Hometown: Elkins, Ark.
Family: Husband, Jeff; daughter Kinlee and husband Tyler Wolff and two grandchildren, Kasen and Korbin; daughter Kara and husband Corey Paul; daughter Morgan and husband Andy Boecker; and twin sons, Jacob and Jeffrey Marley
In Town: Marsha Marley and her family own and manage Plentywoods Venue, an event venue outside Elkins, Ark.
“We poured concrete on Oct. 14 of last year and had our first wedding, which was our daughter’s, in May, and it wasn’t completely finished. Our next wedding was on Sept.2.” They also had a wedding earlier this month.
In the Country: Marley Family Farms has a 450-head commercial Angus cow/calf operation near Elkins, Ark., and 10 poultry houses under contract with Tyson. In all, the farm takes up a little over 3,000 acres.
Marsha and her husband of 40 years, Jeff Marley, have five children. Except for their oldest daughter, all the children live on the farm. Daughter Kara works for Simmons Foods; daughter Morgan returned to the farm in December from Ohio and works for Certified Angus Beef; and twins Jacob and Jefferey work on the farm full time.
The Angus herd originated from the same South Dakota operation where two of her children worked and replaced the family’s mixed commercial herd. “They are very docile, which is important to me, and they also have good genetics and carcass qualities,” Marsha said of the Angus herd.
Marley Family Farms is wrapping up calving season after switching the herd from spring to fall calving. “We got hit with that cold spell in 2021, and the kids were out all night, every night, checking cows,” Marsha said. “We changed it to fall and are adjusting to it.”
The poultry barns houses broilers or Cornish hens. When they place the Cornish, there are about 36,000 per house, and with broilers, they place about 25,000.
Marsha is active in all areas of the farm, including taking care of paperwork, caring for the cows and calves, and working in the poultry barns, the hayfields and anywhere else she is needed. She also feeds the whole crew. “Almost everyone eats here every night, so while they might be out checking cows, I’m making a meal,” Marsha said, adding she feels “truly blessed” she can share a meal almost daily with her children.
Future Plans: “We built the venue as a way to diversify income,” Marsha said. “I would like to focus on it and draw more attention to it.”
