For as long as he can remember, Ellis Bell wanted to be a farmer; today, that long held dream is a reality. As a fourth-generation farmer, he operates an Arkansas Century Farm in Forrest City, Arkansas. Established in 1878, the operation is housed on land purchased by his great-great-grandfather after he returned home from the Civil War.
When he finished high school in 1956, Ellis was going to stay home and work on his family’s farm, but that following winter the opportunity arose to head to St. Louis. While he had intentions to return home, Ellis ended up spending 13 years there as an aircraft mechanic. He then took an interest in the insurance industry and worked to build an
extremely successful business as an insurance broker. He sold insurance exclusively, but still came back to Arkansas when he could to assist his father on the farm. For decades he operated a food giveaway program to fuel his love for agriculture and giving back to his community, which distributed food to thousands of people in need across the St. Louis area.
When his father chose to retire in 1971, Ellis knew he had some important decisions to make. Ultimately, he chose to come back to work the land like three generations before him had done. “Of course, many people at the time said I was crazy,” Ellis noted. “Most didn’t think I’d be able to make the transition, juggle it all and succeed on the farm, but I knew I always wanted to be a farmer.”
To make things easier, Ellis purchased an airplane, enabling him to fly back and forth between St. Louis and Forrest City. As his insurance business grew in Missouri, the farm also expanded back home. Life was busy and stressful, but not so frenzied that Ellis did not recognize a need when he saw one.
Back in St. Louis, he noticed his neighborhood kids had nothing to do and realized those young people would benefit greatly from learning about life in agriculture, where their food came from and who was responsible for growing it. Knowing in his early career how he was discriminated against as a Black farmer in the Mid-South, he saw real benefit in having a hand in teaching the local children about agriculture and blazing a trail for minorities to have a greater role in the industry. After a chance encounter at a stockholder meeting for an agricultural biotechnology company where Ellis had invested, the idea for what his perfect nonprofit organization would look like came to life.
Soon after, Ellis started the nonprofit, Bell Community Services, Inc. Originally founded as Future Agriculture Resources for Minority Youth (FARMY) and then Bell’s Agriscience, the organization exists to help underprivileged youth become career-ready, cultivate interest in the agriculture industry and develop interns at the high school and college level. The nonprofit reaches middle, high school and college age students through a well-established network of mentorship, club membership, education and scholarships in a wide range of agricultural disciplines.
It was during this time that Ellis realized being on the farm was where he was meant to be long-term. “I liked what I saw on the farm and not so much what I was seeing in the city,” Ellis shared. He knew his true passion was there on that land, so he made the decision to return to the farm full-time.
Today, Ellis Bell Farm covers nearly 570 acres, which Ellis describes as “perfect and just the right size.” His relationship with Farm Credit Mid-America and Loan Officer, Stanley Mitchell*, is nothing short of a dream partnership. Due to this incredibly personal connection, Ellis was able to effectively evaluate his farm’s needs, ask any questions he had and talk through all of his ideas while getting valuable feedback directly from Stanley.
Ellis fought to overcome the discrimination he felt in the early years of his farming career and establish a pipeline of minority agricultural leaders. While his experiences before Farm Credit Mid-America were not always positive, there has been great joy in his farming journey and even greater joy in the relationship he’s built with the Cooperative and the life changing impact of Bell Community Services, Inc.
*Stanley Mitchell has now been promoted to Vice President Agricultural Lending – Arkansas.
