Front Porch Issue 129

Issue 129 2023

Faith.

Family.

Farm Bureau.

Catching up with ArFB President Rich Hillman

Plus, Holiday Recipes p. 30

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 128 Real |Service.

Real People. ®

afbic.com

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Porch Front

CONTENT

Your Input Does Matter Jarrod Yates

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Hillman Reflects 50 Years of Farm Bureau Family

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Yield of Dreams 2023 Crops A Cut Above

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Bob Barnhill: Brilliant and Brave Founder of Popular Orchard Studied Hard

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Wonderland Farm 20,000 Trees Point to the Heavens in Pea Ridge

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Cobb Named Southeastern (U.S.) Farmer of the Year

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Taste Arkansas: Christmas Treats Chloe Noelle

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Delta Child Talya Tate Boerner

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Cover design by Bryan Pistole

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

FARM BUREAU MATTERS

with Rich Hillman

I’M SO BLESSED!

T

his is my last chance to tell all the readers of Front Porch magazine, thank you. Thanks for letting me tell personal stories in this space. My hope in son-in-law Brad Davis, whom I’m so proud of too, are some small way was to share with you a glimpse of the very successful in the medical sales world, but most fortunate life I live while sharing with you the challenges, importantly, have given Tina and me two granddaughters, the bumps the bruises, and the never-lost optimism of Demi and Chloe. I never thought I would be one of those agriculture in my wonderful journey with Arkansas mushy granddads … never mind. I found out I AM one of Farm Bureau.

those mushy ones! My much older The title of this article is not just to

brother (I had to get that in there, Hal), pique your interest, but it’s a message

who has a lot more hair than me, has I want to send to so many people.

been a great help for our farming There are not enough pages in this The list of agents

operation. He deserves a special thank edition of Front Porch to list all the you for all he does. To my parents, good, good people who have helped and agency

thanks for all the opportunities they me in my career with Farm Bureau. managers who

afforded me! They sacrificed so my From my home team, Lonoke County

brother and I could have opportunities Farm Bureau, to the state board of have become dear

they didn’t have. As you can see because directors (past and present), to the friends during my

of my family, their help, their love, is countless staff members (Federation career is a mile

why I have had success. They are the and Insurance), to every member in

ones who have done the heavy lifting. every county in our great state, with long. They all have

I am so blessed! my hat in my hand, I say thank you been a large part

Farm Bureau Insurance has always for your support and your trust.

been near and dear to my heart. One To the greatest family a man can of my life and my

reason is they protect my family and have, I say thank you, too! They have time with the Farm

farm, but the more personal reason is been so understanding and patient Bureau Family.

the people who make up that company. with me during my tenure. To the

Going back to my first years on the point that I would feel guilty leaving

county board was our agency manager them while fulfilling my job, one I

Rob Millard. He was “family.” He took willing signed up for. It was certainly

me under his wing and mentored me not them causing the angst, it was me and helped me better understand Farm Bureau. He would just worrying about nothing, because when I returned always end our conversations with “Farm Bureau will from Washington D.C. or China, Japan, etc., things were always do the right thing.” He was right and we always better than I left them. have. Clint Miller, our county’s current agency manager, To my wife Tina, my admiration, gratitude, and I love has been a dear friend and helped me also during my you and all that you are. Thank you for your patience. You journey. The list of agents and agency managers who have were a partner with me all along the way. My son Collin become dear friends during my career is a mile long. They has turned into a great farmer and even better man. I’m all have been a large part of my life and my time with the so incredibly proud of him. My daughter Caroline and

“

”

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

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Farm Bureau Family. Thanks to all of them for their incredible servants’ hearts.

Listing names is so tough, because again that list is so very long, but Donny Davis, the vice president of claims, has to be mentioned.

Donny and I have been thrown together time and time again. We actually both came from the Stuttgart area early in our lives, just to find ourselves together in Carlisle from the fourth grade. We later played in the same backfield of our high school football team, then were brothers in Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Arkansas. The past four years our offices have been just down the hall from each other. Donny and his professional claims Rich Hillman counts his family as his largest blessing, including staff have been second to none, and truly make son-in-law Brad Davis (left) holding granddaughter Chloe, daughter Farm Bureau shine through tough times.

Caroline, wife Tina and son Collin with granddaughter Demi.

Kevin McKenzie, our Insurance Company’s executive vice president and general manager, Wood. Matt, our senior vice president, has poured his has become, under tremendous adversity, a true leader energy in almost every aspect of our Federation. His to our one-of-a-kind staff. I’ve watched Kevin time and passion for our farmers and ranchers is second to none. time again make critical decisions that were tough but He has worked tirelessly for our organization. Karen warranted. He is a vital part of our Farm Bureau Family. I Wood, our corporate secretary, has made sure our board will not miss the tough discussions we have had to have, is at the right place at the right time. That has pretty usually well past quitting time. But I will miss the Monroe much been like herding cats most of the time, and I County farming stories with which we always ended those know I have required a special amount of herding. She tough discussions. Kevin has, as have so many, become a has been such a great help to all of us. dear friend. I am so blessed.

Our current executive vice president, Jarrod Yates, has On the Federation side, the side that is the best been at the helm for just a short time, yet his leadership advocate for our farmers and ranchers in this state, I’m is already shining. His quiet demeanor, coupled with his so very proud of our team and amazed how much they passion for agriculture, is already starting to define his do for us every day. During my time on our board, we leadership. His unquestionable integrity has and will be have expanded our staff and our constant assistance to his foremost characteristic moving the Federation into a our membership. Every sector in Arkansas agriculture is bright future. I’m so blessed to have worked alongside of covered by a staff who is driven to serve. They personally all our great staff. care about the farmers and ranchers they strive to help Certainly, there are some individuals you meet every day. Watching them work together for the greater who impact your life, changing the trajectory you are good has given me so much pride in the past and a great on to a new and better one. For me, there are many of hope for the future. those people, but two who helped me most in my Farm So many names and faces come to mind, but Bureau career are Randy Veach, our former president, especially Ewell Welch and Warren Carter, past executive and a certain fish farmer from Keo. Randy always taught vice presidents, who led our staff and helped me in me, through his actions, to have patience with people my personal journey, both had great people skills to and lean on your faith. His patience with me was more manage our Federation. Ewell and Warren had different than I deserved. But his faith was, and still is, extremely personalities, but both did a phenomenal job in contagious. Without the gifts he shared with me, I would moving Farm Bureau forward while serving a growing not have been able to navigate this journey. Randy, I will membership. always be grateful to you. I’ve been so blessed to be in I will forever be indebted to Matt King and Karen your path.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

Now the fish farmer from Keo, none other than Mike Freeze. There’s nobody reading this article who knows Mike who doesn’t have a smile on your face right now. You see, that’s Mike’s persona, he’s just a great guy.

