A Greenbrier family tree farm earned Arkansas its first regional award in 34 years

Brad Robbins of Greenbrier was named Southern Regional Tree Farmer of the Year, KATV reported. He said the honor belongs to his family and to Arkansas, and that the state had not had a southern regional winner in 34 years. His father started the farm in 1975. His son, his son's wife, and his granddaughters are part of it now. One granddaughter lives on the farm.

The woods hold trees from about two years old to about 50. Robbins said a written tree-farm plan, with help from the Arkansas Forestry Association and the American Tree Farm System, is how the family keeps the work consistent. Administrator Anna Sparks said certification can make the wood more useful to mills, and that the program also walks landowners through a management plan.