Front Porch | Issue 128

For Your Baby Be hi nd th e Wheel

the world. They’ll decide where they go, how they get there, and how long it takes… Thankfully, you’ve been an exemplary driver for them to learn from.

I know that life insurance isn’t just about a check—it’s about so much more. family and maintain their standard of living

Front Porch

Farm Bureau Matters

Rich Hillman

Cool, Gritty and a Natural Leader

Farm Bureau’s Jarrod Yates

Young Farmers and Ranchers

Thriving with Innovation, Involvement

Farm Bureau leader for 70-plus years helped hook up farms with electricity

Peebles Farm and Corn Maze Fall Fun for All

Shaylee Wallace Barber

Taste Arkansas: Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter

Shaylee Wallace Barber

MASH Camps Making a Difference for 35 Years

Shaylee Wallace Barber

Farm Bureau Ladies

Passionate About Helping Students

Noralee Townsend

Game Balls still preserving memories

Economics Arkansas Brings Ag to Classroom

Noralee Townsend

Cash Awaits Top Ag Startup Businesses

Notice of Annual Meeting

Delta Child

Talya Tate Boerner

Cover Design: Chad Hooten

FARM BUREAU MATTERS with Rich Hillman

ARFB PRESIDENT

PAY BACK

Iwill never fully pay it all back, but I have done my best to put a dent in the debt I owe others for their work with Arkansas Farm Bureau. I will finish my 22-year career as a state board member in December, the past four as president of this organization and the previous 11 as vice president. It has been an unbelievable honor to serve, and in my final issue of Front Porch later this year I will thank our membership dearly for their support. But in this issue, I want to give my reason for serving and hopefully touch on our future.

I was very fortunate to grow up with parents who taught me serving others is a blessing to yourself. They taught me and my brother by serving in so many different capacities, from both of them serving as youth leaders in our local church, to my mom on the State Board of Education. My dad served on the state board for Arkansas Farm Bureau, and as chairman of the board for Riceland Foods, as well as many more boards and organizations.

I didn’t truly grasp the importance of their commitment until I was in the middle of my service for Farm Bureau. You see that responsibility wasn’t truly revealed to me until one night during a county Farm Bureau meeting, where I had given a short report on an issue we were working on. An older rancher stood and waited by the door after the meeting that night, and unbeknownst to me the issue I had reported on had really affected this gentleman and his operation. As I exited, he quickly shook my hand and, with tears in his eyes, very sincerely thanked me and the Farm Bureau staff for working on his behalf. I got in my truck and made that long drive home with tears in my eyes, too. For the first time in my life, I realized what my parents had shown me about service. That night, the impact of that rancher’s comments hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized I had the trust of farmers and ranchers on my shoulders. That trust, for me, has been a blessing. It gave me energy to work harder for our way of life.

My hope for our organization is that more people choose to serve, that more of our younger generations

will be able to step up and serve agriculture in many ways. I truly understand and appreciate how busy their lives are today. Their children are more involved in so many activities at earlier ages than ever. Often, both parents work at increasingly busy careers. But I also know how passionate they are about our rural way of life. I know, and have seen, their commitment to Farm Bureau. Some of the best and brightest young men and women have chosen agriculture as their profession. Unfortunately, the number of people in farming and ranching is dwindling. Those numbers will continue to decrease and the need for every one of them to be involved and active is more important than any other time in the history of Arkansas agriculture, and really in the history of farming and ranching in our great nation.

During my tenure at Farm Bureau we have always strived to work with and help our members. Our staff is working on more issues today than ever before. From the top down, they have servant’s hearts, and they will undoubtedly help all of us with the challenges we currently have and will have in our future. But as talented as our staff is they need our members and their leadership.

I hope my story helps just a little to encourage and motivate our young members and helps them understand that so many leaders, before myself, have served Farm Bureau and agriculture. Those leaders gave selflessly of their time for this organization and fought so many battles so we would have the right to farm. I am truly indebted to them for their service. My prayer for this organization is simply this: that our younger members will feel that same feeling that I did years ago from an old rancher saying “thank you.” He will never know what a blessing that was for me.

My Mom and Dad, and the service they modeled, were right all along. •

Front Porch

Official membership publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation mailed to almost 190,000 member-families.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Included in membership dues

A RKANSAS FARM BUREAU OFFICERS:

President • Rich Hillman, Carlisle

Executive Vice President • Jarrod Yates, Benton

Vice President • Mike Freeze, Little Rock

Secretary/Treasurer • Dan Wright, Waldron

DIRECTORS:

Magen Allen, Bismarck

Jon Carroll, Moro

Terry Dabbs, Stuttgart

Brad Doyle, Weiner

Jack Evans, Lonoke

Sherry Felts, Joiner

Chase Groves, Garland City

Jason Henson, Mount Judea

Terry Laster, Strong

Caleb Plyler, Hope

Bob Shofner, Centerton

Dana Stewart, Judsonia

Joe Thrash, Houston

EX OFFICIO

Nita Cooper, Everton

Monica Paskewitz, Melbourne

Kerry Stiles, Marianna

Brad Peacock, Bald Knob

Executive Editor • Steve Eddington

Contributing Writers • Shaylee Wallace Barber, Chad Hooten, Noralee Townsend

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Issue #128

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Cool, Gritty and a Nat

Farm Bureau’s new E.V.P. Owns Common Sense, Arkansas values

Vomit sprays through his helmet’s facemask to the hot Bermuda turf. It’s not too uncommon for a big kid going hard on every snap during August two-a-day football practices in Arkansas to hurl but what happens next is.