But he’s really a complicated, complex, individual. Most of you don’t know he’s a voracious reader. He is constantly sending me emails from every government service in Washington D.C. He stays on the cutting edge of the science and politics of his aquaculture livelihood. He is known all over the world as a leader in that profession. Mike has served as vice president during the last four years, but, really, he has served as co-president. I can’t tell you how much I have leaned on him and his leadership during that time. He has shouldered so many issues for this organization and for the board. He and Dan Wright, our secretary-treasurer, have served us well on our Insurance board in Southern Farm Bureau. Mike, thank you for your service to Farm Bureau, but thank you more for your dear friendship along the way.

To all the state board members, past and present, with whom I have served with and developed great friendships, please accept my heartfelt thanks. You have given so much more of your personal time and effort than anybody knows. With servants’ hearts you have made tough decisions that are not always popular but necessary to move this great organization forward so it can help so many people in our great state of Arkansas. To all of our staff and to all of our membership I have been so blessed to be a part of the Farm Bureau Family! •

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

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Porch Front

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

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Included in membership dues ARKANSAS 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

Make your farming legacy a reality.

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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Contact Paula Caruthers at Publishing Concepts for advertising rates pcaruthers@pcipublishing.com (501) 221-9986, Ext. 109 Fax (501) 225-3735 Front Porch (USPS 019-879) is published quarterly by the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation 10720 Kanis Rd., Little Rock, AR 72211 Periodicals Postage paid at Little Rock, AR POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rhonda Whitley at rhonda.whitley@arfb.com Front Porch • P.O. Box 31 • Little Rock, AR 72203 Please provide membership number Issue #129

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Publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation reserves the right to accept or reject all advertising requests.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

SERVING FARMERS, SERVING YOU

with Jarrod Yates

ArFB EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

YOUR INPUT DOES MATTER

W

hat does Arkansas Farm Bureau mean to you?

Insurance? Agriculture? Advocacy? It’s all those things and more.

I know you’re busy. In today’s society, we are all so busy. We’ve got kids or grandkids with all sorts of activities, church meetings and functions, work commitments, and there is never a shortage of work to be done on the farm.

But I’m asking you to take a minute and think about Arkansas Farm Bureau. Next time you have a few minutes waiting in the carpool line, or waiting on your child to finish a practice, or for the grain cart to come back around, get out your phone and read about what your local county Farm Bureau is doing in your hometown.

Learn more about what Arkansas Farm Bureau offers you as a member. If you’re not a member, check out all the benefits of joining.

Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation is an advocacy organization. Our members decide what we advocate for through our county offices and our policy development process. You might think your input won’t matter or your ideas won’t get to the policy makers at the state capitol or U.S. Capitol, but that’s not true. Your input does matter, and as a member of Arkansas Farm Bureau our collective voices make a difference!

Agriculture lives in rural towns and communities.

At Arkansas Farm Bureau, we not only advocate for agriculture-specific issues and regulations, but we also advocate on issues important to rural life. We work to secure funding for roads and bridges, better schools, increased access to high-speed internet, better cellular service, and more for the rural way of life. Why? Because agriculture lives in rural areas and for folks, especially our young people, to want to live in these areas and work in agriculture – they need these quality-of-life necessities.

Even if you’re not a farmer, but a schoolteacher, banker,

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

pharmacist, nurse, plumber, electrician or really any profession, there are benefits to being a member and getting involved with Arkansas Fam Bureau.

We advocate for agriculture and improving the quality of life in rural areas. I started by asking what does Arkansas Farm Bureau mean to you and I want to let you know what it means to me. By advocating for agriculture and for our rural way of life, we are advocating for the security of our country. Food security is a national security issue. We are losing population in rural areas; the average age of farmers is on the incline; the number of young people entering agriculture as a full-time profession is on the decline. If those trends continue, where and who will produce the food to feed America and the people our farmers currently feed around the world? A country that cannot feed its citizens is not secure but is dependent on other countries for a basic human necessity. It is up to us to ensure farmers and ranchers and their ability to farm is here to stay for generations to come. No one else is going to fight this fight for us!

It also means advocating for one of the noblest of professions – the farmer, helping improve the quality of life in our hometowns and communities. It means keeping the grocery shelves full for all Americans and plenty in our food banks for our most vulnerable … and it will mean even more tomorrow.

Please, take a minute to check us out, kick the tires, look under the hood. See what Arkansas Farm Bureau could mean to you!

P.S. – If you’re an active and engaged member of Arkansas Farm Bureau, first – thank you! Second, please tell your neighbors and friends about the important work being done through your Arkansas Farm Bureau County office. Encourage them to join our efforts to grow and advance Arkansas’s largest industry – agriculture! •

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Hillman reflects 50 years of Farm Bureau Family

By Steve Eddington

The Hillman family’s farming history runs deep. Here they are shown after being named 1968 Arkansas County Farm Family of the Year, including (left to right) Shelby, Rich, Tommy and Hal Hillman.

A

s a 6-year-old, Rich Hillman remembers tagging along when his father was surveying rice levees in Arkansas County. Hillman vividly recalls the deep and well-defined footsteps his father left in the soil.

And like many young boys, his focus was on following in those footsteps.

“My dad’s footprints would be 2 or 3 inches deep in that dirt, it was almost like it was snow,” Hillman recalls

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with a hint of nostalgia. “My dad’s stride was so long compared to mine, but as best I could, I would try to step in the same spot my dad had been.

“Really, thinking about those footprints now, I see that as an analogy for life — because sometimes those footprints you remember can be tough to see, and maybe it has a lot of mud and other organic matter in it, and then at other times those footprints are just as pristine as Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

Arkansas Radio Network walking through that deep dirt.

Farm Director) Bob Buice “Even at such a young age, being there and he had a tape I knew those footprints were recorder that was as big as a purposeful and that those steps good-sized toaster, hanging were very, very important in the around his neck on a leather direction they were going.” strap, and he was interviewing Those footprints Hillman people. He was like a celebrity remembers vividly as a young at that Fat Calf Sale in Lodges boy led the 60-year-old rice Corner. But that was very farmer from Carlisle to a much a Farm Bureau crowd.”

