Just outside of Stuttgart, Ark., you’ll find JAM Farms, operated by Jordan Maier and his wife, Ashley. Maier, a fourth-generation farmer, began farming 15 years ago on 300-acres his first season. Now he is farms rice, corn and soybeans on about 2,600 acres.

“I like the day-to-day work with farming; you’re never doing the same thing twice,” he said. “I like to work outside, working with my hands and just loving to watch stuff grow. When you farm, you can start to see the fruits of your labor all year long. How the plants turn out, I like the aspect of it.”

Maier enjoys the variety of challenges he faces on the farm each year.

“Every year I try to see how good of a yield I can make and how productive we can be. No two years are the same,” he said. “One year, it can go your way and be great. The next year, Mother Nature can get in the way, and that can make it tough sometimes.”

He said Riceland serves a great cooperative to take his rice and soybeans. For Maier, the cooperative is conveniently located to his operation. He believes sustainability and technology will be large influences on the farms of the future.

“I think moving forward producers will have to farm more land and be more efficient with the cost of everything involved. I think the days of somebody farming 500 acres on a small, little farm are kind of gone, and so we kind of have to change and diversify to stay with the times.”

Following on the heels of his father and grandfather, Maier said he is always looking for opportunities to learn and grow.

“I’m big on work ethic. I think a person willing to work hard no matter what they're doing, farming or anything. If you work hard, you'll do well,” he said. “I take a lot of advice, and I do a lot of looking just going up and down the road. I'm just trying to learn on a daily basis.”

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