The senior, playing middle linebacker and quarterback for perennial power Prescott, raises his head, wipes his mouth with a forearm to remove any rancid remains and calmly steps back into the team huddle to call the next play. Neither a timeout nor water break is needed. His teammates, originally disgusted, are now in awe.

“Jarrod Yates was a natural leader and led by example,” says former teammate and childhood friend Jarrod Miller. “Anybody who can throw up and come right back? I mean, you know he is hurting. That gets your respect.”

Both Jarrods were esteemed teens. They attended Boys State together. Miller was Prescott High’s Class of 1999 Future Business Leaders of America president, but only because Yates was elected the state’s FBLA president and “you couldn’t be both,” chuckles Miller.

So, it’s no surprise to Miller that Yates is the new Executive Vice President of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation.

“I remember Jarrod was tough, a hard worker and just good at everything,” Miller says. “And you know, he was nice to everyone. In school that is not always the case, especially for someone like him. He could’ve been cocky, but he wasn’t.”

FROM PRESCOTT TO WASHINGTON

Mike Ross noticed Yates as an “attentive, wellmannered and curious” middle school student in his Sunday School class at Prescott. Ross, who grew up on a farm just west of town and is the last member of the Democratic Party to represent Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives, hired Yates to work in his district office as a teenager. Yates drove the then-U.S. Congressman across 29 Arkansas counties, making sure he stayed on schedule and arrived on time.

Yates arrived in Washington D.C. in 2004 as legislative assistant for Ross on the House Agri Committee. Yates again proved responsible, handling ag and difficult Army Corps of Engineer type of issues, Ross says. He would eventually be elevated by Ross to Chief of Staff, when he managed the D.C. office and four other offices spaced across the fourth congressional district.

ENGAGED EXECUTIVE – Arkansas Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Jarrod Yates listens to Pulaski County Farm Bureau member Libbie Dougan at her farm in North Little Rock. “We’re going to pursue not my goals, but our goals (at Farm Bureau),” Yates says.

ural Leader

“I remember working on the Farm Bill one year and Jarrod was so effective working at the staff level to make sure Arkansas’ interests were included,” says Ross. “He would really dig in and understand the issues, and then make sure that I knew what I was talking about!”

Yates, who started his new role at Farm Bureau on June 20, owns what Ross calls ‘common sense, Arkansas values.’

“Jarrod is good at looking at the big picture,” Ross says. “He is a strategic thinker. He doesn’t try to run over people. He tries to collaborate. He performs well under pressure, has a way about him to calm others and find a solution. If a situation becomes heated, he is very good at diffusing it. He is good at finding a consensus in collaborating and finding a way forward.”

NOT A, BUT THE WAY OF LIFE

Yates, 42, came home as a baby from Washington Regional in Fayetteville to a farm with 75 momma cows in Lincoln, Ark. His dad owned a degree in poultry science and a good job with Hudson Chicken, but Mike Yates had always farmed and a diploma didn’t change that. The Yates family raised poultry and ran about 40 momma cows on 100 acres of rolling hills just 7 miles from the Oklahoma border in western Washington County.

“He instilled in me hard work, character and that your word is your bond,” says Yates of his dad, a full-blooded Native American. “Farming has always been the way of life for me — it’s just what life is. I remember as a youngster the thrill of getting to drop the truck in low gear and driving across the pasture with dad in the

back throwing out hay to the cows.”

Today, Yates’ dad is out of the poultry production business but now in the poultry equipment business. Jarrod still has about 25 momma cows with his brother and dad. He and his brother also owned chicken houses together for several years, but Jarrod sold out a decade ago.

NEVADA COUNTY COHORTS

The Jarrods became buddies in 6th grade, shortly after Yates’ family moved from Lincoln to Prescott. Together, they learned the rural way of life, how to work and find fun. Once they snuck out of Miller’s house at midnight to bicycle over to a friend’s place. En route, they’d pass a residence known for its biting dogs so the middle schoolers accelerated while descending a hill on the loose gravel of Nevada County Road 230. In the pitch darkness and unaware of Yates’ proximity, Miller taps his brakes causing a slight swerve into Yates’ path. The collision was quicker than regret, and the future Executive Vice President of Farm Bureau pulled pebbles from his tender hide for hours.

In high school, they skipped class to go fishing, leaving Miller’s red 1995 Dodge Ram parked at Prescott High School as a cover. Unfortunately, the truck sat in the path of a delivery truck later in the day. The school secretary made multiple public address announcements attempting to get it moved.

“Jarrod was always a worker, though,” Miller says. “As a teenager, I remember a heatwave would come through in the summer and he’d call and ask if I wanted to go help him pick up

PRESCOTT PRIDE – Former high school teammate and friend Jarrod Miller (left) isn’t surprised Jarrod Yates has risen to the Executive Vice President role at Arkansas Farm Bureau. P

‘I

PITY THE FOOL’ – Yates (5) in his Mr. T pajamas Christmas morning (1986) with Paul Bunyon saw and hat. Yates came home as a baby to a farm with 75 momma cows in Lincoln, Ark.

chickens. We’d pick up dead chickens in those hot houses for 6 to 8 hours and just be covered in dust and stink. I remember taking a bath in lemon juice trying to get that stink off.”