50-year connection with Farm Hillman’s connection to Bureau which came to an official Farm Bureau was first nurtured end Dec. 1 with his retirement when his family lived at Lodges as president of Arkansas Farm Corner, strengthened after his Bureau at the conclusion of the move to Carlisle in 1970 and organizations 89th annual state Rich Hillman (left), his father Tommy and son further cemented when his convention.

Collin (right) have worked the same ground in The president of the Lonoke and Arkansas counties, raising rice, corn, father was elected to the state board of directors in 1974 Arkansas Farm Bureau is an soybeans and, occasionally, wheat on fertile after the family had moved to elected position, a farmer soils in Arkansas’s Grand Prairie.

Carlisle. who leads the organization’s “My dad was elected to the state board when I was 20-member board of directors and helps define the 10,” Hillman says. “I knew he was doing some important direction of the organization. That Hillman’s relationship things with Farm Bureau, but I didn’t truly understand with the organization hits 50 years is not coincidental. It the significance of it at is part of who he is, a the time. It seems like family connection that the state convention runs deep. or (the mid-summer) Hillman’s father, Officers & Leaders Tommy, served from (convention) was 1973-85 as a member always in Hot Springs, of the state board of and we’d meet at the directors. The younger Arlington Hotel. Man, Hillman began his that was a really, really service as a member big deal. It was really of the Lonoke County like a vacation for us Board in the last as kids.”

1980s, and he has Hillman went spent the past 22 years Ramey Stiles from Lee County (left), Rich Hillman, and Justin to the University as a legacy member Wildy from Mississippi County (right) await entry into the of Arkansas to of the state board, Mexican Embassy during a Farm Bureau County President’s Tour study agriculture, including 11 years as to Washington, D.C. in 2008. committed and the organization’s vice expecting to return to the farm he had worked president. throughout his life.

“I guess my first memory of Farm Bureau was when “I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to be able I was probably 4 or 5 and we went to the Fat Calf Sale to come home and farm,” Hillman says. “To be honest the Hargrove family had every year in Lodges Corner,” with you, my older brother Hal was the studious guy who Hillman recalls. “I remember people that day having on made the good grades and the honor roll and all that.

Farm Bureau hats and jackets. I remember (long-time Front Porch

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Arkansas State Police Sgt. Chuck Lewis, responsible for ASP’s Highway Patrol Division, Troop A, visits ArFB President Rich Hillman prior to being recognized at the 2022 Arkansas Farm Bureau annual convention.

need to talk to you a minute.’ And I said, ‘Mr. Dave, I’ve got to dump this truckload of rice.’ And my dad said, ‘no, you need to talk with him.’ My dad got up and left. Mr. Dave said, ‘Rich, we would like for you to sit on the board of Lonoke County Farm Bureau.’ And I said, ‘Mr. Dave, I appreciate that and that’d be a great honor, but I’m awful busy.’ And he said, ‘Son, you don’t understand me. You’re going to be on the county Farm Bureau board.’ And he got up and left. And so, I was on the board. That’s how this all started.”

Hillman got captured by the role of Farm Bureau – its responsibility as the voice of farmers and ranchers – after serving during the late 1980s as a voting delegate at the organization’s annual business session.

“The first time that I ever got up at our voting delegate session, man, I was as nervous as I could be,” Hillman says. “The topic was an insurance issue that I felt like was going to hurt the culture of Farm Bureau and negatively impact the things that helped make Farm Bureau Insurance different than all the other insurance companies.

“I was in my early 20s and really had no business bringing up the topic. But I got up in the business session and said I was adamantly against the quota system, that it would erode our culture as a Farm Bureau family. I remember an older gentleman, probably in his late 70s, got up and said, ‘this young man from Lonoke County, I

And then there was Rich, and I was more interested in playing every sport I could play.

“My brother had been to the University of Arkansas, and I’d been able to go up there and see the fellowship and all that, the fraternity life and all that good stuff. So that was my decision, to go to school in Fayetteville.

“But I always knew that I wanted to farm. My dad was not going to let me come back and run the family farm unless I had a degree. I couldn’t understand that at first. Now I understand it to the point that my son, Collin, had the same situation, and he came back to the farm after college, and he loves it as much as I do.”

Hillman says his first involvement with Farm Bureau at the county level came about more as a directive than a request.

“It was probably about 1988 when I got involved with our county Farm Bureau board,” Hillman remembers.

“Mr. Dave Hogue was the agency manager in Lonoke County. He was Rich Hillman inspects some of his rice during the 2010 growing season. visiting my Dad at the Winrock office Hillman is past chairman of the Arkansas Rice Research & Promotion Board, in Carlisle and Dave said, “Rich, I and serves as vice chairman of Riceland Foods, Inc. 10

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wholeheartedly support what he is saying.’ And it was voted on and passed unanimously.

“That was an eye-opening experience for me; that even as young as I was, I could make a difference on Farm Bureau policy. And that was the bug that bit me. From that point on, I got serious about being involved in the policy of Farm Bureau.”

Hillman’s connection to Farm Bureau continued to develop, further refined by his 22 years of volunteer service on the state board and the 15 years he has served as an officer.

