I'm Lauren McCullough and this is Good Roots Roots come along with us to Birdeye Farms where we meet Wit Smith, a young entrepreneur and an organic farmer.

Encouraging new and upcoming farmers can oftentimes be a challenge, but not here.

At Birdeye Farms, where Whit Smith is carving his own path in the industry.

Then get your foot right here and then 321.

Right now looking at balancing act OK. Yeah it's kinda take a little bit to get used to but yeah 321.

Yep.

My name is Whit Smith and then we are at burdock Farms small farm and Bert I, Arkansas.

I AM 16, almost 17.

I started gardening about 12 or 11.

I started getting into like market gardening style, farming when I was about 14.

I grow organically here, which that means for me like no pesticides, no no, not junk, that these chemicals and it's like a holistic approach.

You know you could see how like I leave the grass kind of high just for the insects just to have a place for them to live, which then attributes just the greater ecosystem.

This is part of being organic.

Explain that to me.

Because you want to get as much organic matter into the soil.

Chris healthy of environment in the soil as possible.

So this is sorghum Sudan grass and sun hemp which the sun hits a nitrogen fixer so specific type of bacteria that infects the roots and essentially works with the plant to take nitrogen out of the air and basically put it in the ground to a form that the plants can use.

I do a lot of greens like lettuce and arugula, mixed greens, cucumbers, summer tomatoes, radishes, carrots, all that good stuff.

Honestly he gets up earlier than anybody.

In the whole house, we've got three kids total.

He cares so much he loves what he does and I think when you find what you're meant to do and what you love to do, it's not work.

I mean, it's, you know it's your passion and he's found his passion.

So this is arugula at this insect netting.

To keep off, you know insects and this shake loft just to keep the majority of the heat off just 'cause it's insect netting kind of creates a little greenhouse effect in there.

When did you plant these seeds?

Those look very young.

About a week ago I got directed him.

Yep, and when will they be ready 2 1/2 weeks I must say so wait, why did you choose to grow organically?

I like insects and I like all the little soil, critters and kind of like my way of kind of doing.

Even though it's a small like a small meaningful positive impact on at least my community leaving this land better than I found it.

So what goes into organic?

A lot of work, especially in Arkansas.

We have a lot of insects.

Like I used in signaling an organic pests like like neem oil.

Stuff like that, yeah, but it makes a big difference.

It does make a big difference.

Just a healthier plant like actual healthier vegetable or just from the consist oils.

Healthier 'cause you can think of the soil is like it's like a almost like a mega city of sorts.

Just all the different like the protozoa and bacteria are chair and all that good stuff.

Just working in harmony.

You know each one feet and the other and just keeping it in balance just like a real ecosystem.

And so you know I'm leaving that in place and all of that adds to like the nutrients that the plant is going to get.

Yeah, and so I want the best tasting and best quality produce.

So as far as the business side, it has a bank account.

He's got a charge card and he invested back into the farm.

He's got a fantastic website at spartafarm.com and he's got an online store that you can actually go in and shop.

I mainly just sell through like community supported agriculture so it's essentially like a weekly veggie box like whatever is fresh on the farm.

I have a farmstand which I sell through that too.

If you had one thing.

To tell young farmers or old farmers for that matter, what would you like to?

What would you like to share with them?

So all in the soil?

It's all in the soil, yes.

One thing I love it and it goes deeper than you may think.

Absolutely.

The next time you're passing through, northeast Arkansas stopped by Birdeye Farms and check out what wits got growing.

Look at these gorgeous xenias I found here at the ASU Regional farmers market.

I think that this one right here may be my favorite.

It reminds me of a Peach or Peach sherbet, okra, tomatoes, so many good things from local farmers.

Let's go.

See what we can find.

Tell us a little bit about your season and how things work around here.

Reported the end of the season of the summer season about the transition to a lot of our fall crops.

We start in May.

Every year we go to October on Saturdays.

On Tuesdays we run from June to the end of August.

There's always sending again.

Always something to get flowers, tomatoes, tomatoes in August.

And there wasn't as in April.

If they could get him.

So if anybody has ever had an Arkansas tomato, you want them every month of the year.

If you could have it.

How long have you been here?

We've started this market 15 years ago.

A gentleman named Bob Young and I were kind of put together.

Both of us had to express desires to have farmers markets.

I grew up with my mother dragging me to farmers markets and just love them and always kind of wanted one here in Jonesboro and the history has been.

There's been some here for a little bit and then they would move next month to another location.

We couldn't find him.

And so they never had a permanent location, so we kind of got several other people together very quickly and started this farmers market.

And you have some exciting news coming this fall.

We have.

Received a $2.8 million donation from the Judd Hill Foundation and we're going to have in the current degravelle parking lot right now.

A new building.

It will not be quite this size, but it's an indoor outdoor building, multipurpose building.

We're hoping to break ground soon this fall.

Where do some of your farmers come from?

We say that you can be within the state of Arkansas as long as it is your property.

You're growing it, or if you're 100 miles of Jonesboro, so that's why we have a lot of Peach growers up around.

Campbell, Missouri.

There within that area so we get a lot of good teachers from down through there that is gold that's better than anything you go by the store to say come see us first creatures man I can't wait till middle summers.

You know?

So that fresh Peach is you just bite into yeah juice runs down your mouth yeah best way to eat it that's right.

My bag is full, I think my heart is even fuller.

We had a great day here in Northeast Arkansas visiting the farmers market and the farm.

I hope that you are encouraged and inspired to find a farmers market near you or roadside stand and appreciate the hard work that they put into it and what comes from it for good roots.

I'm Lauren McCullough.

Major funding for good roots is provided by Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Farm Bureau advocating the interests of Arkansas's largest industry for more than 80 years.

Arkansas counts on agriculture, agriculture counts on Farm Bureau.