Randy Veach and Rich Hillman will continue as Arkansas Farm Bureau president and vice president, respectively, following their re-election Dec. 4.
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 in Mississippi County, begins his 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 is from Carlisle in Lonoke County and begins 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.
Joe Christian of Jonesboro in Craighead County was elected 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 County
- John Carroll, Moro, Monroe County
- Sherry Felts, Joiner, Mississippi County
- Mike Freeze, England, Lonoke County
- Bruce Jackson, Lockesburg, Sevier County
- Gene Pharr, Lincoln, Washington County
- Joe Thrash, Toad Suck, Faulkner County
Voting delegates also addressed a wide range of federal and state policy issues, defining Arkansas Farm Bureau’s positions on 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.
