For Brad Robbins and his family, the Robbins Family Tree Farm represents more than five decades of caring for a piece of land and finding ways to make it better. Brad has helped carry forward the vision his father, Louis, began in the early 1970s, when Louis and his wife, Renee, started buying rural acreage outside Greenbrier, Arkansas. As neighboring farms were sold, Louis continued purchasing small tracts, keeping the land together and away from development. Today, the family manages roughly 900 acres of contiguous property, with several generations involved in its future. A conservation easement now ensures that the family’s commitment to the land will endure.  

The family’s work has transformed much of the property. Former cotton fields that had become overgrown with eastern red cedar have been converted to productive pine plantations through clearing, planting, and prescribed burning. The Robbins have also made a deliberate effort to diversify the forest, adding hardwood plantations and managing existing upland hardwoods. In 2024, they planted 15 acres of hardwoods, including about 4,400 oak seedlings, along with wild plum trees for wildlife. They are also moving another tract toward silvopasture, incorporating trees and grazing into their management. One of the most distinctive parts of the Tree Farm is a 57-acre post oak savannah. The area was thinned in 2017, followed by timber stand improvement and prescribed fire to maintain the open character of the historic post oak stand.  

The family works with Quail Forever, Arkansas Game & Fish and NRCS on habitat improvements including pollinator plantings, hardwood establishment, and installing nesting boxes. Three ponds have even been installed. Their efforts have helped bring quail back to the property, while turkey numbers have increased and the ponds support wood ducks and other waterfowl.  

Brad serves on the Arkansas Forestry Association’s Tree Farm Committee and regularly helps other landowners understand forestry practices, conservation programs and the resources available through public agencies. His willingness to open the property to others has made the Robbins Family Tree Farm a place where people can see sustainable forestry in practice rather than simply hear about it. 

For the Robbins family, the work is still evolving. New trails will give visitors a closer look at the forest, a pilot silvopasture project offers another opportunity to learn, and discussions with the University of Arkansas may lead to future research plots. What began with Louis Robbins buying a few acres to preserve a place for his family has become something much larger: a working family forest where the next generation can continue learning, experimenting and deciding what comes next.