“I guess it’s a no-brainer Rich Hillman testified before the Senate Agriculture Commodities, Credit, and for me to understand and Trade Subcommittee during a hearing in May on Farm Bill commodity programs. appreciate the Farm Bureau family,” Hillman said. “I see Farm Bureau as a quiet giant He has held private conversations with USDA that does its job very well. And, you know, a lot of times secretaries. He has spoken to foreign diplomats. the quiet giant is unappreciated because people are used to He’s been interviewed by state, national, and it, almost to the point where they take it for granted. But international media outlets. He’s met farmers of all the role Farm Bureau has played in our state, in support types across the state, nation, and different parts of of agriculture, our state’s largest industry segment, is the world. But to him, it has all been action in service amazing. It’s mind boggling, really, when we talk about of farmers and ranchers. everything Farm Bureau is involved with, from our “It was never on my bucket list to be the president advocacy work at the Capitol and in Washington, D.C., of Arkansas Farm Bureau,” he says. “Never in my wildest to the scholarships we award, the donations we make imagination did I see myself doing this. I’m very, very in communities across Arkansas, the work with youth appreciative of the opportunities that Farm Bureau has leadership organizations. I could go on and on. provided me. My goal, really, was to be part of that silent “And when you begin to consider the impact our giant, to move agriculture forward.” insurance business has on so many people, it’s amazing. If And his Farm Bureau service has also been an chance Farm Bureau wasn’t here, the farmers and ranchers across to follow the well-defined footsteps of those who came the state, and so many tremendous people, would have a before him. hard time having access to insurance. I mean you can get “My role at Farm Bureau has always been a ‘we’ deal. online and get insurance, but the insurance that people I have accomplished nothing by myself, it’s been all of need with the service that people need that’s specific to those that I have served with shoulder to shoulder that agriculture, the claims adjusters we have, the staff who got things done. So many board members, past and understands and appreciates agriculture because it’s part present, Mike Freeze our current vice president, and of our fiber that would be almost impossible to replace.” going back to (former presidents) Stanley Reed or Randy Hillman has traveled to China, Japan, and South Veach, and so many other leaders whose footprints I have Korea on trade missions to promote Arkansas followed. I can say that my steps have tried to match those agriculture. He has twice testified in front of many footprints that came before me. It has been the Congressional committees on agriculture issues. opportunity of a lifetime.”• Front Porch

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YIELD OF DREAMS

2023 Crops A Cut Above

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Photos by Matthew Magdefrau

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t’s mid-July, the dog days of summer in East Arkansas, but you can’t wipe the grin off farmer Terrance Scott’s face. Strolling through some soybeans in his big straw hat and sunglasses, Scott stops and bends over to examine a plant.

“Everything looks really good,” he says.

“Automatically with the rains, it’s gonna make it cooler and with fewer hot days – BEAN BONANZA – Arkansas soybean growers, like Meyers Farms in Drew County (above), that’s going to impact set a record in 2023 by gathering 53 bushels per acre. That’s up from the previous best of your yields.”

52 bushels in 2021 and 2022.

Arkansas’s harvest field early, did what we needed to do and the yields are couldn’t have gone much better in 2023. Rains at the reflecting that,” says Derek Haigwood of D.I.D. Farms in right times and advancing farm practices produce Newport. “We got our crops in early, the fertilizer was bountiful results. Record yields of not just soybeans, activated by the rain and we are really but corn, cotton, rice, wheat, and impressed with the corn yields this even hay, came in from certain areas year. That all comes from having a of the state. good, productive spring.”

“Rain works a whole lot better Arkansas farmers planted a record than cold-water irrigation,” Scott 890,000 acres of corn in 2023. Tyler says. “(The crop) is a whole lot better Oxner, Arkansas Farm Bureau’s for me this year just because I got Wheat and Feed Grains Division a better stand of beans up to start Director, projects a “conservative 179 with.” bushels per acre” of corn when final Forecasts for big yields started in numbers are released in early 2024 the spring when windows of perfect by the United States Department of weather for planting opened. Then, Agriculture (USDA). That yield would some timely rain got the germination SMILING SCOTT – Terrance Scott of be consistent with the previous five going.

Cotton Plant knew early Arkansas’s years.

“We had a spring that was 2023 crops could be big.

To make room for more corn, conducive to planting, got in the

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Bountiful

Arkansas

fewer acres of cotton were planted.

The average yield on cotton in Arkansas doubled that of traditionally prolific West Texas. A lingering drought affecting more than 80 percent of Texas caused cotton crops to be abandoned, and USDA projects the Lone Star State’s average yield to be just 500 pounds, or 1 bale per acre. Day Farms in Tillar, Ark., harvested close to 1,500 pounds, or 3 bales per acre.

“Cotton depends on mother nature more than most other crops,” says Dustin Day. “June, July, and August were good and there weren’t any of those late rains in August to rot any of the cotton. That helps a lot.”

After setting production records the past two years, Arkansas soybean growers are projected to hit a new high mark in 2023 with 53 bushels per acre. One Arkansas grower scored 88.9 bushels per acre on 2,200 acres and 89 bushels on another 5,500 acres. In 2021 and 2022, the state average was 52 bushels with a 5-year average of 51.3.

After record-low production in 2022 when other crops were more favorable for farmers, Arkansas rice rallied with a good year. Acreage and production (80.340 to 106.531 million hundredweight) rose sharply.

“However, extremely hot, dry nights in late summer during the ripening stage resulted in the grains moving from the milky stage to hardening too fast and that has resulted in belowaverage milling yields as grains are chalky and prone to breakage during the milling process,” says ArFB’s Rice Division Director Brandy Carroll.

Severe storms popped up and hurt crops in certain areas, too. Strong

HARVEST 2023

2022

5-Year Average

Planted Acres

890,000

710,000

722,000

Harvested Acres

870,000

695,000

702,000

Yield Per Acre

179.8 bushels

173 bushels

179 bushels

2023

2022

5-Year Average

510,000

640,000

555,000

Corn

Cotton Planted Acres Harvested Acres

505,000

630,000

548,000

Yield Per Acre

1,188 lbs

1,196 lbs

1,182 lbs

2023

2022

5-Year Average

Planted Acres

1.436 mil

1.106 mil

1.275 mil

Harvested Acres

1.411 mil

1.084 mil

1.251 mil

Yield Per Acre

7,550 lbs

7,410 lbs

7,514 lbs

2023

2022

5-Year Average

Planted Acres

2.98 mil

3.18 mil

2.91 mil

Harvested Acres

2.87 mil

3.15 mil

2.90 mil

Yield Per Acre

53 bushels

52 bushels

51.3 bushels

2023

2022

5-Year Average

Planted Acres

230,000

220,000

172,000

Harvested Acres

165,000

150,000

105,000

Yield Per Acre

55 bushels

53 bushels

54.6 bushels

Rice

Soybeans

Wheat

2023 totals based on Arkansas Farm Bureau and USDA projections.

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CORN GALORE – Arkansas planted a record 890,000 acres of corn in 2023. Heath Donner raised 650 acres on his farm in Mississippi County (above), yielding 200 bushels per acre. winds and hail damaged corn, cotton and soybeans in early June near Marmaduke (Northeast Arkansas). Strong winds did the same in some areas of Lonoke County and down south, around Hamburg.

