Howarth Erwin Taylor

A prisoner of war following the Battle of the Bulge in Germany during World War II, Howarth Taylor began his career as a tenant farmer in Illinois, growing corn and soybeans. In 1950 he moved to Hickory Ridge in Cross County and bought an 850- acre farm. A year later, he established Taylor Seed Company as part of his operation, the oldest seed processing enterprise in northeast Arkansas and only the second seed company in the state at that time. By 1959, Taylor added another 2,640 acres. His entire operation is devoted to the production of registered and certified rice and soybean seed. Established in 1951, the seed company grows, processes, stores and sells rice, soybeans, oats and wheat seed to farmers in Arkansas. By devoting his entire operation to seed production Taylor is able to personally monitor its quality. As a result, his company is on record with the Arkansas State Plant Board of having no “red” rice being found in any of its seed samples. For his many years of service to the seed industry, Taylor received the Arkansas Seed Dealer’s Association Pioneer Award in 1994. At the time he was only the fourth individual to have received the association’s top honor. Taylor is also president of Hickory Ridge Farm Supply Inc., which he established in 1965. An avid pilot, he operated his own flying service for a number of years. Taylor and his wife Ella raised six children on their farm and in 1969 were named the state’s Farm Family of the Year. He has received numerous awards and honors for his service to our country and the agricultural industry. Following his honorable discharge from the military he was awarded a Purple Heart and Prisoner of War medal. He has been an active member of the Cross County Farm Bureau board of directors since 1952 and served as president for three years. The Taylors are also active in their community, local schools and the Hickory Ridge Missionary Baptist Church.