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See the print or e-Edition of the July 5 Herald for special congratulatory advertisements for the 2023 Farm Family of the Year.
CLEVELAND COUNTY FARM FAMILY OF THE YEAR - Jason and Debbie Young of Rye, along with their children Slade and Winnie, are the 2023 Cleveland County Farm Family of the Year. The Youngs operate eight broiler houses for Tyson and maintain more than 200 acres that includes pasture and hay fields to maintain what is currently 55 head of mixed breed cattle.
FAMILY TRADITION - Jason Young (right) poses for a photo next to his father, Phillip Young (right), after Jason decided to build four broiler houses for Tyson next to his father’s four broiler houses along Harrelson Road in the Rye community. Phillip Young, who also worked with cattle like Jason, was the 2005 Farm Family of the Year. While his father encouraged him to spend some time in the business world first, Jason ultimately followed his heart and officially became a poultry farmer in 2013.
SILAGE BALES - One of the pieces of equipment that Jason picked up from his father, Phillip Young, was a silage wrapping machine. The machine wraps the bale in a plastic cover that protects its from the rain but at the same encourages the grasses inside to begin breaking down faster that produces a more nutrient forage for the cattle. Jason said he usually lets his silage bales sit for about three months before feeding them to his cattle.
HERD PRODUCTION - Winnie joins her dad, Jason, is checking out one of the three pure-bred bulls used for the cow-calf operation. While they are still very young, Jason and Debbie said the kids like to help out on the farm when they can, noting that they especially like to help feed the cows and Slade likes to join in any time a tractor is involved.
MOVING ABOUT ON THE FARM - With eight poultry houses and more than 200 acres of pasture to oversee, the Youngs rely on their side-by-side to get around. While both children do certain things on the farm to help out where they can, Debbie says Slade especially likes anything involving the side-by-side or tractors.
BROILER HOUSES - This shot shows the four 50x500 broiler houses that Jason built in 2012 under a contract with Tyson. He received his first flock of chickens in March 2013. Jason also bought the four 40x500 broiler houses that previously belonged to his father, Phillip Young. Those houses are located adjacent to these houses, and Jason said it is his intention to continue to operate it as Phillip Young farm in honor of his late father.
CALF CATCHER - One of the newest additions to the Young Farm is this calf catcher that allows Jason and Debbie some safety and protection from the mother cow as they tend to calves out in the field.
CALF CATCHER - One of the newest additions to the Young Farm is this calf catcher that allows Jason and Debbie some safety and protection from the mother cow as they tend to calves out in the field.
CONTROL ROOM - Poultry farming has come a long way since the early days of simply keeping chickens inside a poultry house. Jason shows one of the control rooms that monitors the inside environment of every poultry house on the farm. Should there ever be a problem, Jason said the equipment will send him an alert via his cell phone to let him take action to correct the problem as soon as possible.
MAINTENANCE SHOP - One of the newer additions to the Young Farm is this two-bay shop that Jason built just across Harrellson Road from the eight broiler houses. The shop is used to make repairs and perform maintenance on the equipment used on the farm as well as provide shelter for some of the equipment. Pictured are his round baling machine (background) and his silage wrapping machine (foreground).
HAY STORAGE - The hay that is harvested off the Young Farm is both netted and wrapped for silage. The round bales that are netted are stored under cover in a shed that also provides protection for his tractors and other equipment. Pictured here is an earth scrapper that Jason uses to clean out his eight poultry houses.
COW-CALF HERD - With staff now hired to help take care of many of the day-to-day operations of the Youngs’ eight broiler houses, Jason spends much of his time tending to the 55 head of cows that make up his cow-calf operation. Jason has implemented rotational grazing practices into his operator which requires him to move the herd nearly daily for one paddock to another set up on nearly 200 acres of pasture located on both sides of Harrellson Road in the Rye community.
STORING STUFF - Jason, along with Slade and Winnie, pose next to what was once a composting shed that has been converted into a storage shed for some of the equipment that he uses to work the 231 acres he currently oversees on the farm. Jason admits that he has been blessed with an abundance of equipment to work with, noting that he picked up much of it from his father, Phillip Young.
CLEVELAND COUNTY FARM FAMILY OF THE YEAR - Jason and Debbie Young, along with their children Winnie and Slade, are the 2023 Cleveland County Farm Family of the Year.
RYE - Jason Young said he always knew he wanted to farm from an early age, but when he was getting ready to graduate from college, his father, Phillip Young, the 2005 Cleveland County Farm Family of the Year recipient, advised him to take a different route instead, if only for a while.
"My father insisted that I work a public sector job first," he said. "I didn't realize it at the time, but he wanted that outside experience to help instill an appreciation of farming and operating my own business." Jason followed his father's advice.
After graduating from Woodlawn High School, Young earned a degree in agriculture business from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He worked nine years in various plant management roles for Tyson and other companies before Tyson offered him an opportunity in 2012 to build four broiler houses.
He jumped at the opportunity and construction soon began on a piece of land next door to his father's four broiler houses along Harrelson Road in Rye. By March 2013, he received his first flock of chickens and he hasn't looked back since.
"As a third-generation farmer, this lifestyle has been bred into me," Jason said.
Not only did Jason follow his father and grandfather into the poultry business, he has also carried on the family tradition of being recognized as one of the best in the county. Jason, along with his wife, Debbie, and two children, Slade and Winnie, are the 2023 Cleveland County Farm Family of the Year.
Jason said he always wanted to work side-by-side with his father in the poultry business, but he did not have as much time to do that as he would have liked to.
"The biggest challenge (in farming) came in 2021 when I lost my mentor, my father, much sooner than expected," he said.
Jason said his father had battled prostate cancer since 2009, but was doing well and close to retiring. He said the plans were for him to buy the four broiler houses from ...
