The Hartons have been in the farming business for 33 years and currently farm 544 acres of land. 160 acres of this land are where they grow hay as their major crop. They produce three tons per acre.
The major livestock and other enterprises of their business consists of crossbred cattle, 100 Moma Cows who currently have 71 calves. The Hartons sell their calves locally and out of state. Mike notes that he has been blessed to grow in numbers and acreage over the past few years and that his goals for his cattle business is to keep the cattle healthy, continue improving the herd, and continue improving pastures and grasslands. He also has built seven ponds for added water supply and stocked them with fish. He has also planted hardwood and pine trees in low areas to slow erosion.
Mike has been in the timber business for 26 years. The family has 181 acres of timberland. Wood harvested from the timberland is sold locally and in surrounding areas. He also buys and sells timber from private landowners. A logging crew of approximately seven work for the Hartons.
When asked to describe how he began farming, Mike said, "I had the best mother and father in the whole world. They showed me how to work at a young age. We did not have cows when we were young, although we had horses that we used to raise gardens and log with. My dad, Curtis "Coon" Harton bought his brother, Herman "Pot" Harton's herd of about 25 Hereford cows and rented his pasture. Kim and I started with about three calves and were proud to have them. We'd ride out in the pasture and look at them every day. Later, we'd go to the local sale barn and buy Brahman cows because they were the ones we could afford. Then we began crossing the cows with Hereford bulls."
The couple has one daughter, Wendy Harton Savage, who is married to Tracy Savage. They have one granddaughter, Josie "Luke" Smith who attends Warren High School and is a cheerleader for the Warren Lumberjacks and another granddaughter Megan Savage and one great grandson, Gunner Savage. "Our girls are our greatest blessings," says the couple.
The Hartons also plant plots for wildlife and do their best to leave the land better than they found it. They enjoy hunting and fishing together as a family. Once, after a good day hunting, granddaughter Josie said, "We're some hunting son of a guns, aren't we Papa?" Mike says, "That was a good day."
"The older we get, the more we realize this whole earth belongs to the Lord. We are just His caretakers while we're here. How grateful we are for our little piece of heaven. It's our hope that our girls will pass along these values to the next generation," says Mike.
The Hartons are members of Fairview Freewill Baptist Church. They have attended the church services at Chapel Woods Rehabilitation Center and Nursing Home every Sunday for the past six years.
They are members of the Arkansas Timber Producers Association.
Kim is a past member of Warren Junior Auxiliary, a retired first grade teacher of the Hampton Public Schools. She enjoys taking photos for the Warren YMCA's Waves Swim Team. Her grandfather, Mr. G. W. Botts was instrumental in the early history of the Warren YMCA.
The program sponsors for Farm Family of the Year are Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas Farm Bureau, Farm Credit Services of Western Arkansas, Agheritage Farm Credit Services, and Farm Credit Midsouth Association. Program partners are the Arkansas Press Association, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Department of Workforce Education, USDA, and Farm Service Agency.
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