LITTLE ROCK — Randy Veach and Rich Hillman will continue as president and vice president, respectively, of Arkansas Farm Bureau following their re-election Friday. Delegates also re-elected seven board members during the final day of the organization’s 81st annual convention at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in Little Rock.

Veach, of Manila (Mississippi Co.), begins an eighth term as president. He is Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 10th president since its creation in 1935. Veach farms cotton, soybeans, rice, wheat, corn and milo in and around the community of Lost Cane near Manila. He is a third-generation farmer and he and his wife, Thelma, farm with their son Brandon.

“My heart is with the farmers and ranchers of Arkansas,” Veach said. “This organization has a responsibility to advocate for and strengthen the interests of agriculture. Our job is to ensure that the men and women of agriculture can continue to deliver food, fiber and shelter to those around the globe.”

Hillman hails from Carlisle (Lonoke Co.) and will also begin his eighth term as vice president. He is a sixth-generation farmer. His main crops are rice, soybeans and wheat. He and his wife Tina have two grown children, Collin and Caroline.
“I’m pleased and humbled to continue serving those committed to agriculture throughout the state,” Hillman said. 

Board action later resulted in the election of Joe Christian of Jonesboro as secretary/treasurer. Christian is a row-crop farmer who grows rice and soybeans. He and his wife, Leah, have two children, Alex and Grayson.

The voting delegates re-elected seven board members to new two-year terms. They include: Troy Buck, Alpine (Clark Co.); John Carroll, Moro (Monroe Co.); Sherry Felts, Joiner (Mississippi Co.); Mike Freeze, England (Lonoke Co.); Bruce Jackson, Lockesburg (Sevier Co.); Gene Pharr, Lincoln (Washington Co.) and Joe Thrash, Toad Suck (Faulkner Co.).

Voting delegates also addressed a wide range of federal and state policy issues. Specifically, they defined the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s positions related to burdensome federal regulations; regulation of unmanned aerial systems (drones) by the Federal Aviation Administration; federal crop insurance programs; state road maintenance; international trade; GMO labeling; avian influenza; feral hog control; and consumer awareness. 

Randy Veach

Rich Hillman

Joe Christian