When sixth‑generation farmer Brant Burkett started his operation in Woodruff County, Arkansas, he wasn’t sure where it would lead. He launched Brant Burkett Farms with around 1,100 acres, much of it difficult ground that challenged producers in the area for years. Today, his operation spans roughly 6,000 acres, and the partnership he built with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) not only transformed his farmland, but much of the surrounding community.

     “I grew up doing this since I could walk,” Brant said. “I’ve loved it my whole life.”

     Brant worked on his family farm for most of his childhood, but after his father stopped farming in 2006, the road back to farming came about unexpectedly. In 2016, a local farmer and longtime customer from Brant’s years of selling John Deere equipment, entrusted his farming land to Brant to help the young producer get started. With encouragement from his uncle, cousin, and parents, Brant took the opportunity and began building a new operation close to where generations of his family once farmed.

     Although Brant grew up farming, he faced the same challenges many beginning farmers encounter, such as managing costs and taking raw land and turning it into productive farmland. He inherited difficult land that was uneven, poor‑draining, inefficient to irrigate, and hard to manage. For several years, Brant balanced farming his early acreage with working his off‑farm job, but he knew that he would need some help. He first connected with NRCS seven years ago and laughs when he thinks about how it began.

     “I’ll be honest, I just kept hearing about money they were giving out,” he said. “I didn’t care what program it was. I just needed some assistance.”

     Brant quickly realized, however, NRCS offered far more than financial help.

     “I got approved for cover crops through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and did exactly what I was supposed to the first year. The next year, I planted more because I saw the benefits,” he said. “Once I started understanding how the programs work, everything changed. I’ve been blessed with the people (at our local field service center).”

     The benefits Brant saw were conservation practices at work. Through multiple Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) contracts, Brant implemented irrigation water management, land leveling, water control structures, tailwater recover systems, and successfully reduced polypipe usage, improving water efficiency on the farmland he rents. Before implementing these practices, irrigating one field took a full week, Brant expressed. After leveling and installing water‑management structures, he could irrigate the same field in 36 hours. 

     “It’s crazy that what saves you money also saves you additional money from not wasting the resources we need to live,” Brant said. “MRBI saved me time and labor too. I farm double the acres now with the same number of people. Less water wasted, less labor, and less polypipe piled up on the edges of the fields.”

     Brant hopes to expand his tailwater systems to his other farms and continue strengthening his soil and water management. He’s exploring additional revenue sources such as growing peanuts, growing grasses to bail and sell, and establishing duck‑hunting leases.

     All his hard work caught the attention of his community. In 2025, he and his family earned the title of the Arkansas Farm Family of the Year for Woodruff County. Woodruff County District Conservationist Nathan Wood spoke on Brant being deserving of this honorable recognition.

     “Brant holds several contracts in this county,” Nathan explained. “He comes up with the ideas and we all work together. And everything's come out positive. We've not had one failure through the whole ordeal.”

     “It all comes down to the communication, and there’s no lack of communication here,” Soil Conservation Technician Jimmy Flanagin adds. “There can be a lot of gray areas in business, but we don’t see that here between (Brant and us).”

     Nathan and Jimmy added that Brant brings positive energy to every conversation and makes it easy to work with him. Through this collaboration with NRCS, Brant managed to transform challenging farmland into a productive operation that the whole community could appreciate.

     “When I (started farming) here 13 years ago, I didn’t know many people here,” Brant said. “But I told myself I wanted to make a change in this county. Now when I drive down Highway 64, I can see what I’ve done and it’s very gratifying. If it wasn’t for NRCS, I don’t know if I’d still be farming. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”