LITTLE ROCK — John Bailey has been hired as director of environmental and regulatory affairs for the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. Bailey has 20 years of experience working on air and water issues in both the public and private sectors.

In his new role, Bailey will help evaluate agriculture’s impact on the environment and examine issues such as water and watershed management, air and water quality measurement, regulatory compliance and new technologies and farming practices. 

Bailey previously served as senior operations manager at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). He also served ADEQ as National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System engineering supervisor, water permits branch manager and air permit engineer. 

“Farm Bureau’s focus is to ensure sound science drives the production practices of our farmers and ranchers, and ensuring that regulatory controls being applied to farmers and ranchers employ the same sound science,” said Warren Carter, executive vice president for ARFB. “John has a deep understanding of environmental issues, the legal and regulatory environment, and modern farming practices and we believe his expertise will be critical to our ongoing work on behalf of Arkansas farmers and ranchers.” 

Bailey is a 1996 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he completed a bachelor of science in chemical engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in Arkansas.

“John is taking on an important role at an important time. It’s critical that we have someone who can help the agriculture industry in Arkansas face the growing challenges of environmental regulations,” said Evan Teague, ARFB vice president, commodity and regulatory affairs. “Arkansas farmers and ranchers are great stewards of the land and John’s knowledge and experience will help us ensure that this remains the case for years to come.” 

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John Bailey

Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of more than 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.