Farm Family Salute

2022 Farm Family Salute 20 June 2022 CONGRATULATIONS WHORTON FAMILY! Congratulations Whorton Family! Washington County Farm Family of the Year By Randy Rice The father and son team of Tim and Tyler Whorton earned the honor this year of being named Washington County's Farm Family of the Year. They currently work 2,000 acres west of Fayetteville in the town of Lincoln. One hundred of the acres are owned by the Whortons, the rest are rented. A mixed hay crop covers 1,500 acres of the farm. "We can make up to five bales per acre," Tyler began. "If you figure it by tonnage per acre, first cuttings might yield 6,000 to 7,000 pounds per acre of hay bales that weigh 850 to 1,000 lbs." The Whortons also have 100 head of commercial and registered cattle. "We are Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified," Tyler said. "BQA does more than just help beef producers capture more value from their market. When producers implement the best manage- ment practices of a BQA program, they assure their market steers, heifers, cows and bulls are the very best they can be." The Whorton Farm has been around for 36 years. Today, Tyler is quick to say that he owes everything to his father, Tim. "Primarily, my dad, he's the man," Tyler said. "He's the go-to, we wouldn't be where we are today without him. He is still the president of the corporation. Just his integrity and his work ethic—man, he can work circles around you. That's just the way he is. He'll do anything for me and my wife and his grandkids. He puts in more hours and more time than all of us combined and with without him we just couldn't do it." And Tim learned all about farming from his father, Tyler's grandfather, Basil. "My dad, Basil Whorton, was a hard- working man," Tim noted. "He worked for Phillips and Food for Less for 28 years and then when he retired we moved up to this farm. I started working with him. We always enjoyed getting the pasture ready, getting weeds out of pastures and clearing the brush. We had a lot of timber and over the years we cleared much of the timber out ourselves. We started at sun-up and worked until the sun went down. Back then we had breeder hens and we had cattle, too." Tim loves the life, and even in the basic chores he finds joy and satisfac- tion. "My wife will tell you I'm happiest when I get home at night and I get on the four-wheeler and I go to the cows," Tim said. "I know that won't make sense to anybody else but that's my safe place, I guess. I just like being in the pasture where the cows are. "I enjoy cutting hay, I even enjoy mowing the yard." Tyler says. "I'm sick but I was raised where we just worked. I've always enjoyed working whether mowing hay or mowing your yard, when you get done you look back what you did and that means a lot to me." And as you might imagine, that love of farm life has been passed on to Tyler. "Growing up in the farm industry was great as a young man because, number one, my dad and my grandpa did it and I was able to work alongside them," Tyler said. "When we worked, we were all together. Even today, me and my dad still work together. It's just a family affair." And Tyler's children, the next Whor- ton generation, are already getting into the day-to-day of the family business. "Both my kids show cattle," Tyler said. "My oldest, Mayberry, is nine and she drives the tractor. And Maisy is five and basically, she's with us all day for cutting hay. She just wants to be where we are." Tim's advice to young people starting Washington County: Whorton Family Farm

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