“Throughout the year, we did witness substantial damage caused by storms, but it’s worth noting that these occurrences were isolated,” says ArFB’s Soybean Division Director John McMinn. “I’ve heard good and bad from every region of the state, but most farmers seem to be really happy with their crop.”

Acres of wheat planted in Arkansas increased slightly from 220,000 in 2022 to 230,000 this year. USDA projects a yield of 56 bushels per acre or more, slightly higher than the 5-year average of 54.6 bushels.

“I’ve got reports of some of the best wheat crops in Jackson County with other reports of average to slightly above average yields in most places,” says Oxner. •

14

HARVEST T IM

E

Harvest time, a season brigh t, Filled with wa rmth and gold en light.

For every grain , every drop o f dew, We give our h eartfelt thank s to You. From the sma llest seed to th e tallest tree, Your wonders, Lord, are plain to see.

Nature’s beau ty, in splendor shows, The depth of lo ve that ever fl ows.

With each harv est, we come to see, The boundless gifts given unto thee.

A time of than ks, of joy and praise, For Your love that lights our days.

— Author Unk

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

Barnhill: Brilliant FOUNDER OF POPULAR ORCHARD S

York University and earned a master’s degree from the porting hippie attire and angry eyes, a woman shouts University of Chicago in geophysics, with a specialty in profanity approaching a United States Marine at Satellite Orbitry. the San Francisco airport. Her tirade of hate for the He was assigned to Puerto Rico the first three years Vietnam War intensifies with every step, boiling over with of the war, flying WB-47s for hurricane reconnaissance. a spray of spit at the uniformed man.

Barnhill then requested a tour and Arkansas farmer Bob Barnhill was assigned to fly the 10,000will never forget it. The moment pound Douglas B-66 Destroyer remains seared in his mind. It equipped with a larger radar has been more than 50 years yet antenna and ejection seats for its remains raw as he pauses and gazes crew of three. down in a flashback. Tears fill his The B-66s never dropped a bomb eyes. in combat. It was not a fighter.

“I was standing in line to get my Instead, B-66s were used to support plane ticket and she ran over and other planes active over the skies of spat at this good-looking Marine, North Vietnam. Barnhill says pieces but he saw her coming, dodged and of ‘aluminum foil’ were discharged it splattered on me,” remembers from the B-66’s rear, designed to the 92-year-old Barnhill. “That was “degrade the enemy’s radar” and a turning point in my feelings on divert enemy missiles launched patriotism.” from below. The enemy’s radar Barnhill would later volunteer Bob Barnhill volunteered for combat, for combat and fly 157 missions flying 157 missions over North Vietnam. would lock on to the foil instead of the bombers — America’s B52 over North Vietnam. More than bombers — that would follow behind.

58,000 Americans died in Vietnam, with 40,934 killed in Barnhill found himself in the line of fire, again. Unlike action, according to the National Archives. The staggering the shot of saliva in San Francisco, the North Vietnamese stats of a war lasting almost two decades would have been aimed for death. higher if not for Barnhill.

“On one mission, my navigator told me we were a little ahead of schedule and needed to kill a little time,” LIFE-SAVING NOSEDIVE he says. “So, I was going to make a 360-degree turn to kill The U.S. first deployed troops on March 8, 1965, with 45 seconds. While I was doing that, I was looking down 3,500 Marines landing in the coastal city of Danang, and here comes a salvo South Vietnam. By (simultaneous discharge) this time, Barnhill of stealth missiles. was 34, and on his “Fortunately, I was at way to becoming an a 45-degree angle making Air Force Lt. Col., the turn so I could look acquiring an esteemed down and see them education and flight coming. If I hadn’t been training. He attended turning, I wouldn’t be here graduate school at New

“If I hadn’t been turning, I wouldn’t be here today. I saw (the missiles) and immediately turned over and got into a dive. That was our only defense.”

16

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and Brave STUDIED HARD, SERVED WELL today. I saw them and immediately turned over and got into a dive. That was our only defense. I pulled out of my maneuver at 3,000 feet. We had been at 38,000 feet.”

NO REGRETS Barnhill, founder of Barnhill Orchards on Sandhill Road in Lonoke, was 7 years old when Veterans Day became a U.S. federal holiday on Nov. 11, 1938. The day means so much to the vegetable and fruit farmer. He describes the nosedive that saved his navigator, an electro counter measure specialist, and his life as “the high point in my career.” He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and “never regretted a minute that I was in the service.”

Barnhill’s family (brothers, children, and grandchildren) has combined for more than 140 years of military service.

He is proud of that.

“I recommend a career in the armed forces to others,” he says sitting in a shed where he sorts and shines tomatoes. “It’s a great deal. Great camaraderie with people you’re with. Everybody doing the same job where you are.

“It’s unfortunate, many people today don’t even know anyone in the service.

I highly recommend it to any person coming of age. It’s a great life.”

One tractor, a truck and a tiller were all the tools retired Lt. Col. Bob Barnhill needed to start Barnhill’s Orchards in 1980 on Sandhill Road in Cabot. Customer demand for its quality products, like juicy tomatoes, would create expansion.

LANDING IN LONOKE Barnhill moved 17 times in his 28-year career with the Air Force. He lived in Europe, in Asia twice, spent time in the Philippines and made eight moves in the U.S. His first assignment to attend graduate school at New York University lasted 18 months, followed by six Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

months of military training and then almost three years serving as a weather forecaster in Europe.

Air Force forecasters were leaders in the industry back then, ahead of the National Weather Service. Barnhill 17

left the states on Christmas Day, 1954, for a short stint at Royal Air Force Base Bentwaters in England (80 miles north of London) before working for the European forecasting center as team chief in Germany.

He returned home to train as a pilot starting in 1957 at Hondo, Texas, and then at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas.

In a video on barnhillorchards.com, Barnhill grins big in front of his farm’s fresh vegetable store and goes into a first-person narrative about all his military stops. “So, I said, ‘Bob, when I get out, I’m not moving, again.’ And I’m still here.”

Barnhill Orchards, located just off Hwy. 89 midway between Lonoke and Cabot, was a “derelict piece of property (in 1980), and we just started coming out here and working the dirt, and we built this and cut down that and eventually we were farming,” he says.

One tractor, a truck and a tiller were all the tools needed to start the family business.

Customer demand for its quality products would create expansion.

