Smith Family Farms in Oklahoma: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Smith Family Farms of Elk City, Oklahoma has farmed in Beckham County since 1913 and received the 2022 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award. The family grows about 2,200 acres of cotton and 200 acres of rye, and has used rye as a cover crop since 1998.
| Location | Elk City, Beckham County, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1913, when the family bought the original 300 acres |
| Sectors | cotton; rye cover crop and seed; beef cattle; equipment manufacturing |
| Scale | about 2,200 acres of cotton, 200 acres of rye, 40 beef cattle (as published) |
| Why it is elite | 2022 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award, presented February 27, 2023 |
| Ownership | Family: Jimmy and Cathy Smith with Spencer and Calli |
| Official website | Drovers article on the Leopold Conservation Award |
History of Smith Family Farms
Jimmy Smith's great-grandparents, Edmond and Martha, bought the original 300 acres in 1913 to grow cotton and raise cattle. The farm survived the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, and Jimmy later came home from college to farm with his father and grandfather.
The family moved from moldboard plowing to herbicide termination of cover crops and has farmed no-till across its cotton acres since 2010. It received the 2022 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award, presented on February 27, 2023.
What Smith Family Farms Grows and Raises
The farm grows cotton on about 2,200 acres and rye on 200 acres. Part of the rye grazes the family's 40 beef cattle and the rest produces seed for cover crops.
Practices include nutrient management plans, fencing riparian areas from cattle, upgraded wildlife watering facilities and precision application to reduce drift. The family hosts field days for other producers.
How Smith Family Farms Makes Money
Cotton
Cotton on about 2,200 acres is the main crop and the base of the farm's income. The family does not publish revenue figures.
Cover crop seed and grazing
Rye grown on 200 acres both grazes cattle and produces seed for cover crops, giving one crop two uses.
Equipment business
The family started 4 AG MFG, which makes wheels for no-till planters and air seeders, turning a farm need into a separate business.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Smith Family Farms
Give a conservation crop a second job. Rye protects soil, grazes cattle and produces seed, so the practice pays beyond erosion control.
Solve your own equipment problem. The Smiths' wheel-making business grew from no-till planting needs, a model for farms that see a gap in the market through their own work.
Cotton, rye, cattle and a wheel factory on the side: the Smiths make one family look like a full economy, which is catnip for farm satire. At farm.FM we gather farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and Elk City supplies material about cover crops so well managed they could run for county commissioner. The tone stays warm, since this family has been showing neighbors how it is done.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact Smith Family Farms
No official farm website was found. This is a news article about the award; no address, phone or email is published there.
Smith Family Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Drovers: Smith Family Farms - award coverage and farm profile
- Morning Ag Clips - second report on the award
- Oklahoma Conservation Commission - state agency coverage of conservation district awards
- USDA Farmers.gov - NRCS and FSA program information
- USDA NASS Oklahoma Census highlights - state farm and land figures from the 2022 Census of Agriculture
Smith Family Farms FAQ
Where is Smith Family Farms?
In Elk City, Beckham County, in western Oklahoma.
What does the farm grow?
Cotton on about 2,200 acres and rye on 200 acres, plus 40 beef cattle.
Why is it elite?
It won the 2022 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award and has farmed since 1913.
How can I contact it?
No farm website was found. Start with the Drovers article or the Beckham County conservation district.
Smith Family Farms is a clear example of conservation that pays its own way. For the context behind Smith Family Farms, read the state guide to Oklahoma farms.