The New Family Business

The Carpenter Family Growing Green in Cannabis Venture

By Becca Bona

Photography By Sara Reeves

In Jefferson County, an incredible tapestry of green, russet and gold known as Carpenter Farms stretches out over 1,500 acres. A family affair, the operation is a household name to both regulars and those in the know who habitually visit the auxiliary produce and fish stand along East Harding Avenue in Pine Bluff. 

Carpenter Farms wasn’t always such a large operation, however, and is rooted in modest beginnings. “It all started with just one acre,” said CEO and president Abraham Carpenter Jr., who credits his mother, Katie, and her modest garden from the late ’60s as the catalyst for propelling the family into agriculture. Katie’s garden was so successful that her husband, Abraham Carpenter Sr., could see the potential for profitability. He quit his job at nearby Seagram’s Lumber Mill to support the garden full time and quickly began purchasing more acres.

For a time, the family connected their produce and customers through the farmers market circuit — making lifelong friends along the way. Today, the farm’s bounty fuels the Carpenter produce stand in Pine Bluff and is also shipped beyond the borders of Arkansas. “We’ve been doing this over 55 years now,” Junior said, “and there are 38 family members involved.”

The family farm has always worked to provide top-quality produce, and Junior credits his mom for identifying the secret ingredient within their process. “Mama always used to say that it’s all grown with love. The people who taste our products, you know, all of our customers have become our friends because they support us. And they know that we love them and that we care about them.”

That bond between customer and farmer was the impetus for Junior initially wanting to explore obtaining a medical marijuana grower’s license. He knew, however, that his parents weren’t likely to support the idea, as they refused to sell beer or wine at the family restaurant. But Junior talked to his parents about the impact they had the potential to make. 

“When Dad heard about medical marijuana on the television, and we were sitting around talking about it, he said, ‘Junior, will that medical marijuana heal all the illnesses and all the conditions that they’re saying it will help with?’” After learning that cannabis does indeed have documented medicinal properties, Abraham Senior followed his statement up with, “Well, son, we need to grow some of that.”

Getting into the cannabis industry was not without obstacles. The application process proved harried, and Carpenter Farms — the only fully minority-owned operation applying for licensure — was initially denied. They fought a long legal battle before finally receiving their license two years after applying.

Everything
is organically grown.

Since day one of cannabis production, however, the Carpenter team continues to treat the marijuana-growing process as seriously as they would any other produce found on their farm. “We don’t use any chemicals or none of that stuff. Everything is organically grown,” Junior explained. Beyond relying on organic practices, Carpenter Farms does what it knows best — putting its people behind its products. They hand-trim each plant, ensuring that quality control stays at the top of their concerns. “Anytime you put cream of the crop ingredients into your product, it’s going to produce cream of the crop yields,” Junior said.

At the time of this story going to press, Carpenter Farms had 27 strains in their repertoire. They continually measure and check the THC percentages, working hard to improve their final product. Andrew McNeel, VP of marketing, is particularly proud of how far they’ve come, with nine strains over 30% and a couple of others in the mid-30s and 40th percentile. Junior considers McNeel part of the family as he said, “Andrew and I grew up together — we were little boys running around the farmers market at the River Market.”

Junior and McNeel both credit the team for continuing to improve their available products. “They’re all passionate,” McNeel said. “And we’ve all got that mindset that we’re no better than each other — we’re only as strong as each other.”

The Carpenter team plans to lean into its agricultural background when it’s time for new products to hit the shelves. Think watermelon vape pens deriving elements from a Carpenter-produced watermelon in the final product. “We’re going to constantly be introducing new skews, new product lines, new strains. That’s our goal, to try to come on the market with something different every month,” McNeel said.

The team, for this reason, is open to feedback. They want to hear when something works well, but they also want to hear when it doesn’t so they can continue to improve their products. “What we want the consumers and the patients to understand is that we guarantee our product because we know firsthand,” McNeel said. His father, a three-time cancer survivor, regularly utilizes and reaps the benefits of the Carpenter Farms products.

“We’re in the cannabis business but we’re not growing cannabis just to try to get wealthy,” Junior explained. “We’ve got a genuine love for people and want to be able to help them with their illnesses or their illness. We want to be able to give them everything that they need to make them more healthy, more happy, and have a longer life.”