More than four decades later, the farm’s produce pick-up line is steady with traffic from across the region. Most noted for strawberries, Barnhill’s now grows just about every vegetable possible in Arkansas. It also boasts fresh brown eggs, peach, pecan and apple orchards, and blackberries. David’s Burgers, a Central Arkansas favorite, has an agreement to use the farm’s lettuce. Not too bad for what was originally just a cotton farm in the early 1900s.

Barnhill was voted “most intelligent boy” and “most apt to succeed” in a class of 38 students at Corning.

As a senior, he scored a touchdown for the Bobcats in the first football game he’d seen.

CORNING COUNTRY BOY Barnhill’s dad was not a farmer but raised his family in rural Northeast Arkansas, 9 miles outside Corning (population 1,550 in 1930) and less than 10 miles from the Missouri border.

Barnhill and his four siblings attended Corning Schools, where he scored straight As. He was voted “most intelligent boy” and “most apt to succeed” in a class of 38 students. As a senior, he scored a touchdown for the Bobcats in the first football game he’d ever seen. Barnhill would earn a scholarship offer and travel by train to Colorado School of Mines, a prestigious engineering school in Golden, Colo.

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“Corning didn’t have physics or advanced mathematics, so (the college) told me come out here and go to summer school, take those courses and you’ll get a scholarship,” Barnhill says. “I had never been out of Arkansas, hardly away from Corning, and I got off and was lost at that train station. I did fine in summer school, but I was homesick, and I couldn’t stand it, so I lost that scholarship.”

Barnhill would join his older brother, an Air Force man who fought in World War II, in Conway to finish college. He didn’t play football for the Bears but was fleet-footed enough to letter four years in track at “good ole ASTC (Arkansas State Teachers College),” he says.

Barnhill moved fast off the track, too.

He graduated, got married, and accepted a commission in the Air Force all on the first weekend of June, 1952.

FAMILY FARM A brother and two sisters living in Little Rock encouraged Barnhill’s return in 1980 to Central Arkansas.

He and his wife, Carlotta, visited the siblings and started driving around the countryside to find a ‘retirement’ spot.

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Barnhill was fleetfooted enough to letter four years in track at Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway (now the University of Central Arkansas).

He moved fast off the track, too, graduating, getting married, and accepting a commission in the Air Force all on the first weekend of June, 1952.

Just 26 miles northeast of Little Rock on State Highway 89, Barnhill spotted some overgrown property at the intersection of Sandhill Road. He could tell “nothing had been done on the farm for years and years.” Barnhill learned from a neighbor the parcel’s owner was a lady living in Birmingham, Ala., but several people had contacted her, and she wasn’t selling. Barnhill dialed her and got the same response.

“I figured out talking to her that she was about 85 19

years old and the reason she didn’t want to sell was because she thought she would come back here and live sometime,” Barnhill says.

“So, I wrote her a very nice letter and offered to buy it. By this time, she was living with her son, who was a doctor in Birmingham, and he knew she was never coming back.

And they took the offer.”

The Barnhills moved into a building constructed in 1905 on the farm. It had no water at first, but they made it livable, and about 200 yards away constructed a new home they live in now.

“We started doing a little bit of farming and had my retirement income coming in from the Air Force and

the farming just gradually grew on us.”

Business got a boost in 1986 when Barnhill’s son Rex, a captain in the Army and stationed in Colorado, asked to come home and farm. Dad told Rex he had a good career in the Army and tried to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up.

They added to the 60-acre farm with a 100-acre purchase across the road. Then a nice contract to sell produce to the commissary at the Little Rock Air Base was added.

Barnhill’s provided watermelons, cantaloupes, okra, squash, etc., to the base.

Helping feed those in military service seems right for an American veteran and farmer like Barnhill. •

Barnhill, his brothers, children, and grandchildren have combined for more than 140 years of military service.

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MAKE YOUR LAND A BETTER HOME. Want to make your property more attractive to wildlife? The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission offers wildlife habitat guidance for private landowners with custom recommendations based on your property and goals. We can even help you find financial assistance to establish or enhance habitat. And, while you might be trying to grow bigger bucks, the improvements you make will benefit countless other species.

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23

Wonderland Farm 20,000 Trees Point to the Heavens in Pea Ridge S

ensory overload and sentimentality keep them coming back. Refreshing aromas of evergreens dance through the air as Christmas carols play

24

over a dozen speakers in frost-covered fields. Styrofoam cups of hot cocoa peppered with puffy marshmallows are sipped as hayrides ease through the conifers.

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“This farm seems to have a big cover of God’s blessing on it so people can come here and reconnect,” says Jill Babb, who owns and operates Wonderland Tree Farm with her husband Martin. “You don’t see people on their cell phone here.”

Located 2.5 miles east of downtown Pea Ridge (Benton County), Wonderland covers 38 acres with more than 20,000 trees pointing to the sky. Around Thanksgiving, the Babbs sell more than 3,000 trees in less than seven days – every year.

Jill runs a gift shop, stocking it with toys, crafts and “goodies and ornaments you can’t find other places,” Martin says. “My wife works hard to find those

unique things.”

Wonderland’s business has more than doubled since Covid. In the gift shop, battery-powered water globes sold fast this season and avid decorators purchased distinctive ornaments for every member for the family.

Patrons appreciate the Martin’s efforts. Recurring customers say their children remember from year-toyear, where the cookies are kept and how to find the hot chocolate station. Jill says many moms and dads seek her out, just to stop and say ‘thank you’ for making Wonderland a special place for their family.

“I had a mom who was here with her children a few years ago and then lost her son shortly after their visit,” Jill says. Recently she was back out here and said ‘this place means so much to us.’ They like coming here because it reminds them of special times they had as a family with her son.”

MORE CONIFERS THAN SHRIMP, BUBBA Virginia Pine is the favorite tree and Leland Cypress’ always sells out at Wonderland. It takes 12 years to get Turkish Firs ready for harvest, but the Babbs finally sold some of the slow growers in 2022.

“I’ve told Martin several times over the years to just mow down his Turkish Fir and plant another variety there,” Jill says.

“I just want to sell those before I die,” quips 67-yearold Martin.

Wonderland grows more varieties of trees than Martin can remember, but he tries.

“We have Green Giant, Leyland Cypress Arizona Cypress, Virginia Pine, Eastern White Pine, Southwestern White Pine, Austrian Pine, Hybrid Loblolly Pine, Norway Spruce, Blue Spruce, Concolor Fir, Canaan Fir and Grand Fir from the Idaho and Montana area, and some other varieties that I just can’t think of right now,” Martin chuckles. “I feel like Forest Gump naming all the shrimp.”