Yates was promoted after his ninth-grade football season to bolster the varsity team in the playoffs. His brother Barrett was the senior QB but Jarrod lined up at running back. The 14-year-old took on 18-year-olds and still scored touchdowns in the postseason, helping Prescott win the 1995 Class 3A state title.

As a senior, Yates “could’ve been an all-state lineman” but moved to QB because that’s where he was needed, Miller says. “Our most productive play was quarterback sneak. I bet we averaged 7 yards per play with him just running like a bulldozer. No one person was going to bring him down. He would run over people, drag defenders. He never gave up.

“And he stayed calm under pressure. He was a good communicator. He never got mad. He wasn’t going to say one thing and do the opposite. If he said he was going to do something he was.”

TEAM FARM BUREAU

Yates spent 2014-21 working in governmental relations at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield before joining Farm Bureau in August of 2021 as director of public affairs and government relations.

A farming background, combined with sitting on both sides of the table in Washington, listening to farm concerns while working with Ross and advocating for farmers the past two years in his role at Farm Bureau, uniquely qualifies him for his new job.

In his first address as Executive Vice President to Arkansas Farm Bureau staff on July 11, Yates was again in the leadership position of a winning team. And, again, he wasn’t cocky but talked about team first.

“There are so many good things about this organization and ya’ll are responsible for that,” he told about 200 employees just before a luncheon. “I’m thankful for that and excited about what it can be. We’re going to pursue not my goals, but our goals. Everyone has ideas and I’m going to try to create an environment where we can foster those ideas and move forward together.” •

GENTLE JARROD – “Jarrod is good at looking at the big picture,” former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross says. “He is a strategic thinker. He doesn’t try to run over people. He tries to collaborate. He performs well under pressure, has a way about him to calm others and find a solution.”

Young Farmers and Ranchers Thriving with Innovation, Involvement

Afarm family making winning habitual and another known for community involvement harvested top awards July 14 at the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual Officers & Leaders Conference in Hot Springs.

Rachel and John Michael Bearden of Friendship and Brooklyn and Chris Heiser of Lamar claimed top Young Farmers & Ranchers awards for 2023. Farmers and ranchers ages 18-35 are awarded by Farm Bureau for general excellence of operations, hard work and innovation.

The Beardens won the Achievement Award, completing a sweep of the program’s awards over the past three years. They claimed Arkansas Farm Bureau’s YF&R Excellence in Agriculture in 2021 and Rachel won the Discussion Meet in 2022. They own and operate Fowler & Bearden Farm in Hot Spring County, raising 250 cow-calf pairs. They also own a track of timber, grow hay, raise horses and cross-bred sheep. The Beardens are sixth-generation and seventhgeneration farmers and purchasers of part of the family farm.

“I’m so proud of the six generations of the Fowlers farming here, but we didn’t follow the normal tradition of waiting for that inheritance,” says John Michael Bearden. “We jumped in, had an opportunity to buy our own piece. Ultimately, to make us a legacy farm for our daughter (3-year-old Lexi Grace).”

The Bearden’s award includes $35,000 cash and a

trip to 2024 American Farm Bureau Convention in Salt Lake City, where they’ll compete for the national achievement award. The Farm Bureau Achievement award recognizes young farmers and ranchers excelling in farming/ranching and leadership. The honor goes to individuals or couples like the Beardens involved in full-time production agriculture with most of their income subject to normal production risks. The Achievement Award is sponsored by the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company.

The Heisers exhibited understanding of agricultural issues, as well as leadership, achievements and involvement in Farm Bureau and other organizations to earn the Young Farmers and Ranchers’ Excellence in Agriculture Award. It recognizes accomplishments of individuals or couples earning most of their income through off-farm efforts, but who are involved in farming and Farm Bureau. It is sponsored by Arkansas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company and

TAG TEAM – Brooklyn and Chris Heiser work commercial and registered cattle herds of SimAngus and Angus cattle near Lamar in Johnson County.

Publishing Concepts, Inc., publishers of Front Porch

The Heisers work commercial and registered cattle herds of SimAngus and Angus cattle in Johnson County. Chris also manages Wilkins Farms and Brooklyn manages Sweet Treats Sandwich and Pie Shop in Lamar.

“So many people in the community have impacted me along the way, farmers and others in the industry,” says Chris Heiser. “They got me here so I’ve always just felt the need to give back. I’m president of the county Cattlemen’s Association, on the county Farm Bureau board, our county FFA board, really anything I can do to promote it.”

The Heisers collected $11,000 cash and a trip to Farm Bureau’s national convention to compete for the national award. •

FRIENDSHIP FAMILY – The Bearden family smiled with a sweep of the Young Farmers and Ranchers Awards over the past three years. They own and operate Fowler & Bearden Farm in Friendship (Hot Spring County).

FROM OUR FARM FAMILIES TO YOUR TABLE FROM OUR FARM FAMILIES TO YOUR TABLE

Farm Bureau leader for 70-plus years helped hook up farms with electricity

In 1937, Arkansas Farm Bureau was the fastest growing state Farm Bureau in the nation, increasing its membership from 65 to 8,567 in one year, a whopping 13,000 percent increase.

Underwood Mitchell remembered paying his $5 annual membership fee that year and serving as the Boone County Farm Bureau board as secretary. He coveted the membership for more than 70 years until his death July 28 at the age of 97.

“I volunteered and there were only a handful of members and then others started getting involved,” Mitchell said in an interview with Front Porch just 14 days before his death. “People I worked with, and had relationships with, were getting involved. I just felt like Farm Bureau was the best thing to get involved with.”

