Six individuals will be inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2021 as part of Class XXXIV.
The new inductees include Rick Cartwright of Fayetteville, Joe Don Greenwood of Hermitage, the late Russell Roy Reynolds, Randy Veach of Manila, Mark Waldrip of Moro, and Andrew Wargo III of Watson. These individuals will bring the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame’s total members to 176.
Class XXXIV inductees represent a wide range of professions within the agricultural field. The members have held roles in agricultural education, agribusiness, policy and advocacy, the seed industry and more.
“Arkansas agriculture is one of the great success stories of our state, and that is sometimes overlooked in today’s society,” Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame chairman Butch Calhoun said in a statement. “This class reflects a remarkable line of success that connects everyone selected for the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame. Â
Cartwright held multiple positions at the University of Arkansas System of Agriculture from 1992 to his retirement in 2020. He was named interim director of the Extension Cooperative Program in 2016 and senior associate vice president for agriculture-extension in 2017.
Greenwood served as an agriculture teacher at Hermitage for approximately 40 years. He led Hermitage to eight national championships in forestry and livestock judging, as well as finishing as reserve national champions on three occasions. In total, Greenwood’s students won 41 state championships in 4-H and FFA.
Reynolds, a forest economist, was one of the founding fathers of the Crossett Experimental Forest. He also served as the author or co-author of roughly 175 publications over the course of his career.
Veach served as the president of Arkansas Farm Bureau for 11 years, retiring in 2019. He has also served as a member of the American Farm Bureau board of directors and as president and chairman of the Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company.
Waldrip, a fourth-generation farmer, founded East Arkansas Seeds and acquired Cullum Seeds, forming Armor Seed, which was acquired in 2017 by Winfield United. He is also the chairman of Big Creek Bancshares, the holding company for Armor Bank.
Wargo served as the farm manager for the Baxter Land Company for more than 50 years.
Currently, the date of the inductee ceremony has not been set. However, officials are eyeing a mid-summer date for the ceremony.
READ MORE: Hillman Continues as Arkansas Farm Bureau President
