the Year: Sissy and Josh Gray with their children, Croston, Eden, and Canaan
Black River Technical College is pleased to announce Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness Sissy Gray and her family have been named the 2023 Sharp County Farm Family of the Year.
Sissy, her husband Josh and their three children, nine-year-old Croston, five-year-old Canaan, and four-year-old Eden, run two farming operations at Williford in Sharp County. Gray Livestock and Cattle Company is a beef cattle operation, and Joshua 24:15 is a poultry farm producing pasture-raised eggs.
The family started out with 75 acres of rented pasture for a small cattle herd in 2010, but now has grown to 565 acres; 465 acres they own and 100 acres leased. Joshua 24:15 was begun in 2022.
“Josh and I were very surprised, it was entirely unexpected,” said Sissy Gray when asked how it felt to find out the Grays were named farm family of the year, “In fact, we didn’t utter a word to anyone until the initial press release came out, because we needed to see it to believe it!”
According to arfb.com, the 2023 farm families mark the 76th annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program. The Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program has helped to recognize outstanding farm families throughout the state since 1947. The objectives of the Farm Family of the Year program are to give recognition and encouragement to farm families who are doing an outstanding job on their farm and in their community, to recognize the importance of agriculture in the community and state, and to disseminate information on improved farm practices and management.
Selection criteria for the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year includes efficiency of production, conservation of energy and resources, leadership in agricultural and community affairs, home and farm improvement, and home and farm management.
Sponsors of the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year program are Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas and the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas. Additionally, support for the program is provided by the Arkansas Agriculture Department, Arkansas Department of Career Education, Arkansas Press Association, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.