On Tuesday, March 12, more than 100 Arkansas Farm Bureau member farmers and ranchers visited the Arkansas State Capitol to share their concerns with legislators and to attend the signing of proclamations declaring March 10-16 as Arkansas Agriculture Week and March 12 as Farmers' Day.
Southern Arkansas University Tech in Camden hosted a special ribbon cutting and panel discussion to celebrate some $20 million in funding for a cooperative venture bringing high-speed internet access to a critically undeserved area of Arkansas. U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman was on hand, as was Mark Lundy, president of Arkansas Rural Internet Service, the venture that worked to attract the funding.
Arkansas Farm Bureau announced Monday its support for House Bill 1117, as written, a bill that would restructure the Arkansas Agriculture Department. The agricultural advocacy organization’s state board of directors met Friday to review policy positions affirmed by its members at its most recent state convention. HB 1117, part of a broader effort by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to streamline state government, has been referred to the House State Agencies Committee.
Now that the 2018 Farm Bill has been signed into law, farmers and ranchers can begin to plan for the year, and the next five-years, with some certainty about the risk management tools available to them. After the 2014 Farm Bill introduced a major shift for Title I, away from direct payments and into risk management programs, the 2018 bill is considered more evolutionary in nature.
President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill into law during a ceremony in the Old Executive Office Building near the White House. Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach and ArFB board member Terry Dabbs were on hand for the signing event, where they spoke to members of Arkansas's Congressional delegation, leaders from American Farm Bureau and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. See highlights and updates from the event.
The ongoing trade dispute with China, a record U.S. soybean crop in need of new export markets, and the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement were some of the key issues addressed by Ted McKinney, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at USDA, during the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual convention. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, McKinney discusses efforts to resolve the trade war with China and other trade issues facing agriculture as we approach the New Year.
Farmers and ranchers from every county in Arkansas convened in North Little Rock recently to discuss resolutions that will soon become Arkansas Farm Bureau policy. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, ArFB president Randy Veach explains the importance of this grassroots policy development process and why it will determine the organization’s state and federal legislative blueprint for 2019.
Derek Haigwood, a fourth-generation row-crop farmer from Newport, serves as a United Soybean Board director and chairman of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). In this podcast, he discusses how many soybean farmers are facing a devastating hit to their bottom line this year due to low prices, trade issues, weather problems and more, and talks about USSEC efforts to create new markets and keep existing customers.
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall visited Arkansas to tour some farms and speak at the Woodruff County Farm Bureau annual meeting. He took time during his trip to discuss some of the issues facing America’s farmers and ranchers and how Farm Bureau is advocating for the best solutions for American agriculture’s challenges.
The 2014 Farm Bill expires September 30, meaning the deadline for Congress to approve a new Farm Bill is this Sunday. Farmers and ranchers need the certainty and protection the new Farm Bill will provide and a House-Senate Conference Committee has been meeting for weeks to reach a compromise, but so far no agreement has been struck. Hear what ArFB's Matt King has to say about what will happen if a deal isn't reached.
