Meet Riceland Members Scott and Karie Gibson, owners of Verdant farms in Craighead County. They have built a life around family and farming, while staying involved in the community with hopes to inspire the younger generation to get into agriculture.  

Karie says she married into farming and had to adjust to late nights, mentioning how her and Scott’s dates would sometimes start at 8 p.m. Once they had children, they would often stay up until around 10 to see their father, Scott, after he finished his work for the day. This was the norm for their family. Karie says it works well for them, modifying and adjusting from spending more time together in the winter to sometimes only 30 minutes a day together during planting season.

Scott is a third-generation farmer, though his family eventually shifted careers and began renting out their farm. Scott started helping on his brother-in-law’s farm at age 14. He went to Arkansas State University and earned a degree in Human Resource Management, which he says, “he still laughs at to this day.” He also earned an MBA and realized during graduate school that the farm was where he wanted to be.

When his brother-in-law decided to retire, Scott was offered the chance to buy him out and began farming his land. Today, Scott farms about 3,000 acres, including rice, soybeans, and corn. He says seed technology is one of the biggest advancements in farming.

Karie mentions that the friendships and connections they’ve made over the years with other farming families have enriched their experience in agriculture. These relationships have helped them through tough times, sharing both good and bad stories from the farm.

Scott says that to this day, the smell of a butane tractor takes him back to riding tractors with his dad when he was five or six years old.

Karie and Scott love seeing the younger generation interested in agriculture and hope to inspire more young people to get involved by educating them about how to get started. Karie wants young people interested in farming to realize there are many ways to be involved in agriculture beyond just being a farmer—because the job opportunities are endless.

Karie has been a part of the Farm Bureau Women’s Committee for 24 years, where their goal is to provide resources to the community and bring agriculture into the classroom through various activities.

Scott also enjoys being involved as a county board member for Craighead County Farm Bureau.  He mentions that raising his three daughters is his “most important crop” and says that being both a farmer and a father has taught him how to manage his time wisely.

Scott is not naive to the fact that there will always be challenges in his operation, and he recognizes that support staff are just as essential to the success of the farm. “Not only do we need young farmers coming in, but we need trade school individuals just as much,” he says.

We thank Scott and Karie for their dedication to agriculture, commitment to the community, and efforts to inspire the next generation. They remind us that farming is more than a profession, but a way to strengthen families, foster friendships, and grow communities.