Arkansas Farm Bureau recognized Casey Rogers of Greene County Tech High School in Paragould as its 2020 Outstanding Ag Instructor of the Year. Caroline Lester of Westside High School in Jonesboro earned the 2020 Outstanding New Ag Instructor of the Year, and County Line High School in Branch grabbed the top spot as the Outstanding Ag Program of the Year.
Caleb Plyler, ArFB board member and cow-calf producer from Spring Hill (Hempstead County), has been appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to a three-year term on the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board, usually referred to as the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.
Chris and Denise Sweat of McCaskill (Hempstead County) are the 2020 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year. The honor was announced today during a virtual event honoring the county and district Farm Families of the Year.
Kallem Hill of Oppelo was announced Wednesday as winner of the 2020 Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award from the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. The award announcement came during the organization’s 86th annual state convention held remotely from the Hot Springs Convention Center.
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.
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.
For the second year in a row, the average cost of the classic Thanksgiving meal reflected a modest decrease, according to Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 35th annual survey of items included in the holiday feast. This year’s meal will cost $57.14 for a family of 10, down 61 cents from last year’s average of $57.75.
Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Women’s Leadership Committee, Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and the Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation announced they have donated $50,000 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas to help offset projected shortfalls as a result of COVID-19. This new donation is in addition to a $50,000 donation from the Foundation and Women’s Leadership Committee in May.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau announced today a commitment of $300,000 to the FFA and 4-H over the next five years to support the development of new facilities and the growth of these youth leadership programs. Each organization will receive a total of $150,000.
Arkansas Farm Bureau officials say that the strong response to a new $5 million grant program for expanding and upgrading Arkansas meat processing facilities highlights the need for reviving a state meat inspection program. Last month, the General Assembly allocated funds from the federal CARES Act to create the grant program, which generated 45 applications requesting more than $30 million in funds.
