Northeast Arkansas farmers and investors are betting $11 million they can sweeten the world. GreenLab Inc. owns a compelling recipe for the future of sugar reduction sweeteners using crops grown in the Natural State.

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ArFB announced the winners of two Young Farmer and Ranchers awards Thursday at the 2026 Officers and Leaders Conference in Hot Springs. The Holliday family won the Excellence in Agriculture award, and the Feather family won the Agricultural Achievement award.

Meet Lindsey Holtzclaw of Taylor. A role in her local FFA chapter sparked a lifelong passion for agriculture. Lindsey is using her voice to advocate for agriculture through multiple volunteer roles at Farm Bureau, Arkansas Women in Ag and her full-time communications career at Farm Credit. Lindsey and her husband, Jes, are raising their three children in the rural way of life hoping to pass that passion on. Lindsey is one of three finalists for this year’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award.

Despite a rice reference price increase from $6.30 to $7.60 per bushel under the One Big Beautiful Bill, Arkansas farmers planted less than one million acres of rice for the first time since 1989. Low commodity prices, rising input costs and global conflict contributed to less acres. Experts explain how effects for producers are likely to spread throughout rural communities.

Meet Jordan and Mary Ellen Lynch of Lonoke. First-generation row-crop farmers, the Lynches manage nearly 5,000 acres while raising four children. After graduating from UALR, Jordan began farming with support from a longtime employer in the area. The Lynches are one of three finalists for this year’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award.

Meet Henry and Kylee Francis of Berryville. The couple left bustling Fayetteville in 2024 to return to Kylee’s generational family farm. They operate Evergreen Beef Co, and Evergreen Pasture and Provisions while raising their two sons and working to preserve the land and livestock that mean so much to them. The Francis’s are one of three finalists for this year’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award

Chickens, producing eggs retailing for up to $10 per dozen last year, are being given away. Northeast Arkansas hen operator Jordan Spears stresses over a saturated market littered with bankruptcies.

Meet Jacob and Callie Feather of White County. The Feathers are one of three finalists for the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award. Jacob is a third-generation farmer with a diverse row-crop operation and pecan orchard. Jacob and Callie have four sons who are very involved on the farm. Watch to learn more about their farm and family.

Read the latest issue of the Farm Bureau Press.