ArFB YOUNG FARMER & RANCHER AWARD

Arkansas Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers recently announced three finalists for Excellence in Ag and Achievement Award. The contests are designed to provide opportunities to give recognition for achievements in agriculture, business, and leadership to our young farmers and ranchers.

The Excellence in Ag award recognizes the accomplishments of contestants who derive the majority of their income from efforts other than agriculture but are involved in farming. The three finalists are:

• Chris and Brooklyn Heiser, Johnson Co. The Heisers have a cow-calf operation where they run predominately commercial angus and sim angus, as well as a small herd of registered angus cows for seedstock.

Brooklyn manages the family’s restaurant, Sweet Treats in Lamar. Along with their herd, Chris manages Wilkins Cattle and Poultry, Inc.

• Reed and Sarah Kelley, Faulkner Co. The Kelleys have a commercial cow-calf operation in Conway, where Reed is an agricultural instructor at Conway High School. Sarah works at UAMS as a Labor and Delivery and NICU nurse. They have one daughter.

• Hannah Walker, Baxter Co. Hannah and her husband have mixed cow-calf pairs, replacement heifers, bulls, and feeder calves on their farm in Henderson. She is the financial secretary for the Mountain Home Public Schools Special Education Department. She and her husband have two children.

Produce Safety Training For Fruit

Keeping produce free of microbial contamination and reducing foodborne illness is critical to the success of commercial growers. To support these efforts, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will offer a remote, two-day produce safety training workshop for fruit and vegetable growers.

The workshop will provide important information on best practices, worker health and hygiene, risk management and more. The training will take place 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 24–25 via Zoom. Participants can register online.

Registration is $25 per person for Arkansas residents and $100 per person for out-of-state residents. The deadline to register is May 17. Gaby Sanders, extension program associate for local, regional, and safe foods for the Division of Agriculture, said the Arkansas Produce Safety team is looking forward to hosting their only remote training of 2023.

The training, developed by the Produce Safety Alliance and