Mitchell, an agriculture representative for Arkansas Power and Light (now Entergy) for 38 years, remembered Farm Bureau was working vigorously in the late 1930s to secure rural electrification projects for the state’s farmers and ranchers through the Rural Electrification Administration. On Oct. 20, 1937, the state’s first rural electric cooperative utility pole was raised, and its lines started in 1938.

ELECTRIC ELDER – Underwood Mitchell (97) scrolls through an I-Pad July 14, just 14 days before his death. When an area was being considered for electricity in the late 1930’s, it was Mitchell’s job to visit homes and farms that would be connected.

by the time electricity made it to north Arkansas, none were turning it away.

The Rural Electrification Administration lent money to organizations of farmers to construct power lines over two decades. County Farm Bureaus in the flat-land areas of south and east Arkansas were first to set up committees to research how many farms would participate. Mitchell said

“Whenever there was an area being considered for electricity, it was my job to go out and visit each family to see how their homes and farms would be wired and connected,” Mitchell said. “It was an exciting time. I remember, there was a group of homes in the southeast

part of (Boone County) where they were really excited about getting electricity. It meant more dairies would be built, milk barns. The dairy business developed over the years and then the poultry business.”

Mitchell was raised on a farm in Nevada County about 7 miles east of Rosston, 20 miles south of Prescott and a short walk from the Cale Consolidated Schools he attended. His family raised cotton, watermelons and peanuts as cash crops “with a two-horse plow but we had two mules, not horses,” he said.

Mitchell moved to Boone County in the 1940s, bought his first car in 1951 and built a house in 1952. His assets were protected by Farm Bureau. He called current Boone County agency manager Neil Mitchell and former agent James Martin, who worked for Farm Bureau from 1960-2015, both “real good friends.”

“As Farm Bureau grew and more people were involved and the coverage on their houses and farms increased, it was quite an expanse,” he said. “When they needed help, Farm Bureau was there and it was a big deal.”

Mitchell, a member of the Northwest Arkansas District Fair Board for 25 years, recorded perfect attendance as a member of the Harrison Kiwanis for 65 years. Established with the Kiwanis Foundation, the Underwood Mitchell Scholarship Fund to assist students pursuing degrees in agriculture. Donations may be made to the Harrison Kiwanis Foundation, Underwood Mitchell Scholarship Fund, PO Box 983, Harrison, AR 72601. •

Peebles Farm and Corn Maze Fall Fun for All

By Shaylee Wallace Barber

Temperatures are finally cooling down, school is back in session, football season has kicked off and summer activities have come to an end. While the seasons (and your schedule) may be changing, there is still plenty of fun to be had this fall. From bonfires to hayrides to pumpkin patches and everything in between, Peebles Farm and Corn Maze just might have what you’re looking for.

Located in Augusta, Peebles Farm is owned and operated by Dallas and Katie Peebles. In 1996 the couple bought their current location to diversify their row crop operation by growing watermelons and pumpkins for wholesale. Soon after, Katie spent her summers with a fold-out card table set up under the farm’s pecan tree so she could sell produce to individuals who wanted to purchase outside of wholesale. It wasn’t long before she had to quit her job as a registered nurse

to keep up with the number of individual pumpkins and watermelons people wanted to buy.

It wasn’t until 2004 – when their daughter’s grade school class asked to attend a field trip on a working farm – that they realized they were missing an opportunity to connect children and agriculture, while providing

Dallas and Katie Peebles have owned and operated Peebles Farm and Corn Maze for nearly 20 years. Photo by Shaylee Wallace Barber.

Peebles Farm and Corn Maze offers activities for everyone, from you-pick pumpkins to a petting zoo.

family fun for all ages.

“There were about 50 kids, and we didn’t have nearly any of the activities we do now,” said Katie. “But we showed them all of our pumpkins and we fashioned up a hayride and some apple bobbing. We didn’t have the corn maze or animals … but they had so much fun, and we thought, well what if we do this on a bigger scale?”

After that fall, they contacted a young man about a book they found about building your own corn maze. Much to their surprise, the author was a 15-year-old boy in Wisconsin. Fortunately, he coached them through their first corn maze in 2005 and the Peebles have since added something new and engaging to their farm.

With 60 acres featuring a multitude of pumpkin varieties, a 20-acre corn maze, sunflowers, zinnias and a cotton patch the Peebles aren’t lacking opportunities to connect visitors with agriculture. They also have hayrides, horse-drawn wagon rides, train rides, playgrounds, a petting zoo, pig races, a paintball arcade, pumpkin canons, bonfires, the general store, concession stands and believe it or not more! There is truly something for everyone to do at Peebles Farm and Corn Maze. Even with the many activities, Dallas says their success is truly rooted in the agriculture practices on the farm.

“We don’t row crop anymore, but everything we do here comes down to timing,” explained Dallas. “We work all year for it to come down to about six weeks. The planting of our pumpkins, our flowers, our cotton, even our stalk corn verses our maze corn … it all comes down to timing. We have to be sure there is something for everyone no matter what day or week they come.”

Part of what makes Peebles Farm and Corn Maze unique is that they raise their own youpick pumpkins while supplying a good portion of Arkansas pumpkin patches. Their unique staggered crop production has also made them a destination for

photographers. Katie and Dallas agree that their favorite part of how they farm now is watching all the memories others make on the farm they’ve built.

