Community

2010 Farm Family of the Year

White County's Red River Farms earns 2010 honor.

First Electric Members named State Farm Family of the Year

Michael and Sarah Oxner of Searcy, members of First Electric Cooperative, were named the 2010 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year on Dec. 10 at a luncheon honoring the county and district Farm Families of the Year.

They own Red River Farms near Bald Knob. Their operation consists of 6,080 acres of owned and rented land, with 2,700 acres dedicated to rice, 2,100 acres of soybeans, 300 acres of corn and 280 acres of cotton, as well as a 700-acre impoundment for wildlife. Michael and Sarah have three children, 5-year-old Mary Frances, 3-year-old Laura Grace and 2-year-old Paten.

Michael began farming at the age of 10 when, with the help of his grandfather, he planted two acres of soybeans. He began farming fulltime 22 years ago and now rents land in the Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge, where he grows rice, millet, corn and native grasses, providing food for wildlife. They flood the fields in fall for public hunting and to provide a sanctuary for migratory waterfowl. Michael irrigates his crops with surface water re-lifted from the Little Red River, which is pumped into a system of irrigation canals. There are no subsurface wells used on their farm for irrigation purposes. Additionally, Red River Farms has on-farm storage capacity of 440,000 bushels, which provides the family with options for marketing their crops.

As Arkansas’ Farm Family of the Year, the Oxners will compete in next year’s Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year program. The competition is held each October in Moultrie, Ga.

The Oxners also maintain five tractor trailer trucks to haul grain, gravel and fertilizer, as well as offer custom-hauling for others, supplementing their farm income. Michael and Sarah each earned graduate degrees, and are both active in a number of community and state organizations. The couple donated land for a house built by Habitat for Humanity of White County.

The Farm Family of the Year program, now in its 65th year, begins with selection of the top farm family in each county. Then, eight district Farm Families of the Year are selected. The process concludes with the selection of the state Farm Family of the Year. The competition is judged on production, efficiency and management of farm operations, family life and rural/community leadership and values.

Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas are proud to partner with Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Press Association, AgHeritage FCS, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas, and Farm Credit MidSouth as primary sponsors of the annual recognition program. Additional program support is provided by the Arkansas Department of Career Education; the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service; and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Rural Development.

Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year

2010 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year Michael & Sarah Oxner Click here for more information on the Oxner family.

The 2010 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year, Michael and Sarah Oxner, have been selected as the 2011 Arkansas entry for the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. Oxner now joins eight other state winners in the Southeast as finalists for the award. The overall winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga.

Swisher International, through its Swisher Sweets cigar brand, and the Sunbelt Expo are sponsoring the Southeastern Farmer of the Year awards for the 22nd consecutive year. Swisher has contributed some $844,000 in cash awards and other honors to southeastern farmers since the award was initiated in 1990.  Oxner is the fifth state winner f rom Arkansas. The award was opened to Arkansas farmers for competition during 2007, and the state winner that year was Michael G. Simon of Conway. Other Arkansas winners include Brian Kirksey of Amity who was selected as the overall winner in 2008, Orelan Johnson of England who was state winner in 2009 and Bill Haak who was state winner in 2010.

Click here for more information on the Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year.

Recipes and Notes by Sarah Oxner

Sundried Tomato and Rice Quiche

This was a recipe shared with us by our dear friend Ruth Williams (whose family (The Howarth and Ella Taylor Family of Hickory Ridge) won the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year in 1969.  She suggested we make it for the breakfast reception we held for the Arkansas Farm Family judges. (Ruth won the overall Arkansas State Fair Rice Competition in 2010 with this recipe.) It is now an Oxner Favorite!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage (mild or hot)
• 1 can Crescent rolls
• 2 cups rice (brown or white)
• 1 cup milk 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 slices sundried tomatoes

Directions:

Cook sausage until well done.. Drain grease and set aside. In another bowl, combine rice, milk, eggs, and cheeses and whisk well and set aside. Place Crescents in a 9x13 ungreased pan and pinch seams and push them up on sides of pan at least half way. Sprinkle sausage on dough. Pour evenly milk, egg, rice and cheese mixture and sprinkle with cut sundried tomatoes. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Serves 6-8 lg servings

Wild Rice and Potato Soup

Another Oxner Favorite shared with our family several years ago by our friend, Diane Killough.