The Martins moved in 2000 to Pea Ridge from Omaha (north of Harrison and 5 miles south of the Missouri line), where they had an 8-acre tree farm, and started planting trees. Many are put in the ground as seedlings, but others grow from seed. Pine tree kernels must remain on a tree 2-3 years before they are viable. “Then they have Located 2.5 miles east of downtown Pea Ridge (Benton County), Wonderland covers 38 acres with more than 20,000 trees pointing to the heavens. Recurring customers say their children remember year-to-year, where the cookies are kept and how to find the hot chocolate station. Photos by Free Dove Photography 25

Around Thanksgiving every year, Jill and Martin Babb (67) sell 3,000 Christmas trees in less than seven days. to go through a process called stratification,” Martin says.

“You get them wet, let them absorb some moisture and put them in a refrigerator for a month or two. Then take them out and they think “hey, we’ve made it through the winter, and they start growing.”

7-DAY SELL OUT Christmas trees farms are not get-rich quick operations. Most varieties take 6-7 years of attentive care before they are living-room ready. A majority of farmers don’t see profit until 7-10 years, and many don’t make it because it’s just too much work. Martin, a retired merchant marine who served 40 years on commercial vessels mostly in the nation’s deep-water ports, puts in 70-80 hours weekly most of the year, only getting a little break – at Christmas.

“They require trimming from the very first year,” says Martin. “It’s required for the trees to set buds right.

Trimming the trees stops the natural shoot. The tree doesn’t like that so it puts out more branches, creates more buds than it normally would on each whorl and that is how you get a real thick tree.”

26

The industry is less than a century old. Christmas trees were cut in the wild through the 1920s but when the great depression hit in the ‘30s, nurseries couldn’t sell their landscaping trees so they cut them down for holiday sales. People liked the nursery trees’ thickness for hanging big decorations and heavier lights instead of stringing popcorn through branches.

There has been a decline in Christmas tree planting across the nation since the mid-2000s. Prior to that, farmers had been planting more trees than they could sell according to the National Christmas Tree Association.

Challenges include diseases, pests, weather, especially too much heat and not adequate moisture.

The Babbs, approaching 43 years of marriage, agree Christmas Tree farming is a lot of work. Martin had to have surgery on his right shoulder last December after years of clipping, shearing, lifting and stretching.

“Seeing families go out, and kids go out, and just having a blast picking out their tree,” Martin says. “It’s busy. It’s kinda hectic, but it’s nice to see. Everybody is having fun.” • Front Porch

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Cobb wins Southeastern (U.S.) I eight trucks daily and help t may have once looked local brokers as well. like ‘Old McDonald’s The Cobb partnership is Farm,’ but today it belongs managed by Steve’s son, Aaron, to the 2023 Sunbelt Ag Expo his family and friends.

Southeastern Farmer of the Their impressive crops Year. include 1,800 acres of corn “I was born on a yielding 210 bushels per acre; subsistence farm where my and 2,599 acres of cotton parents owned 40 acres given yielding 1,300 pounds per to my mother by her father,” acre; 101 acres of peanuts; says Steve Cobb, who was Steve Cobb of Lake City won the 2023 Overall and greenhouse tomatoes. awarded the Expo’s overall Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the The show pig business winner Oct. 17 in Moultrie, Year award — one of the more prestigious produces more than Ga. “Over time they rented honors in U.S. agriculture.

1,000 show pigs annually. another 200 acres. Our family Steve Cobb and Family Farm successfully market farm looked like ‘Old McDonald’s Farm’ that you see in children’s books. We raised cotton, wheat, soybeans, and top show pigs across the U.S. They conduct eight online enough corn to feed the livestock, which consisted of auctions annually with dozens of customers viewing two dairy cows we milked daily, and three brood sows. prospects on ‘preview’ days at the farm. Pigs are also The barn yard and house yard were full of chickens listed on SteveCobbFamily.com. producing eggs; and we planted a big garden every year.”

Cobb Farms, a partnership enterprise beginning more than half a century ago in Craighead County, now utilizes 4,500 acres to grow row crops, produce, and show pigs.

Three entities make up the partnership: • Steve Cobb and Family, a leading show-pig operation • Cane Island Farms oversee the row crops of corn, cotton, and peanuts • The Cane Island Produce branch grows vegetables, specializing in year-round greenhouse tomatoes.

Circle L Farms also handles all Cane Island Farm’s trucking needs as well as Steve Cobb and Aaron Cobb, Steve’s son, along with his family and friends manage the Cobb partnership, which includes a show pig production business.

Family’s grain hauling. They run 28

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Farmer of the Year Cane Island Farms’ cotton is ginned at Southland Gin in Lake City and is marketed through Olam Agri. They also grow non-GMO corn for Ozark Mountain Poultry of George’s Chicken. Peanuts are marketed through Birdsong Peanuts before being shipped. The farm plans to build a feed warehouse to improve efficiency and quality of feed making. Designs for an off-site show pig fitting facility are underway.

The Expo’s award is considered one of the more prestigious honors in Southeastern agriculture. Winners from ten states participate, coming from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Cobb, a long-time member of Farm Bureau, supports Buffalo Island Central School’s FFA Chapter. He recently completed a second and final term on the National Swine Registry Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

“I’ve learned to appreciate the cycle of growth, whether it’s crops, baby animals, children, or grandchildren,” Cobb says. “Everything is constantly renewing. Agriculture mimics life in that way, being a constant display of development to fruition.” •

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by Chloe Noelle

Go ahead, gain 10 pounds this Christmas. It’ll be delicious, and the local

gym will appreciate your monthly checking withdrawals starting in January.

Here are three must-have treats to help meet your goals.

Pistachio Bark Prep: 10 minutes. Cook: 10 minutes. Chill 1 hour.

1 ¼ cups dried cherries, chopped 2 tablespoons water 1 ¼ cups pistachios, chopped

2 (12 ounce) packages white chocolate morsels 6 (2 ounce) vanilla bark coating squares

Microwave cherries and 2 tablespoons water in a glass bowl on high 90 seconds; drain. Melt morsels and bark coating in a saucepan over low heat.

Remove from heat; stir cherries and pistachios in. Spread into a wax paperlined 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Chill 1 hour. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

Candied Pecans Prep: under 5 minutes. Cook: 10 minutes. Cool: 30 minutes.

