No strangers to hard work, Todd and Kristin Littleton of Mason Hall row crop around 4,000 acres, operate an excavation business, own two pullet houses for Tyson, and own a clothing boutique.
“I grew up farming alongside my dad, Ricky, and late grandfather, Riley, in Mason Hall,” says Todd. “I knew that I wanted a career in agriculture, so I attended the University of Tennessee at Martin and graduated in 2005 with an agriculture business degree.”
Not long after Todd moved back home to the farm, he and Kristin, from Elbridge, were married and began their life together.
Today, Kristin works as a dental hygienist, serves as the bookkeeper for the farming operations, and is the co-owner with her sister-in-law, Emily Lowrance, of Stillwater Market, a clothing boutique located in Kenton.
“She's been my backbone for more than 12 years and keeps the many aspects of our life going,” says Todd. “I couldn't do it without her.”
The Littleton’s farm, which is operated by Todd and his father Ricky, consists of around 4,000 acres of corn, wheat, and soybeans in Gibson, Dyer, and Obion counties. Outside of the farming operation, they also run Littleton Dirt Works, an excavation service. Todd has developed a great relationship with Gibson Farmers Co-op, and he relies on the business for the many supplies he needs for his excavation venture.
The Littleton’s 8-year-old daughter, Malone, has become an avid horse enthusiast, which has brought a different element to the farm that they have never had before. Malone enjoys pleasure-riding around the farm daily.
“I hope that I can instill in her what farming taught me while I was growing up,” says Todd. “Hard work doesn't hurt anybody, and we just have to get up and do what we have to do to make a living,”
Todd and Kristin are active members of Bethpage Baptist Church, where they both teach Sunday school and regularly participate in various church activities. Todd has served on the Gibson County Farm Bureau Board since 2006 and currently holds the position of chairman. He sits on the Gibson County Farm Services Agency board and has served on the Gibson County commission board as commissioner for District 16 for the past seven years. He is also on the agriculture advisory board for the Gibson County University of Tennessee Extension service.
When Tyson announced the construction of the Humboldt Complex in 2018, the Littletons thought the poultry industry was worth serious consideration.
“When Tyson announced that they were looking for growers, my wife and I just thought and prayed about it,” Todd says. “We decided we needed to try for the steady income. We were going to be paid weekly, and it's not tied to a commodity market or dependent on anything out of our control, like row cropping is.”
So, after much thought and prayer, Littleton Barns was established in September 2019. The two-house pullet farm was the second farm built as part of the Tyson Humboldt complex.
Each 60 x 600 pullet house is equipped with the latest technology in control systems which assists the grower in maintaining an optimal environment for pullet health and development.
“At any given time, we are caring for 40,000 to 45,000 pullets in our two houses,” says Kristin. “We get the pullets when they're a day old, and they leave the farm when they're 21 weeks old. Then, they go to the egg-laying houses from the barns, where they begin egg production to raise broiler chickens.”
After only three years of growing birds, in the fall of 2021, the Littleton family was named the Tennessee Poultry Association’s Farm Family of the Year.
“Being recognized for your hard work is nice. But I'm helping feed people, and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about,” says Todd.