Byrd Family Farm honored as a Missouri Century Farm

CHARLESTON, Mo. — The Byrd Family Farm was recognized as a Missouri Century Farm March 9 at the Mississippi County Extension Council Annual Dinner. The Byrd Family Farm was established in the year 1883 by Thomas Hayward Byrd and is now owned and operated by his great-great grandchildren Nelson and Hudson Byrd.

This fifth-generation farm is not only still fully operational, but the family is very involved in their community and very supportive of educational and economic development initiatives.

The Centennial Farm project was initiated in Missouri in 1976. It awarded certificates to those individuals owning farms that had been in the same family for 100 years or more.

In 1986, the University of Missouri Extension and MU College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources created the annual Century Farm program and recognition. The Missouri Farm Bureau became a co-sponsor in 2008.

Since the program started in 1976, more than 8,000 Missouri farms have received the Century Farm designation.

The deadline to apply to be named a 2023 Century Farm is May 1. Applications can be completed at extension.missouri.edu/programs/century-farms or by picking up a form at the extension office, located at 109 N. First St., Charleston, MO 63834.