“People will send me photos of their kids throughout the years next to our height measurement sign,” said Katie. “We have kids who came here that are bringing their kids now. Even my own kids … I’ve had a daughter get engaged here and use pumpkins to decorate her wedding. We are planning a pumpkin themed baby shower now. We’ve just had countless memories here for ourselves and watched others do the same.”

The opportunity to connect their community and state with agriculture is a large part of what makes the work worthwhile to Dallas. He explained that their farm impacts kids from grade school to high school.

“I can’t tell you the number of field trips,” said Dallas. “And we send a pumpkin home with everyone who attends a field trip. The biggest challenge is matching the size of the pumpkin to the size of the kids. There are also the kids who come to work for us, and there are so many of them as well. I had one stop me in a store to ask me if I remembered teaching her to drive a tractor. That is the

The Peebles choose a variety of corn which grows well for maze use. Photo by Shaylee Wallace Barber.

kind of thing that makes it worth it.”

With the chance to provide a place for families to connect and engage while making memories, the Peebles work hard to ensure every year is just a little different so people want to keep coming back for more. Last year they themed their farm with butterflies, but this year things might be a little more high profile.

“Well, we have a country music theme this year, and we may have a certain singer promoting our corn maze,” explained Katie. “We’ll have country music themed décor and photo-ops throughout the farm, and even some of

Taste Arkansas

Looking for the perfect balance of savory and sweet in a fall treat? This pumpkin butter recipe is just that! Use it to top biscuits, toast, ice cream or even cheesecake … the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

60 acres of you-pick pumpkins, in a multitude of varieties and sizes, grow on Peebles Farm and Corn Maze.

her merchandise in our general store.”

For those hoping to visit Peebles Farm and Corn Maze this year, they open to the public on Sept. 22 and run through Oct. 30. More information can be found on their website by scanning the QR code or visit their Facebook page. No matter what you choose to do when you visit, you’re sure to find something for everyone on the farm, and be sure to take home a pumpkin or two while you’re at it! •

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter

Directions

• 4 cups of Pumpkin Puree (canned or homemade)

• 1 cup of granulated gugar

• 2 cups of brown sugar

• 1 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice

1. Combine and mix all ingredients in your slow cooker.

2. Cover and cook on high for two hours, be sure to stir the mixture a few times to prevent any burning.

3. Remove the lid from your slow cooker and continue to cook another two or three hours until desired consistency is reached. Be sure to stir frequently.

4. Transfer to food safe jars and allow to cool before refrigerating.

Peebles Farm and Corn Maze offers a variety of photo opportunities. Photos by Shaylee Wallace Barber.

Scan the QR code to visit the Peebles Farm and Corn Maze website!

Recipe & photo by Shaylee Wallace Barber

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In conjunction with this event, we will be hosting the Compassionate Nurse and Outstanding Nurse Educator Award Ceremony honoring 20 of Arkansas’s compassionate nurses and 5 of Arkansas’s outstanding nurse educators.

• We are searching Arkansas to find the top 20 exceptional nurses in the state. Do you know a nurse who you feel is compassionate, caring, and empathetic? A nurse who has given comfort or care to you, a family member, or a friend? It may be a nurse you work with.

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We ask you send us your nominee’s name, where they work, phone number, 2-4 photos if possible and a short essay (up to 500 words), expressing why you think they are most deserving.

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MASH Camps Making a Difference for 35 Years

By Shaylee Wallace Barber

Every summer for 35 years, hundreds of high school students throughout the state have donned surgical scrubs or lab coats to participate in the Medical Applications of Science for Health Programs, better known as MASH camp. MASH camp places a special emphasis on exposing rural youth to careers in healthcare.

MASH camp was first established by Dr. Eddie Maples in Pine Bluff in 1988. With grant funding from the Arkansas Department of Education, Dr. Maples hosted 19 students that summer. Since then the program has grown to host more than 30 camps statewide each summer. Students are exposed to a variety of careers in healthcare including dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, allied health and more. Robin Howell is the MASH program manager through UAMS Regional Programs, and she says the variety of career exposure is part of what makes camps successful.

“The point of MASH is to help put the things students learn in high school into a real-world context,” said Howell. “We expose them to all these different health careers. Everybody knows there are nurses and doctors, but they don’t know there are hundreds of other options in the healthcare arena.”

Camps are located at various facilities throughout Arkansas and take place over a two-week period in the summer. During this time students become certified in basic first aid and CPR and learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. By connecting basic science courses to the medical field, students learn about medical diagnosis and

treatment through labs, clinical shadowing and lectures. Howell says providing camps through all of Arkansas is essential for the future of rural healthcare.

“One reason Farm Bureau has been such an amazing partner all these years is because they understand the importance of homegrown healthcare.” Howell says. You won’t often have someone from central or northwest Arkansas decide they want to move and have their career in a small town. The people who grow up in small

Tanaesha Thomas, seen preparing to wrap a cast, attributes her confidence in pursuing a medical career to her experience at MASH camps.

Twenty-three students attended MASH camp this summer at CHS St. Vincent in Hot Springs. More than 30 MASH camps are hosted annually in the state.

communities understand and value the culture of a small community or a farm community. That’s why it’s vital to plant these seeds.”

MASH camps provide an avenue for students to see they can pursue diverse careers in healthcare outside of large cities and metropolitan communities. These summer opportunities also show students that highly technical equipment and respective technicians are needed in rural communities as well. Participating in MASH has led many individuals to pursue careers in a variety of healthcare fields. Olivia Anderson participated in MASH in the late 1990s and attributes her community-driven profession to her time at MASH camp.

