Age: 8
Hometown: St. Vincent, Ark.
Parents: Keith and Pamela Hawkins
Siblings: Nathaniel, Tess, Logan, Layton and Augustus
What is your involvement in agriculture?
“I spend most of my time helping my parents with everything around the farm. Since we grow chickens for Tyson, my parents have me doing jobs there a lot. Usually, I walk through our six chicken houses and pick up dead birds. Most days, I feed the cows and bulls. We have around 33 head of black Angus cattle. My siblings and I get to feed and help take care the two horses that we have around the land, too. Seeing the horses is the best part about my day.”
What is your favorite part about being involved in agriculture/living on a farm?
“My favorite thing is the horses. When I wake up in the morning, I look forward to going outside and seeing them. I love taking care of them, plus it is fun to get to ride them. We usually get to take them out for trips pretty often, and it is always a blast.”
What are your future plans?
“I plan to have a lot of chicken houses when I grow up. I may even have more than my parents, but if I do, I will need a lot of help taking care of everything. I think having tons of cattle would also be very nice, especially since I enjoy helping my parents with feeding and taking care of them. When I am a teenager, though, I really want to work at a feed store. It would be a lot of fun getting to meet new farmers that have different types of farms. Sometimes, the farmers bring their animals to feed stores, so seeing those would be great. If I decided to do something else, though, I would go into architecture because I love building and making new things.”
What’s the best advice about agriculture you have received?
“My dad always says, ‘Do a good job and keep the animals healthy.’ He has been telling me this since I was very young, and I always try to make sure I am following it to my best ability. His advice helps me every single day. I make sure to always pick up every dead chicken I see, and I watch closely when I feed the horses. I know the exact amount of food that the horses need, and I am always on time with their feed.”
