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.
Arkansas Farm Bureau has hired Jenny Higgs as digital production specialist. Higgs will work with the public relations team to produce videos, podcasts, graphics and social media content that highlights the importance of Arkansas agriculture.
Donette Spann has been named administrator of the Arkansas Beef Council, the farmer-funded promotion agency that oversees and administers the Beef Checkoff Program in Arkansas. She replaces the recently the recently retired Travis Justice.
Drew and Laura Davis of Bono (Craighead County) and Monica Paskewitz of Melbourne (Izard County) earned the top two Young Farmers & Ranchers awards this month during Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual Officers & Leaders Conference, which was held “virtually” for the first time in its 72-year history. The awards honor young farmers and ranchers ages 18-35 for the general excellence of their operations and their hard work and innovation.
Arkansas Farm Bureau on Friday praised Gov. Asa Hutchinson and members of the General Assembly after the body allocated $5 million from the federal CARES Act to create a grant program that will allow custom meat processors in Arkansas to expand and upgrade facilities.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau Scholarship Foundation Committee has named the 13 recipients of the $3,000 Farm Bureau Foundation scholarships for the 2020-21 school year.
Fifteen-year-old Janna Morse of West Fork and 12-year-old Emma Keller of Little Rock won first place in their respective categories in the 2020 Arkansas Farm Bureau Dairy Foods Contest July 27, after submitting a video introduction and description of their dish to a panel of judges.
Valerie Lawson, a family and consumer science teacher at Clinton High School in Van Buren County, is Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 2020 Ag in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher.
The eight district winners in the 73rd annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year Program have been selected, representing the diversity of Arkansas agriculture, the state’s largest industry.
Three college students have joined Arkansas Farm Bureau for the summer as interns. The interns will assist several departments within the organization and work to advance their skills, while also learning more about Arkansas Farm Bureau’s grassroots impact within the state and across the nation.
