Tim Higgins

Tim Higgins is a rice and soybean farmer in northern Jackson County. His dad hauled gravel in the early 1970s, and he had a soft spot for farmland near Newport.  

“My dad bought his first farm in 1972,” Higgins said. “He was a trucker by trade … he just got into buying old farms. He kind of liked them, and he actually just kept buying old farms until he got too busy to truck.”

Higgins’ father was a frugal man who “took care of business.” His mother worked at a local factory in Newport for 30 years, then moved to a role at the steel mill until she retired.

Getting Started

The Higgins family farm started out with about 300 acres. His dad traded a bit of work with Roy Runyon, a neighbor.

“He never owned a combine, and he was able to trade a little bit of work with his trailer truck,” Tim said. “He had a grain trailer, and [he and Roy] swapped out. Dad did the hauling, and Roy did the cutting and what have you.”

Back to the Farm

Tim graduated from high school in 1993 and joined the Navy. After working in the Navy for a few years, Tim came home to Jackson County and to the farm.  

“I wasn’t really sure what to do, but I eventually rented a couple of farms and just kind of was working it the same way as my dad, you know,” he said. “In 2000, I rented a couple more farms and decided I probably needed to rig up a combine. So I rigged up an older combine and worked on it myself. Just basically had one truck and one combine. I was just a one-man show, I guess, for maybe three or four years.”

Cooperative Connection

Higgins and his dad eventually went in together as the farm started to grow in size, and they rented a couple of farmers from Roy when he retired. Higgins utilizes Riceland through its Newport and Tuckerman drier locations, and he has about 80,000 bushels of on-farm storage.  

“Even what I store, I go to Riceland with it because it’s just, it’s more simple,” he said. “It just always seems like Riceland was more convenient.”

Higgins said he puts all his rice in the Riceland seasonal pool because he feels he can get a better price than when he markets it himself.  

“I just put it in the pool, and you are guaranteed, you know, your money,” he said. “You know you aren’t going to get the best price, but you’re not going to get the worst either.”

Higgins said being a part of the cooperative creates community connection at the rural drier locations.  

“In a way, [the cooperative] makes you a part of the community. It ties us all together, as far as farmers, and even the guys that work at Riceland. Tuckerman is a little different than a lot of places. Everyone gets out of their trucks and visits, talks as we’re sitting there in line. Just knowing that there is a place to go with what we have, you know, ties us together.”