Long before he served on the Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture or stepped foot into an agricultural classroom, Joe Farris was a farm kid learning life lessons in a one-room schoolhouse on the plains of Dewey County.

 “I grew up on a farm and ranch in central Dewey County, near Taloga, Oklahoma,” Farris said. “I was fortunate enough to go to a one-room schoolhouse for my first four years of school.”

 Those early years shaped not only his understanding of agriculture, Farris said, but also the values that would guide his life and leadership. In that small classroom, students not only learned arithmetic and geography, but they also learned something deeper, he added.

“We had prayer every morning,” he said. “We saluted the flag. We learned our directions. We learned how to count money. It was just a great start in life where we were taught respect for our country and for each other.”

Through 4-H and FFA at Taloga, Farris said, he discovered people who would play influential roles in his life, along with a passion for livestock that would stay with him for decades.

“I had some really good agriculture education teachers,” he said. “Jack Bedwell was my first agriculture teacher, and R.A. DeVore was my second ag teacher. They were two men who instilled in me a love for agriculture and FFA.”

Farris became president of his FFA chapter and spent countless hours showing and judging livestock, he said.

That passion eventually led him to pursue a degree in agricultural education. After attending Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, he transferred to Oklahoma State University to complete his degree, he said.

“The main thing OSU did was allow me to get started in my professional life,” Farris said. “Just having that degree opened the doors for so many things to follow.”

After graduation, Farris began his career as an agricultural educator in Fairview, Oklahoma. Crediting the school’s established program, Farris said, he began his career surrounded by supportive students, parents and community members.

“I was fortunate enough to go to a program that had been very strong,” he said. “Even 40 years later, I still have students contact me and call me Mr. Farris.”

After four-and-a-half years as an agricultural educator in Fairview and the passing of his father, Farris said he returned home to Taloga.

“My dad passed away young at 53, and I was in my 20s,” he said. “I had to make a decision to go home or let our farm and ranch be leased out to someone else.”

In 1981, he returned to Dewey County and began building his own cattle operation, now known as Farris Cattle, which he currently runs with his son.

Today, the Farris family operation runs approximately 500 cows and sells bulls and replacement heifers to producers across the region, Farris said.

The herd is primarily Angus-based, with several crossbreeds incorporated to produce high-quality commercial cattle, Farris said.

“What we try to provide is a high-quality product at a reasonable price,” Farris said.

Each year, the operation hosts an annual sale featuring about 40 bulls and 80 heifers, though cattle are sold throughout the year.

Beyond the ranch, Farris built a career in agricultural lending after being recruited to join the Bank of Western Oklahoma in 1995, where he works today. Three decades later, the bank has grown significantly, and Farris said he continues to work closely with farmers and ranchers across Oklahoma. With a reputation for honesty and steady leadership, Farris’ position at the bank led to another opportunity: service on the Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture, Farris said.

Farris was first appointed to the board representing northwest Oklahoma nearly two decades ago and has since become the longest-standing member.

“I have been fortunate enough to get to serve,” Farris said. “It has been a great honor.”

The role has allowed him to travel across Oklahoma and see first-hand the diversity of the state’s agricultural industry, he said.

“From the cotton, timber and everything in between, I’ve seen this state’s agriculture,” Farris said. 

Farris said he believes the agricultural industry carries a responsibility far greater than its size, and has taken it upon himself to steward that mission well throughout his life.

“As agriculturalists, we make up a really small part of the population,” he said. “But, we’re taking care of 80% of the land in this country.”

He said he often reminds people that the agricultural industry provides some of the most essential necessities of life, which are often overlooked.

“We’re taking care of what I call the five most important things in your life, and that’s food, water, air, shelter and clothing,” he said.

With more than two decades of his life given to the Oklahoma Board of Agriculture, Farris plans to step down and retire from the Board at the conclusion of this year’s term, making him the longest-standing member in the board’s history.

“It has been an honor for me to serve on the Board for more than 20 years and to see the diversity of agriculture in our state,” Farris said. “To witness and appreciate the dedication and talent of our agricultural producers and future leaders in the industry has been a true privilege.”

Farris’ role and commitment on the Oklahoma Board of Agriculture have come full circle, he said. He first met Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur decades ago when she was a student.

They originally met long before either worked in state government. For Secretary Arthur, Farris’ influence reaches back decades — all the way to the show ring.

“Many years ago, I rode with my agriculture teacher, Mr. Mike Stephens, out to Joe’s place in Taloga,” Arthur said. “When we arrived at his place, Joe was very kind and visited with me about what I was looking for and what my budget was.”

Arthur eventually selected one of the steers Farris had available.

“After a short visit, Joe turned three steers out into a pen and said I could have my pick of the three,” she said. “After some looking and discussing with my agriculture teacher, I loaded up my first shorthorn steer.” 

Years later, they met again when Arthur began her role as the Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture.

“To have Joe on the board at that time was a wonderful full-circle moment for me,” Arthur said.

She described Farris as a steady leader within the Oklahoma agricultural industry.

“Joe Farris is honest, thoughtful and trustworthy,” Arthur said. “He is sincere in all his interactions and communications, and his handshake is a binding contract.” 

His leadership style, she added, is grounded in character.

“Mr. Farris is a quiet, consistent leader,” Arthur said. “People are drawn to him by his actions and his sincerity.”

For Farris, leadership is inseparable from humility and faith, she said. Farris shared a story of a friend who keeps a plastic turtle on a fence post in his front yard, which he said he often shares because it reminds him of where success truly comes from.

“That turtle on a fence post is there to remind us that he didn’t get up there by himself,” Farris said. 

Mentorship has played a central role throughout his life, Farris said, from his teachers and neighbors to the students and young people he now encourages.

“If you’ve had any success, you’ve had some help,” Farris said.

With true passion and a deep love for the industry and its success, Farris recognizes that agriculture is more than just cattle and crops; it’s about the people who will become future leaders.

“We’re not only feeding the world,” he said. “But we’re also producing leaders.”

Throughout his career, Farris has mentored many farmers, ranchers and young people.

Whether he’s ranching, banking or representing Oklahoma agriculturalists, Farris said he remains guided by a simple principle he learned early in life: “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.”

Story by Olivia Rooker | Cowboy Journal