Rich Hillman of Carlisle was reelected as Arkansas Farm Bureau’s president and Mike Freeze was reelected vice president Dec. 3 at Farm Bureau’s 86th Annual Convention, held virtually and through a live meeting of the board at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Delegates also elected eight other board members during the session and set the organization’s policy priorities for 2021.
Jamey Allen is co-owner of Allen Brothers Farms, LLC at Prattsville in Grant County where he has oversees their cow-calf operation. The farm includes Allen Gate and Panel Company which sells and ships farm gates and panels across the U.S. He shares how Covid-19 affected their operation this year and may actually have some positive benefits going forward.
Arkansas Farm Bureau will hold its 86th annual convention on Thursday, Dec. 3. The event will be conducted virtually for the first time in the organization’s history and include only a single-day business session.
It’s National Soybean Month. Arkansas soybean farmers and cattle ranchers have more in common than you might think. Soymeal is a high-protein source of nutrition for feeding cattle. Listen as Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association Executive Director Cody Burkham and soybean farmer/cattleman Joe Thrash talk about using soymeal as part of the feeding regime for cattle.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture, along with Governor Hutchinson and representatives from the Poultry Federation and Butterball, recognize Thanksgiving and the contributions turkey producers bring to the state’s agriculture industry. Jenny Higgs of ArFB went along to interview the turkeys that were being honored and the 4-H'ers who raised them.
This week, we learn about the development of the first Roundup-ready forage soybean from Eagle Seed and we talk to Pope County’s Sam Cecil, Arkansas’s representative at the U.S. Meat Export Federation. We also talk turkey with Poultry Federation head Marvin Childers.
Phil and Lesia Hamaker own Hamaker Farms, a family cattle, poultry and produce operation at Junction City, south of El Dorado. They were the 2015 Southwest District Farm Family of the Year. Their operation consists of four poultry houses, high tunnel produce houses that allow them to extend their season for squash, tomatoes, greens and other produce, and cross-bred angus and charolais cattle. They've also established their own Farmers Market on their produce farm in northern Louisiana that is attracting a number of loyal customers. This is their story.
In only 3 years Taylor Farms in Benton County has produced state-winning full blood buck and doe Boer goats. In the second part of this series we catch up with Lauren and Lexi of Taylor Farms to learn the ins and outs of showing award-winning goats.
Randy Skarda of Hazen has been saving old farm tractors, threshers and combines from decaying in the weeds around his farm for the past 30 years and restoring them for his family and so future generations will know how their ancestors farmed years ago. He and his sons Seth and Ross discussed his "hobby" and gave us a demonstration of a 1948 McCormick-Deering 125 Ricefield Special combine that took seven years for him to get "field ready."
The Farmer Veteran Coalition - Arkansas and Arkansas Department of Agriculture partnered to host a Veterans Day celebration in Searcy today, the first official meeting of the new Arkansas chapter of FVC.
