Standing the Test of Time 140-Year-Old Ritter Agribusiness Turns To Sunflowers and Berries f Founded by Ernest Ritter in Marked Tree in 1886, Ritter Agribusiness—a division of E. Ritter & Company— has grown to be one of the most respected farm management providers in eastern Arkansas. They are proudly known for their values of hard work, dedication to customer service, and efforts to reinvest in the communities in which they operate. Traditionally, Ritter is recognized for services in the row crop industry, but began searching for other investment opportunities and decided to diversify. For the first time in over 130 years, Ritter Agribusiness is direct farming. Ritter Agribusiness, an Arkansas Grown Diamond Member, is in the beginning stages of berry and sunflower farming in the Delta. “We wanted to move closer knowledge to build those direct relationships, so we took it,” said Kevin Wright, president of Ritter Agribusiness. “Serving the rural community continues to be important to the descendants of Ernest Ritter. We’ve owned and operated lots of businesses in rural Arkansas, but our focus on farming is a big part of the heritage and passion of the family.” –Kevin Wright to the consumer, and this was a great opportunity to do that while leveraging our company’s agronomic Ritter currently owns a 400-acre berry farm and a 70-acre sunflower farm in addition to the 27,000 acres of farmland leased out for row crops. Production is not yet at full capacity on either specialty crop farm, but they anticipate utilizing the entire acreage in the coming years. Wright said Ritter is in the process of developing a brand, which he hopes will become well established in the next three to five years. “Long term, we are looking at the legacy and the brand we can build. We really want to capture the value of that brand and the story behind it,” he said. Being the first Diamond Member in Arkansas Grown is one piece of the new brand. “Ritter was founded in Arkansas and has done business here for over
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