October 30, 2013
Hugh Campbell is looking at a strong rice crop — possibly the best average yields on big acres that he’s ever had.
Hugh, brother Larry Campbell, and Paul Harrison, partners in Campbell Brothers Farms, Clarksdale, Miss., planted approximately 3,000 acres of rice in 2013 — all hybrids: Clearfield 723, 729, and 745. “I think we’ve got an above-average crop and I’m really pleased so far with yields around 200,” says Hugh.
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Danny Campbell, Hugh’s son, echoes his father: “It’s been a good year for our rice and it’s hard to know why, but we planted early in May and ended up with a little over 3,000 acres. We always rotate and next year most of this rice acreage will be in beans.”
(For related, see No levees, no diesel: How one Arkansas farmer grows rice)
Hugh’s roots go deep in agriculture: “Larry and I started farm managing for C.P. Owens in Tunica when we were about 18 years old and did it for 15 years. He was a big farmer and really taught us a lot about how to work big acreage and how to work labor, and I really enjoyed working for him.”
Campbell Brothers Farms cultivates approximately 8,000 acres and works land in Quitman, Bolivar, Tallahatchie, and Coahoma counties. “We were raised on a farm and we chopped cotton as boys and picked cotton with sacks. I can’t imagine doing anything else. I once worked at a John Deere dealership as a welder and mechanic for two years. Larry and I both had full-time jobs in 1986 and farmed 1,000 acres on the side. In 1987, we went full-time into farming with 3,000 acres and I was so grateful to get back on the land. Farming is just something inside us.”
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For more, see
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