Front Porch Magazine - Spring 2017

Porch SPRING 2017

Front

Delivering Fresh2You Access to Healthy Food

Ag Tourism Opportunities

Specialty Beef Recipe: Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

w

TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH/CELTIC MUSIC

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For complete list of concerts and workshops, visit OzarkFolkCenter.com OzarkFolkCenter.com Park Information: 870-269-3851 Cabins at Dry Creek: 800-264-3655

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IN THIS ISSUE

Farm Bureau Matters

Randy Veach | Page 3

Helping Farmers, Helping You Warren Carter | Page 5

Delivering Fresh2You Gregg Patterson | Page 6 Growing Agritourism Rob Anderson | Page 14

Building Wealth

Page 22

Taste Arkansas

Rob Anderson | Page 24

Land & People

Gregg Patterson | Page 28

In The Kitchen

Gregg Patterson | Page 32

Delta Child

Talya Tate Boerner | Page 36

ON THE COVER Fresh2U Program Director Emily DeYmaz of Mosaic Church is helping bring fresh produce to people in urban Little Rock.

Photo by Keith Sutton

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Farm Bureau Matters

by Randy Veach | President, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

Ensuring Rural Health Care A Farm Bureau foundation

T

he first run at passing “Trumpcare” – as some are calling the most recent attempt at health care reform, much like many came to refer to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as “Obamacare” – was unsuccessful primarily because of conflicting objectives for the next wave of health-care reform.

The future of health care in our country cannot hinge on a single topic. However, I strongly believe the stability and sustainability of the community hospital model must be a critical factor in whatever bill Congress ultimately considers.

Rural Arkansans depend on quality care from rural hospitals.

Obviously, our farmers and ranchers live and work primarily in rural parts of the state. And access to quality health care shouldn’t be another barrier to the sustainability of the farmer and rancher lifestyle or our rural communities.

The next round of healthcare reform will bring different funding models and participation requirements to the table. When first implemented, the ACA cut significant sums from Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals in order to help pay for health-care coverage for the uninsured. Hospitals were told the additional usage created by expanded coverage for the previously uninsured would make up for most of the loss in the reduced payments.

While Arkansas has avoided hospital closures since the launch of the ACA – mostly by creative use of federal Medicaid reserves to help fund insurance coverage for eligible participants – neighboring states suffered significant hospital closings. Texas has lost 15 rural hospitals since 2013.

If/when Congress replaces the ACA, it must stabilize funding for hospitals. Otherwise, it would hurt rural community hospitals whose revenue streams and economic well-being are tenuous at best. Rural areas tend to have facilities especially reliant on Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Arkansas’ community hospitals are an important link to the health and vitality of our state. ArFB’s interest in this topic

dates almost to the start of our organization. Along with the Arkansas Hospital Association and the Arkansas Medical Society, Farm Bureau loaned the initial capital to organize Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 1949. Then, and now, we recognized the need for access to health insurance as a stabilizing factor for families and communities.

We also have a 24-year involvement in the Medical Applications of Science for Health (M*A*S*H) camps, where high school juniors and seniors are exposed to health-care careers. Rural students are a major target for the M*A*S*H camps. Those students are more likely to return to rural areas to practice medicine.

This summer features 34 two-week M*A*S*H camps, each offered free to selected students.

Additionally, Farm Bureau helps underwrite the UAMS Rural Medical Student Leadership Association.

This organization helps medical students interested in rural practice to understand the particular challenges and opportunities at community medical practices.

On a personal note, I’m proud of the announcement earlier this year of the Stanley E. Reed Professorship for Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Injury Prevention at UAMS. The name of this endowed position honors my friend and the former ArFB president. Stanley was keenly interested in emergency medicine for rural communities, especially treatment for those involved in farm accidents and the need for expanded medical expertise in rural areas. Dr. Tony Seupaul is the first recipient of this endowed position. He will no doubt guide continued improvements in emergency medicine throughout our state.

We look forward to seeing the next generation of American health-care policy. We urge our Congressional delegation to craft health-care reform that ensures hospitals have necessary funding to provide our citizens with the care they need and deserve, regardless of where they live.

