Kevin and Pamela Fisher

Kevin and Pamela Fisher may have farmed their entire lives, but only Pamelawas ever named Miss Arkansas Rice. Though Kevin thinks bringing up the title may get him in trouble, he can’t help but brag about his wife. “She is very knowledgeable,” he says, “she [toured] the state giving talks on rice and promoting it.”

Titles aside, the Fishers have a rich heritage in rice farming. They both come from rice farming families and have worked with Pamela’s father in the Forrwin FarmsPartnership since 2008. They find fulfillment in overcoming the challenges that farming presents and they both say that working in the openness of the outdoors is one of the best parts of what they do.

Kevin and Pamela also express a lot of excitement for the future of farming. Pamela refers to the self-driving tractors that they remotely operate as being like a video game. Kevin looks to satellite imagery as a significant technology for the industry's future. He believes developments with the technology are “going to help change the next 20 years of farming.”

Even with their self-driving tractors and the rise of other agricultural technologies, there is no offseason for the Fisher family. “Things just change,” says Kevin. “It goes from manual labor to just pen and pencil,” Pamela adds. Kevin and Pamela work year-round to ensure high-quality crops each harvest. The Fisher family has plenty to keep them busy, but they still manage to carve out time to visit relatives, go for family rides in their fields, and share meals with their friends.