One farm in Northwest Arkansas is making quite a name for itself by taking proactive steps to reduce its impact on the environment. Triple K Farms is a third generation poultry and beef operation located northeast of Green Forest. This farm was started by B and Mable King in the 1930’s. The farm is still a family operation run by Gerald King and his two sons Bryan and Jerry King. This month Tyson’s announced that Triple K Farms would be receiving one of only three National Environmental Stewardship Awards. The family has won this award on the complex level for the past three years, but is receiving the national award for the first time.
In honor of the achievement, Tyson’s donates $500 to the nonprofit of the winner’s choice. The King family chose the Kings River Watershed Partnership, a group whose mission is to protect the health, purity and economic viability of the Kings River Watershed. “I think that the Kings River Watershed Partnership is a great grassroots group that works hard to protect our local streams and lakes,” Bryan King stated. King, who is serving his first term as an Arkansas state representative, has been an avid supporter of locally based, voluntary protection of our waterways. King implements this belief in his daily life, and has been rewarded with numerous awards and recognition.
The stewardship award is based on an extensive number of qualifications. Evaluators studied the history of each farm, off-farm activities such as agriculture and civic groups, and the implementation of environmental best management practices. The King family has taken many steps to reduce the nutrients and run-off moving from their fields into neighboring waterways. Among their many projects, the family utilizes holding ponds to naturally treat run-off, alum to reduce soluble phosphorus in poultry litter, and bermuda grass in the valleys. Triple K Farms also keeps accurate litter records and on-schedule farm plans and only applies nutrients based on these plans.
The Kings River Watershed Partnership would like to publicly recognize Triple K Farms of Green Forest for receiving the Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award at the 2005 International Poultry Exposition. Triple K Farms is owned by Gerald King and his two sons Bryan and Jerry King. Although this farm is not located in the Kings River Watershed, we believe that their dedication to nutrient management planning and their awareness of environmental impacts can serve as a great example to farms and businesses nation wide.
The Triple K Farms has taken a number of steps that reduces their impact on the environment. They treat their poultry litter with alum, which has been shown to improve bird performance as well as reduce soluble phosphorus runoff. Phosphorus, in runoff water from fields fertilized with poultry litter, is believed to be one of the many factors affecting water quality in Arkansas. Triple K Farms does not stop there. They have also constructed three pond embankments that catch storm water and reduce nutrient runoff. Holding ponds are an extremely useful way to allow runoff from either urban or agricultural lands to be naturally treated before reaching our streams and rivers.