How we can build a future for farming in Arkansas 

This crisis puts farmers like Jacob Rowell, owner of Kings River Produce, at a crossroads. Despite being an experienced vegetable farmer, Jacob once considered leaving vegetable production altogether. He lacked the infrastructure needed to grow his business but couldn’t justify investing in improvements on property he didn’t own. 

Growing his business was simply out of reach. What Jacob needed was affordable, protected farmland, and a partnership that could help him scale his business. It’s clear that we need more investment in people and programs that can meet the needs of a new generation of farmers. 

Through agricultural conservation and supportive partnerships, it’s possible to meet those needs in northwest Arkansas. The region has a rich agricultural history, and it’s critical that we protect both the land and the ability to make a living farming it. 

Furthermore, local farms cultivate not only fresh food, but opportunities for community and connection. When farms disappear, so do those opportunities. 

The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund program recently debuted in northwest Arkansas and demonstrates how conservation is a tool that can be used to protect the future of local farming. 

The Farms Fund follows a unique model that involves buying valuable farmland, connecting up-and-coming farmers with that land and putting permanent protections on that land so it can be used for farming forever. 

The fund then enters leases with farm businesses to provide a pathway to ownership. During the lease, the Farms Fund works with these businesses to help them grow. It’s a win-win-win situation: land is saved, farmers thrive and surrounding communities get greater access to fresh, healthy food. 

This program recently partnered with Jacob and Kings River Produce to lease a farm in Berryville, a little over an hour away from booming areas like Fayetteville and Bentonville. 

While growing the business on this new property, Kings River Produce will be able to help supply more fresh, local food to the region. Jacob is also collaborating with a mentor farmer who will help him optimize his production techniques. He’ll be able to pass that knowledge down to new farmers, who can grow their own produce. This could help strengthen vegetable production throughout Arkansas at a time when in-state vegetable production has become more rare. 

With conserved farmland, a strong partnership and the opportunity to own the farm in four years, what was once out of reach for Jacob can become reality. 

The Farms Fund’s debut in northwest Arkansas will help meet the needs of not only farmers, but of surrounding communities. Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, and its population is predicted to double to 1 million by 2050. With population growth comes a greater demand for food, which can quickly become overwhelming at a time when food is becoming less and less affordable. 

Nearly 30% of Arkansas residents face food insecurity – one of the highest rates in the country. The more local food we produce, the more accessible it is to everyone. Well-resourced programs that support local food growers like Kings River Produce help meet a critical community need. 

Innovative partnerships and programs like this one in northwest Arkansas can be replicated nationwide. The Farms Fund, for example, has had success in Chicago, Atlanta and Charlotte. 

In 2025, the farm businesses we partnered with produced more than 1 million pounds of food. Imagine what we could do if we continue to build out these partnerships throughout the state of Arkansas, as well as around the country. 

Through conserving at-risk farmland, and helping farm businesses grow on that land, a future for farming in Arkansas is possible. Investment in this work will not only support farmers like Jacob, but growing metro communities that need greater access to fresh food. 

It takes a village to sustain local farming, but with the right resources and partnerships in our tool belt, we have what it takes to make it happen — one farm at a time.