Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Helms Family Named County's Top Farmers

This year's Clark County Farm Family of the Year is Joe and Chandra Helms.

The Helms family lives southwest of Arkadelphia, and runs a dairy operation.

The family has a total of 2,140 acres in its operation, with 1,200 acres of cropland, 390 acres of woodland, 1,050 cultivated acres and 400 acres of pastureland.

Joe Dean Helms, who prefers going by Jody, grew up on a farm and has more than 10 years experience with cattle and crops.

He served as president and treasurer of what was the Sunshine 4H Club, and won the Arkansas State Soybean Project Competition as a senior in high school.

Following high school, he attended Quapaw Technical College and learned mechanics. His main area of work currently is in the dairy part of the operation.

The Helms' raise soybeans, corn and hay on their cultivated acreage.

They have 725 acres planted in soybeans using conventional no-till and stale seed bed. All beans are planted in 18-inch rows and are never plowed. Lime and fertilizer are applied according to Cooperative Extension Service soil test recommendations.

Roundup-Ready technology and conventional weed control are used in the fight against weeds. The beans are harvested with one combine with a flex-header.

The second crop, corn, covers 325 acres. They use a no till and minimum till method on their corn crop.

Again, weeds are controlled using conventional herbicides, with lime and fertilizer applied according to soil test needs.

The corn is used to feed the dairy cattle. Forth to 50 acres are chopped as silage, with the rest shelled as high moisture grain.

The Helms family has 150 acres planted in hay. The meadows are used to produce hay silage and hay. Each year 350 tons of hay silage and 12,000 square bales of hay are produced.

Each meadow is sprayed with Roundup before the grass begins to put out to kill winter weeds.

The Helms' use coastal Bermuda grass and Tifton 44 Bermuda grass.

Their dairy operation utilizes a commercial heard of Holstein cattle for milk production.

All dairy animals are artificially inseminated, with heifers kept as replacements.

The Helms family mostly uses home grown feed for their livestock.

Milkcows receive a total mixed ration of corn silage, bermuda hay silage, rolled corn, cottonseed, soybean meal and vitamins and minerals.

The average mature cow produces 15,500 to 16,000 pounds of milk per lactation.

All manure and wastewater from the dairy barn and feeding facilities go through solids separators with the liquid going to a holding pond.

This wastewater is then used to flush the feeding facilities and wash the manure away. It is also applied to pastures with a 1/4 mile traveling irrigation gun.

The beef cattle on the ranch are crossbred replacement heifers. These heifers are bought as 500 to 700 pound calves. They are bred and sold later.

The family has four pastures. They are a mixture of common and hybrid bermuda grass. The fertility of the soil is maintained through periodic testing, with lime and fertilizer applied according to recommendations.

The soybean crops are marketed through forward contracting, farm storage or at harvest. The milk goes to Dairy Partners of America, a nationwide milk marketing group, wile the beef heifers go through a broker or private treaty.

The Helms' use computer record keeping methods to track the breeding and calving dates for the dairy cattle.

In addition a computerized financial management program is used to help with tax preparation and farm management.

The family has 90 acres of pine seedlings planted after timber harvest. Another 400 acres of timberland is maintained for wildlife habitat and timber production.

Used oil is stored in a tank to be picked up and recycled.

The family has constructed more than 1.5 miles of terraces for soil conservation purposes. More than 200 acres of hybrid bermuda has been established to help conserve the soil and provide grass for cattle.

A solids separator, holding pond and irrigation system were constructed to catch all animal waste and protect the farm's water quality.

An electric fence surrounds the waste pond to keep milk cows out during the hot weather.

A free-heater is used to help supply the hot water needed for the dairy operation. As the milk cooler cools the milk, the heat is taken from the cooling coils to help heat the water and save energy.

The family believes in having three well balanced meals daily to maintain good health. The meals are prepared using home-grown, fresh or canned vegetables when available. The family also uses some of the beef cattle for their own use, and none in the family smoke.

The Helms' have a big garden each year, freezing and canning as many fruits and vegetables as possible, when weather allows the goods to produce.

To help save money, they watch for clothing sales.

They also recycle newspapers, aluminum and scrap metal.

Jody and Clarice are members of the Baring Cross Baptist Church, with Clarice also being a member of the Extension Homemakers for 50 years.