“It gave me the opportunity to shadow several different healthcare professions. [I saw] nursing, I got to see surgeries, talked to an orthopedic surgeon,” said Anderson. “It just really solidified that healthcare is what I wanted to do in the future. I highly encourage any high school students that can to participate in the program.” Anderson now works as a pharmacist at a locally owned Burrow’s Drug Store in Beebe, serving her community and helping patients with a variety of care needs. Among the many success stories of those currently working in healthcare, there are also current MASH students preparing to pursue medical careers.

Tanaesha Thomas graduated from Watson Chapel High School in Pine Bluff and attended MASH camps the past two years. Attending MASH opened her eyes to the many possibilities in healthcare and gave her the confidence to pursue a career in nursing.

“I always say the journey through the unknown is

hard, until you know it,” explained Thomas. “Coming into a hospital setting I was very unfamiliar with everything. Constantly seeing what our healthcare workers go through, and getting more familiar with my surroundings, allowed me to retain information from their jobs and get an insight on what nursing career I would be interested in because there is a broad spectrum.”

Thomas will be attending Grambling State University in Louisiana this fall to pursue a degree in nursing. MASH’s focus on opportunities in rural healthcare and emphasis on careers outside of large cities has given Thomas the opportunity to focus on why a nursing career matters to her.

“A lot of people seem to go into the field of healthcare for the money it offers, and you can tell when that happens,” said Thomas. “I want to go into the field knowing my passion is to help at least one person, regardless of the outcome. That is motivation to keep doing your job every day, and something that you love won’t be a hassle at all! It will be an opportunity.”

Since the establishment of MASH in her hometown, Tanaesha is one of many stories about the influence of MASH camp on both youth and healthcare workers in communities throughout Arkansas. The success of MASH camps for the last 35 years has helped play a role in empowering healthcare workers in every corner of the natural state, and will do so for many years to come. •

See more photos of 2023 MASH camps by scanning the QR code.

Farm Bureau Ladies Passionate About Helping Students

By Noralee Townsend

Arkansas Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Program engages ladies by offering opportunities to develop communication and leadership skills, aiming to empower them as strong and effective leaders in agriculture.

Ladies across the state do a lot as a ‘working arm’ for Farm Bureau, including ag education. The leadership committee members assist in advocating for agriculture in their communities and implementing educational improvements and social advancements for future ag leaders.

With the start of school, teachers are busy restocking classrooms and need help. According to the Kids in Need Foundation, 90% of students arrive without needed supplies and 99% of educators use their own money for classrooms and student supplies.

As part of the Community Cultivations Program, the Arkansas Farm Bureau state Women’s Leadership Committee and Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee sponsors a statewide school supply drive. County committees purchase school supplies, organize a supply drive at the county office and/or donate gift cards for teachers to purchase supplies. County Women’s Leadership Committees also prepare projects for children to complete during the year.

Craighead County participated in the supply drive to benefit schools in its area and is gearing up for the county

fair where kids will learn about strawberries and more.

“My favorite part of being on the Craighead County Women’s Leadership Committee is sharing my passion for agriculture and giving back to my community,” says Brittany Barnes, chair of the Craighead County Women’s Leadership Committee. “I love seeing children get excited to learn about all aspects of agriculture.”

The Hempstead County Women’s Leadership Committee seeks to involve every elementary class in an agriculture-related workshop, reading to the students or bringing a germination station to talk about planting sunflowers.

“My favorite part is interacting with the kids and their reactions to the different programs we do,” says Mindy Lockhart, chair of the Hempstead County Women’s Leadership Committee. The Sharp County Women’s Leadership Committee brings an ag trailer to the county fair to interact and teach children and adults about agriculture. They also go into classrooms to read books.

“It’s important to promote agriculture,” says Sue Billot, co-chair of the Sharp County Women’s Leadership Committee.

Ladies in these committees have passion for helping their neighbors through educating youth about agriculture •

FILL A TRACTOR – As part of the Community Cultivations Program, the Arkansas Farm Bureau state Women’s Leadership Committee and Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee sponsor a statewide school supply drive.

A decade later, Game Balls still preserving memories

The school’s stadium is named after native legendary college coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Its mascot might be the nation’s most unique, and the team is winning big.

Then-rookie insurance man Reed Camp considers its all, knows he needs an angle or just some way to align himself with the pride of Fordyce – the Redbugs!

“I was just trying to think of ways to get a connection with the school,” Camp recalls from 2013. “We had helped feed teachers on in-service workdays and things like that, but this really took off.”

With Fordyce coach Tim Rodgers’ blessing, Camp awarded the first “Farm Bureau Insurance Player of the Game” ball Sept. 13, 2013, to Redbug senior quarterback Braden Chambers. In the season opener, Chambers completed 17 of 23 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns in a thrilling 28-21 win over rival Rison.

A photo of Camp presenting the ball to Chambers appeared in next week’s Fordyce News-Advocate. The caption included “Farm Bureau” as will all the game ball winner announcements the remainder of the season in the paper.

Farm Bureau Insurance Vice President of Sales Mack Wallace, a standout fullback/linebacker for the tenacious Star City Bulldogs in the 1970s, visited Camp’s office the fall of 2013. Some soon-to-be awarded balls on Camp’s shelf caught his attention and agents from across the state are soon alerted of the opportunity.

A decade later, more than 170 of Arkansas’ 208 football-playing schools are awarded Player of the Game balls by local Farm Bureau Insurance agents. Do the math, those agents made close to 1,700 high school boys feel good about themselves in 2022.