4 tablespoons (⅓ stick) salted butter ¼ cup lightly packed light brown sugar 2 cups pecan halves In cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

Add brown sugar and stir until well combined.

Add pecans and stir to completely coat them in butter.

Cook, stirring frequently, until toasted, about 8 min.

Scrape onto sheet of wax paper and let cool to room temperature. Break apart as necessary before using.

Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Prep: 20 minutes. Bake: 1 hour, 25 minutes.

Stand: 1 hour Chill: 8 hour 1 ½ cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs ¼ cup butter, not melted 1 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 ½ (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; press mixture onto bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat three (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese and 1 ½ cups granulated sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute.Add eggs and next 6 ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into the prepared crust.

Bake at 325˚ for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300˚ and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the center is firm. Run knife along outer edge of cheesecake.

Turn the oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minute. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes.

Cover and chill 8 hours.

Beat one (3 ounce) package cream cheese and ¼ cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth; gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake.

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½ cup whole buttermilk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar 2 (1 ounce) bottles red food coloring 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened ¼ cup butter, softened 2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Garnish: fresh mint sprigs Remove sides of springform pan. Garnish if desired. •

31

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• 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.

• We are also searching for the 5 outstanding nurse educators in the state. These educators are a driving force in the development and support of the nursing profession. It might be a professor, who was impactful in your education or a colleague.

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.

Be sure to include your contact information for us to get back in touch with you.

Nominate a candidate from your school or facility today. DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 23, 2024.

Your nomination should include: Name:____________________________________________________ License #: ______________________________ School or place of employment: _______________________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________ Include a short essay on why the nominee deserves the honor. (Please feel free to add extra pages.)

Contact information of person nominating: Name:_____________________________________________________Phone:_________________________________ Email address:_____________________________________________________________________________________ It is important that the individual making the nomination includes their contact information for follow up.

Please email or send your nominations to the address below, no later than February 23, 2024.

Susan Brown, Nurse Compassion Award/Nurse Educator Award PO Box 17427 • Little Rock, AR 72222 • sbrown@pcipublishing.com • 1-800-561-4686, ext. 108 For online nomination form, please visit SPONSORED BY:

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Copyright © RMG 2020

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JORDAN WIMPY

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Jeffrey H. Thomas, Managing Director

Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

For Your Baby Behind the 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.

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

Contact a Arkansas Farm Bureau agent today.

LCLFPR45478

www.sfbli.com

D E LTA C H I L D 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.

The Flavor of Winter Nostalgia

D

ecember is here! And with December, Ol’ Man Winter brings the possibility of snow. Like the first of anything — first kiss, first car, first flickering lightning bug of summer — the first snowfall of winter is pure magic. You watch as dreamy, fat flakes begin to blanket the grass. By the following day, snow mounds into deep drifts around the farm. The trees bow beneath the weight of it; you bow to its beauty.

You build a snowman after the first snow. And because no one in your family (or anyone you know, for that matter) possesses a top hat, your Frosty will sport a John Deere cap or a lopsided fishing hat complete with pinned lures. You might amass a stash of snowballs and have a spirited battle with your sister. The expanse of snow beneath your favorite mimosa tree is practically begging for a snow angel, so you fall back onto the cold softness, spread your angel wings, and create a masterpiece that will be visible from the dining room window for days.

Mostly, you’ll be grateful to live in rural Mississippi County, where gravel roads and school buses never mix, and virtual learning is yet to be a thing.

Snow days are for layering all the clothes — long, insulated underwear beneath a soft, cotton T-shirt beneath a wool sweater beneath the puffy coat you never really liked because it made you too hot on a regular winter day. Even the uncomfortable toe socks will be bearable when tromping through the deepest snowdrifts.

Yes, you will spend most of December’s first snow day putting on clothes and then shedding them once back inside the warmth of the house. Bone-chilling cold can only be endured in small spurts, even while wearing almost everything you own.

In and out, in and out. Momma will remind you that the kitchen door doesn’t revolve, running the heater is costly, and the price of soybeans is sinfully low.

Soon, the first snow will melt, and you will find yourself back at Keiser Elementary, the playground grass brittle and bleached of color, the countdown to Christmas break officially on. And, if you are fortunate (and you are), a second snowfall soon comes.

Believe it or not, the second snow is better than the first 36

By Talya Tate Boerner

because with the second snow comes snow cream.

According to the wise old ladies, who gather daily for chocolate pie at the Yellow Jacket Café and possess the uncanny ability to predict the weather based on achy shinbones, the first snow is too toxic to eat. It’s very important, though — those first snowflakes absorb pollutants like a brand-new kitchen sponge.

Pollutants? Like car exhaust and weed pollen? Like DDT sprayed in July by the fogger trucks in town? Crop defoliant?

Animal poop? What exactly? You want to understand, but since no one will really say, you chalk it up to fear of communism and file it away with other suspect things parents preach (like the way swimming just after eating a baloney sandwich will result in instant drowning).

Nature is a marvel. You know this from the moment you find spring tadpoles thriving in stagnant ditch water (and you will feel it in your own achy shinbones half a century later). Still, as a child, you wait impatiently for the second snow because what choice do you have?

Finally, December’s second snowfall comes. Without further delay, right there on the Formica kitchen table, Momma will whip up a batch of snow cream in her largest stainless steel mixing bowl.

A heaping bowl of freshly fallen snow + just the right amount of sweetened condensed milk + granulated sugar + pure vanilla extract.

You will never think to ask about the exact measurements of Momma’s ingredients, but like everything she makes, a little of this and a bit of that will always equal greatness.

Much later, you will be living in Dallas when a rare Texas snow falls. As you eagerly make snow cream for your two children, you remember the rumor surrounding ‘first snow toxins’. How silly that seems now, what with the planet’s growing list of ecological troubles. Your kids will devour their portions while watching a SpongeBob video, and they’ll say — it’s pretty good but not as good as Blue Bell — and you will laugh out loud, having just realized an all-important truth. The flavor of nostalgia only kicks in after the passage of time. And for you, in winter, it will always include a bowl of Momma’s snow cream. • Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • ISSUE 129

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See terms and conditions at www.farmbureau.bank. Farm Bureau, FB, and the FB National Logo are registered service marks owned by, and used by Farm Bureau Bank FSB under license from, the American Farm Bureau Federation. 10.2023