Farm Progress

Farming on the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge

Elton Robinson 1, Editor

June 5, 2014

5 Slides

Jonathan and Bob Driver are starting to get the feeling they’re no longer welcome on federal land their family has farmed for four generations. But the Drivers, who farm near Turrell, Ark., are not going away easy.

The Driver family has farmed inside the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge for over a half a century under cooperative farming agreements with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its predecessors. In recent years, however, FWS has progressively reduced the Drivers’ refuge acreage. In addition, the Drivers, along with many others who farm federal lands to benefit wildlife, have had to deal with increasing restrictions on federally-owned land leased to them for farming, including not allowing the planting of genetically-engineered crops.

About the Author(s)

Elton Robinson 1

Editor, Delta Farm Press

Elton joined Delta Farm Press in March 1993, and was named editor of the publication in July 1997. He writes about agriculture-related issues for cotton, corn, soybean, rice and wheat producers in west Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and southeast Missouri. Elton worked as editor of a weekly community newspaper and wrote for a monthly cotton magazine prior to Delta Farm Press. Elton and his wife, Stephony, live in Atoka, Tenn., 30 miles north of Memphis. They have three grown sons, Ryan Robinson, Nick Gatlin and Will Gatlin.

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