The Marley family are thinking outside the box to diversify their operation
ELKINS, ARK. – “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
Henry Ford’s quote describes the Marley family well. In a world full of opportunities life has often pulled them in different directions, but there has been one constant that pulls them all together – family.
Jeff and Marsha Marley raised their five children in Elkins, Arkansas, on the farm where Jeff was born and raised, after meeting as college students at the University of Arkansas.
The Marley’s knew they wanted to create a place for their children to come back to. They poured their hearts into their operation not only for their sake, but to leave an open path for their children to return home.
“Dad knew that if all of his kids were going to come back, he would have to implement some other asset or business to bring profit in,” Jacob Marley, Jeff and Marsha’s son, said.
Joe and Hilda Marley, Jeff’s parents, moved to Elkins from Van Buren, Arkansas in the mid 1950’s and began a poultry operation on a 250-acre farm. Through the years the land and operation have expanded. They now own around 3,500 acres and are in cattle operations, as well as the most recent opening of a venue.
Each generation of Marleys are bringing something new to the operation. Joe started the poultry houses, Jeff began focusing on the cattle operation, and Jeff’s children are helping with the startup of the venue.
The venue in which they named Plentywoods became an idea after their daughter Kara got married on their farm in 2020. The first wedding they hosted after the venue was built was their other daughter Morgan’s in May of 2023.
The venue allowed Marsha the opportunity to show case her hospitality, gave the family another opportunity to work together, and Jeff the enjoyment of seeing another generation of his family to continue to love on this land.
“There really wasn’t any hesitation from anybody to build the venue,” Jacob said, “but my dad knew it would be the perfect addition to the operation,”
It was a solid decision and proved to be a way to diversify and open opportunities.
Having a place to host has also allowed them a way to give back and engage with their community. The Marleys have hosted proms and other various community events including a special Easter sunrise service, which has become a family and community tradition.
Marsha is a natural born host, still cooking for her kids and whoever else may show up every night of the week. Her passion for the venue was the kitchen so she could have a nice place to host the most important guests, her family.
“From the very start my mom said, ‘Even if we never actually have weddings or anything we will have a really nice place to have family gatherings’,” Jacob said.
She is the “glue of it all,” according to Jacob.
Jacob described his father Jeff as family oriented and business minded. Jeff pivoted his entire operation and ventured into a new industry to be able to support his children if they want to fully return to the farm.
“The venue has brought our family closer together, and at the end of the day that is why we did it,” Jacob said.
Schyler Angell, Jacob’s fiancé, shared her perspective of how unique the Marley family is from the outside looking in.
“Because of the involvement from each sibling and them all having the desire to come back, the way they have diversified their operation is what makes it so unique,” Angell said.
Jeffrey and Jacob contribute to the cattle operation full time with about 450 head of black angus. They even put up all their own hay for feeding.
“We will bale around 550 acres and we cut those two or three times a year. That is basically how we do all our feeding is grass hay,” Jacob said.
The operation requires a tremendous amount of labor, coordination, and dedication. Jeff and Marsha couldn’t maintain their operation without the help of their children.
All five children ventured out and gained new experiences, but have since returned near Elkins, each now play a vital role in the operation—just as Jeff and Marsha had always hoped and planned.
From Raising cattle, maintain poultry, or hosting a wedding — what matters most to the Marleys isn’t what they do, but that they do it together.