“We did a post on our county Facebook page of a winner last fall, and within 48 hours more than 12,000 people had seen it,” says Camp, now agency manager at Hempstead County Farm Bureau in Hope. “The player came from a big family. All his aunts and uncles were sharing it. We had more people see that post than live in the town of Hope. All for a $41 football!”

KICKING OFF THE GAME BALLS – Farm Bureau’s Reed Camp, now agency manager in Hempstead County, started the Player of the Week award in 2013 when he worked in Dallas County. The Fordyce News-Advocate ran photos of Camp and the weekly winners.

Michael Howard, founder and CEO of Volunteer Collectibles in Georgia, sells the balls to agents. In addition to the near 90 percent of football teams being awarded balls, a few Farm Bureau agents are adding basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball and baseball awards, he says. Hackett High School (Sebastian County) received volleyballs for all its seniors on senior night that could be signed with a sharpie by coaches and teammates.

“This is what amazes me,” says Camp. “I have mommas at midnight on Friday sending me video of their boys making catches and tackles. I’ve even got emails of highlight videos edited with music. Funny thing is, they don’t know we let the coaches decide the weekly winner!” •

Economics Arkansa s Brings Ag to Clas sroom

By Noralee Townsend

School teachers seized an opportunity to see the world of agriculture this summer with the help of Economics Arkansas and Arkansas Farm Bureau.

Economics Arkansas, providing resources and training to PreK-12 teachers in public and independent schools, was founded in 1962 and serves teachers and students across the state to see how the world works. Its program called ‘Connecting Educators to Industry’ allows teachers, who spend most days inside the classroom, to see how they can open studen’s eyes to career paths.

“Teachers are excited about going out to see agriculture in action,” says Marsha Masters, associate director of Economics Arkansas. “We often talk through webinars and sessions presented at our state conference, but seeing it is a whole different ballgame for the teachers. We are excited to host a Connecting Educators to Industry with Farm Bureau.”

TEACHERS DAY OUT – Seth Summerside of Keo Fish Farms guides 43 teachers on a tour June 6 in Keo as part of Economics Arkansas’ Connecting Educators to Industry. The program provides insights for educators to share with students on how agriculture impacts the world. Photo by Catelyn Parker

– the state’s largest industry – helps teachers and students understand the impact of agriculture,” Masters says.

Teachers not directly connected to agriculture traveled to Lonoke County for a hands-on experience in the field. They learned more about ways to teach agriculture careers and discovered ways to integrate agricultural economics into their lesson plans. The educators also received information about Arkansas’ agriculture commodities and classroom materials for teaching general agriculture.

During the field day, 43 educators toured Keo Fish Farms in Keo to learn about the aquaculture industry and Bevis Farms in nearby Scott to learn about row crops.

A former classroom educator, Masters grew to love Farm Bureau resources and now appreciates them even more because of Economics Arkansas’s partnership with Farm Bureau.

“Partnerships are resource multipliers and to be able to partner with Arkansas Farm Bureau about agriculture

The farm tours sign-up list filled quickly and the waitlist was substantial. Masters says this will be a project that Economics Arkansas can do again next year.

“We want teachers and students in our state to understand the role of agriculture and how it benefits our state.” Masters says. “Not only us at the consumer level – at the table, where we are eating those goods – but the job opportunities available for future career paths. For us, that’s major.”

Masters says teachers can now see that they can take what they experienced at the farm back to their classrooms and start the conversation about agriculture with students.

Arkansas Farm Bureau provided the teachers with resources about agriculture that engages the students, including classroom materials, ag literacy projects, workshops, awards and scholarships. •

Cash Awaits Top Ag Startup Businesses

Apayday for Arkansas Ag innovators comes just in time for Christmas.

Cash prizes totaling $15,000 await top agriculture startup businesses during Arkansas Farm Bureau’s state convention Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Little Rock. The new contest called ‘Ag Innovation Challenge’ is administered by Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation in partnership with Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas.

“The business can be anything that helps ag business, any ag innovation,” says ArFB Federation’s Philip Powell. Powell, who serves as Assistant Director of Local Affairs and Rural Development, Public Affairs and Government Relations, was thrilled when the ArFB state board approved the program. Powell worked for a start-up ag

business in Alabama two years ago that competed in the American Farm Bureau’s Ag Innovation Challenge.

Arkansas’ contest winner receives $7,500 this first year. Runner-up takes $5,000 and a People’s Choice award winner claims $2,500. The People’s Choice winner can also be the first place or runner-up finisher.

Entrepreneurs entering the contest must be 18 and Arkansas Farm Bureau members. Applicants who are not Farm Bureau members, can join at arfb.com/join

Applications call for inclusion of various information regarding an applicant’s business plan, photos and a video pitch. The business must be for-profit. Judges review applications to select the winner and runner-up.

The application window closes Oct. 9. •

U.