Ingredients:

• 1 box (6 oz) Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice (2 boxes can be used to make it heartier)
• 1 small onion
• 2 pats of butter
• 1 pound bacon
• 1/2 pound Velveeta cheese
• 4 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
• 2 cans (10 ¾ oz) cream of potato soup
• 1/2 cup half and half

Directions:

Cook the rice according to directions on the box. Chop onion and then sauté in butter. Cook the bacon in the microwave on high for 4-5 minutes (you want the bacon to be crispy). Crumble the bacon into small pieces after it has cooled. Cut the Velveeta into chunks of cheese. Pour the chicken broth, potato soup, and half and half into a large crock-pot. Add the rice, bacon and cheese to the soup mixture. The temperature on the crock-pot should be on high. Cook for 1 hour on high, stirring continually throughout the cooking until cheese is thoroughly melted and soup has reached its’ desired temperature.

• Serves: 6

The Oxner Chicken and Rice

This was my mom’s recipe and one of my favorite dishes growing up. It was the first meal I ever cooked for Michael when we were dating. He was impressed (he says later) that I could cook with rice! Little did he know, I cooked rice for that very reason!

Ingredients:

• 10 pieces of chicken with skin (of course dark meat tastes best)
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper A sprinkle of paprika
• 1 stick of margarine
• 1 cup rice
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup green bell pepper
• 1 16 oz can chicken broth

Directions:

Mix flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a large zip-lock bag and shake well. Melt stick of margarine and pour in 9x13 baking dish. Place the chicken in the bag and shake to coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Place coated chicken in the butter and put in oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turn the chicken over and place back in oven for another 15-20 minutes. Carefully remove the hot chicken f rom the dish. Sprinkle the rice in the bottom of the dish on the remaining margarine. Sprinkle onion and bell pepper. Sprinkle dish with salt and pepper. Pour chicken broth over rice and place chicken back on top. Bake for 45 min to an hour on 350 degrees.

Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake

This was our family favorite growing up and is still one today.  This was a cake my mother taught me to make when I was very young.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups un-sifted plain flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks margarine
• 3 Tablespoons (rounded) cocoa
• 1 cup coke
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

Combine flour and sugar..  Heat butter, cocoa and coke until boiling and pour over the flour and sugar mixture.  Mix thoroughly.  Add buttermilk, eggs, soda, salt, vanilla and marshmallows.  Mix well.  Pour in greased cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Ice this cake while hot!

Icing:

• 1 stick of margarine (1/2 cup)
• 3 Tablespoons (rounded) cocoa
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 6 Tablespoons Coke
• 1 cup toasted chopped pecans (much better when toasted)

Combine butter, cocoa, and coke in a pan and heat to boiling.  Pour mixture over powdered sugar and mix well.  Add nuts and spread on cake.

Strawberry Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry JELLO
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 3 TBLSP flour
• 1 cup veg oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sweetened strawberries (juice and all) frozen works too!

Directions:

Dissolve the JELLO in the 1/2 cup water.  Use a mixer and mix the cake mix and all ingredients..  Beat until smooth and pour into a greased cake pan.  Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Strawberry Cake Icing:

• 2/3 stick margarine
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 box powdered sugar
• Combine and beat all ingredients and spread on cake. 
• Orange Juice Cake

Combine and beat all ingredients and spread on cake.

This is a favorite introduced by my aunt, Joyce Owens of Kansas City, Mo. Since moving to Searcy, it has been the recipe I have been asked to share more than any other.  It is very easy!

Orange Juice Cake:

This is a favorite introduced by my aunt, Joyce Owens of Kansas City, Mo. Since moving to Searcy, it has been the recipe I have been asked to share more than any other.  It is very easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 box Butter Recipe cake mix
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 box instant vanilla pudding (small box)
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs

Directions:

Mix all ingredients with a mixer and pour into a greased Bundt pan.  Cook at 325 degrees for 45-50 min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let it cool in the pan.