The owners of the Carter-Reaper Farm incorporate their farming lifestyle with a little southern hospitality
Tina and Frank Reaper, owners of Carter-Reaper Farm in Pangburn, Ark., keep busy managing their 200-acre farm, which was previously a horse farm owned by former Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, and an additional 30 acres up the road that belonged to Frank’s parents. They also own and manage multiple businesses.
“Our farm, like our family, is a combination of generations of love, support and education so when it came time to name our farm it had to be a representation of both of our families and their contributions to our lives so we decided to name it Carter-Reaper Farms,” Tina said.
“When we originally bought the farm in 2012, my parents bought the original house and stables with 100 acres and we bought the guesthouse and the adjoining 100 acres with the intent to build our ‘forever’ home. My father, was raised in a tobacco field in Valdosta, Ga., and over the years has grown every crop from tobacco, cotton, corn, milo, squash, okra, cucumbers watermelons and strawberries, and had every animal from cows to pigs, chickens and horses, and so he decided that he and my husband should combine the farms and work the land and animals together.”
Tina and Frank started with cattle and quickly added pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, horses, a couple donkeys and some goats.
“We were growing and processing all our own meats – beef, pork, deer and plenty of eggs,” Tina said. “My father basically ran the whole farm while we lived in town. Then he unexpectedly passed in February of 2014 and we bought out my mother’s half and the house so she could move to town.”
Tina and Frank have the help of their six boys on the farm with worming, spraying, and castrating bull calves. Their 28-year-old son Tyler works at Bryce in Searcy, Ark. He lives in the foreman’s house at the farm and attends to it on his days off, taking care of the cattle, fencing, the other things that need to be done.
“We were in the process of clearing about 25 acres of trees into pasture land, and once completed it created such an amazing view that we couldn’t imagine not sharing it. So We built and designed The Wedding Barn from a pencil draft and strategically located it overlooking a gorgeous pasture and pond and the view of Searcy and Pangburn with every setting sun.
“The second year we added the full renovation of the ‘Stables’ into an additional venue with its own separately gated facility and parking.”
They also own Reaper Physical Therapy Inc., where they provide physical, occupational and speech therapy to all ages.
Tina has big plans for her family’s farm, incorporating all aspects of it.
“My overall goal and dream is to one day grace the cover of Southern Living magazine. My mother was always the epitome of southern hospitality. She was able to take nothing and make something beautiful from meals to furniture. Here at Carter-Reaper farms, we are definitely the true essence of a farmer.
“Our philosophy on the farm, at the barn, in the clinic or at home is simply. Work hard, and do good things. We both have to give thanks and blessings to God for our bountiful talents and endless energy, our respective parents (Lavon and Leah Carter, and Carless and Lola Reaper) for our work ethic and opportunities. My father Lavon Carter, once told me, find something you love to do and figure out how to make it make money and you will feel like you never had to work a day in your life.”