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Required by 39 U.S.C.3685). 1. Publication title: Front Porch. 2. Publication number: 01-9879. 3. Filing date: 8-15-23. 4. Issue frequency: Quarterly. 5. No. of issues published annually: Four. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $0. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, 10720 Kanis Road, Little Rock, AR 72211. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters of General Business office of Publisher: Same as #7. 9. Full names and complete mailing address of Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor: Publisher, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation; Executive Editor, Steve Eddington; Editor, Chad Hooten. All addresses same as #7. 10. Owner: Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. 11. Bondholders, Mortgages and other Security Holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 12. Tax Status: unchanged. 13. Publication title: Front Porch. 14. Issue date for Circulation date: Fall 2023. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 177,750 Actual no. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 179,788 15a. Total no. of copies net press run average each issue 177,750 15b. Paid/Requested outsidecounty mail subscription: 175,901 (most recent 177,939). 15c. Total paid and/or requested circulation: 177,750 (most recent 179,788). 15d. e. Not Applicable. 15f. Total Distribution: 177,750 (most recent 179,788).15g. Copies not distributed 10 (most recent 12). 15h. Total: 177,760 (most recent 179,800). 15i. Percent paid: 100%. 16. Statement of ownership will be printed in the Fall 2023 issue of the publication. 17. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner. Chad Hooten, Editor.

Notice of Annual Meeting

of the members of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the voting delegates elected by the members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation will be at 8 a.m., Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in the Wally Allen Ballroom in the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The purpose of this meeting is to elect a Board of Directors for the ensuing year and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting.

Jarrod W. Yates Executive Vice President

of the members of the Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc.

Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the members of the Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Arkansas, Inc. will be Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at 1 p.m., at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Center boardroom in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The purpose of this meeting is to elect a Board of Directors for the ensuing year and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting.

Kevin McKenzie EVP-General Manager

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You Deserve More. You Deserve a Promise.

For over 70 years Farm Bureau® Insurance’s commitment to our customers has never wavered. In that time, local agents and adjusters have served communities all over Arkansas with home and auto insurance, and more. We believe that your family is part of our family. And protecting families has always been our pledge. Talk with your local agent to learn more about the Farm Bureau Promise.

Talya Tate Boerner, a fourth-generation Arkansas farm girl, has been published in Arkansas Review, Ponder Review, and Writer’s Digest. She blogs at Grace Grits and Gardening and is the author of three novels — The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee, Gene, Everywhere, and Bernice Runs Away

Letting Go of Summer R

emember when the lines of summer were clearly delineated? When I was a kid, Labor Day belonged to summer, and no one imagined otherwise. The day after Labor Day, though? Well, that day belonged to Keiser Elementary. Once the school bell rang and another year commenced, summer was OVER. Never mind that the weather was still only fit for bathing suit-wearing, bicycle riding, and serene afternoons spent inside the airconditioned public library.

Those first days of September felt shocking to me. According to the calendar, it was time to get serious about education. Mrs. Mills said fourth-grade science was the year of the circulatory system (and she said this with such enthusiasm I worried her summer had been boring). She held up illustrations of the heart, aorta, and blood vessels so everyone in the class could see them. When she began stapling the pictures to the bulletin board, I wanted to cry from the unfairness of it all. My heart (and my entire circulatory system) still ached for summer.

“Boys and girls, this year in geography class, we will study the largest rivers in the world,” she announced, continuing her passionate preview of fourth grade. Again she spoke with great zeal, as though our entire class would be going on a two-week field trip — pack your suitcases and a ham sandwich; tomorrow we shall float the Nile!

Despite her best efforts, Mrs. Mills could say nothing to lure me into school mode. I was not in the proper frame of mind to care about the largest rivers in the world. Instead, at that very moment, I was riding my John Deere bike along the bank of Little River. And even though my sister and cousin were stuck in the firstand third-grade classes, respectively, I knew they were peddling beside me.

We had our very own gully there, and it was magnificent, the sand scooped out by nature and mounded into blinding white dunes. Although I didn’t know it then, the powdery soft sand in our gully was on par with Panama City Beach, warm like a secret and ideal for burying toes and sifting through fingers. It was the perfect place for safeguarding summer dreams until next year.

I closed my eyes and imagined being a Little River pirate,

By Talya Tate Boerner

swinging driftwood swords, sun-bleached like bone. We had scribbled pretend secret messages on oak leaves as wide as paddles, sending them sailing downriver to imaginary pen pals.

Once, we worked tirelessly to free an ancient glass bottle half-buried in the river bank. I expected to find a note inside, a message penned at a different time by someone upriver. Instead, tiny fern-like plants filled the bottle, a miniature world thriving with only what nature provided.

I could very nearly smell the earthy aroma of those tiny wondrous plants when I noticed Mrs. Mills standing at my desk. Uh-oh. Wearing a puzzled expression, she awaited my answer to a question I’d not heard.

“I can tell you aren’t with us,” she said, her kind eyes peering over tortoise shell-framed glasses.

“Actually, I was still thinking about those largest rivers you mentioned earlier,” I said, which wasn’t entirely untrue. Little River lived large to me.

Later that day, we opened our health books, and Mrs. Mills explained the importance of the food pyramid. When she played a filmstrip about nutrition, I thought of picnics on Little River — Aunt Lavern’s tomato sandwiches made with Wonder Bread, a thin coating of Miracle Whip spread from crust to crust. I could practically taste the salty peanuts bobbing in a cold bottle of Coca-Cola.

My heart still hurt.

Those first few school days continued passing in a melancholy haze, but slowly, I loosened my grip on the last golden drops of summer and acclimated to the life of a trapped schoolgirl. It helped that we had a football team to cheer on and next month’s Halloween carnival to plan. And soon, the town’s cotton gin would come alive, humming with harvest.

Anticipation was sometimes as enjoyable as the thing itself.

Even as a fourth grader, I knew seasons changed and time passed. And I suspected not having endless summer days to roll in the palm of my hand and skip like flat stones across Little River would make them even more extraordinary when they eventually returned. •