LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Farm Bureau’s (ArFB) 76th annual Officers and Leaders Conference is set for July 25 - 26 at the Red Wolf Convention Center in Jonesboro. Themed Breaking New Boundaries, the event will feature professional development sessions, commodity division meetings, recognition of outstanding Young Farmer & Rancher families and wrap up with a keynote from Dr. Cliff E. Jones, deputy director of the Arkansas State University Delta Center for Economic Development. More than 500 Farm Bureau leaders are expected to attend.

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Meet the finalist! Garrett and Mallory Moix of Toad Suck own a Bermuda grass hay farm that serves the equine industry and they also run a 130-head cow-calf operation. Mallory works off the farm as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. They love to include their three daughters in all their farming adventures.

Meet the finalist! Justin and Laycee Story of Cauthron have 851 acres where they run a 145-head cattle operation and 150 Black Belly and Dorper Cross sheep. The Storys moved to Arkansas from Florida in 2021 after inheriting the farm and have become a strong part of the ag community in Scott County. They have three children who help on the farm.

Several poultry growers whose contracts were terminated last August are back in business. Chris Meador of Green Forest, a poultry farmer, loan officer and ArFB Poultry Commodity Division chairman, says at least eight North Arkansas producers recently signed new four-year deals with Tyson. Learn more about this situation in our latest video.

Meet the finalist! Caleigh Watlington and her husband, Coe, have a small cow-calf operation in Buckner where they also sell alfalfa hay. Caleigh is an agricultural loan officer for Farm Credit of Western Arkansas. Being raised on a beef and poultry operation, farming has always been a big part of her life, and they are ecstatic about raising their daughter in the same environment they were raised in.

Meet the Stroud family! Cody and Olivia are fifth-generation farmers and have blended two operations where they run cattle in Carroll, Izard and Sharp Counties. Efficiency has been their greatest key to continued success. They have a 1-year-old son, Grayson, who is the proud owner of three cows and three sheep.

Read the latest issue of the Farm Bureau Press.

The American Farm Bureau has released its annual 4th of July Cookout Cost Survey, and this year is shaping up to be the most expensive BBQ on record. We have a breakdown of where you’ll spend more and where you’ll save a little. Plus, Denmark is moving forward with a livestock carbon tax, farmer sentiment on the ag economy is down and we dive in to what may be driving the U.S. ag trade deficit. Get all this and more on the latest episode of the Arkansas AgCast.