God bless you and your families. God bless our farmers and ranchers. And God bless Arkansas Farm Bureau.

If/when Congress replaces the ACA, it must stabilize funding for hospitals.

Otherwise, it would hurt rural community hospitals whose revenue streams and economic well-being are tenuous at best.

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Official membership publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation mailed to almost 191,000 member-families.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Included in membership dues ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU OFFICERS:

President • Randy Veach, Manila Vice President • Rich Hillman, Carlisle Secretary/Treasurer • Joe Christian, Jonesboro Executive Vice President • Warren Carter, Little Rock DIRECTORS:

Troy Buck, Alpine Jon Carroll, Moro Terry Dabbs, Stuttgart Sherry Felts, Joiner Mike Freeze, Little Rock Bruce Jackson, Lockesburg Tom Jones, Pottsville Gene Pharr, Lincoln Caleb Plyler, Hope Rusty Smith, Des Arc Leo Sutterfield, Mountain View Joe Thrash, Houston Dan Wright, Waldron EX OFFICIO

Donna Bemis, Little Rock Chase Groves, Garland Peggy Miller, Lake Village Mark Morgan, Clarksville Executive Editors • Steve Eddington, Rob Anderson Editor • Gregg Patterson Contributing Writers • Mollie Dykes, Ken Moore, Keith Sutton ADVERTISING

Contact David Brown at Publishing Concepts for advertising rates dbrown@pcipublishing.com (501) 221-9986 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 #103 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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Helping Farmers, Helping You

by Warren Carter | Executive Vice President, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation

A Successful Session Thank YOU!

A

rkansas Farm Bureau has engaged in the political process since its beginnings in 1935. Advocacy is and always has been one of our primary missions.

We take it seriously, knowing our work impacts the lives of our membership.

Farm Bureau’s goals in any legislative session are defined by our grassroots policy. The legislative session is where many of our policy statements matter most. It was a successful year for Farm Bureau at the Capitol.

Happily, there isn’t enough space in this column to recognize all of our victories at the Capitol.

It’s a success our members can own personally. We relied on you to help us set our goals through policy positions and then accomplish those goals. Here are some examples where our farmers and ranchers contacting their legislators made a difference.

Our members kept constant pressure to add dollars to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture budget.

Seldom did a legislator meet with a county Farm Bureau that one of you didn’t ask for support for the division. That kind of consistency pays off. Speaker of the House Jeremy Gillam championed this issue the past two budget cycles. House Budget Chairman Rep. Lane Jean confirmed the UA agriculture division will receive $3 million of additional one-time funds.

Frequently, our farmers and ranchers feel besieged by animal welfare organizations. Act 606 brought out their opposition in force. A television ad campaign and a Twitter campaign called it an “ag gag” bill. Our farmers simply asked legislators for support against disingenuous activists who have been known to create fake videos to defame agriculture in the news and social media. You kept the issue local and made the bill relevant. Act 606 sponsored by Rep. DeAnn Vaught and Sen. Gary Stubblefield creates a civil cause of action against a person who has gained access to a nonpublic area of another

person’s property and steals information or photographs or videos the farm without the owners' permission.

Another policy goal our membership identified was the need for stronger trespassing laws as a theft deterrent.

Theft of copper wire, livestock and equipment has continually frustrated farmers. Act 877 by Rep. Trevor Drown and Sen. Missy Irvin enhances the penalty for criminal trespass. It gives real teeth to the state’s trespassing laws. We had a lot of pushback on this bill, but your support for private property rights and theft protection won the day.

When our policy dictated the need to oppose HB 1725, a bill to reorganize the Arkansas Agriculture Department, we asked our farmers and ranchers again to contact their legislators to oppose it. Our farmers and ranchers expressed – through policy – their preference for more independence for the State Plant Board and the Livestock and Poultry Commission. It was a tough battle with friends of agriculture on both sides of the issue. You spoke up, and the bill was defeated twice on the House floor.

Farm Bureau was also successful holding the line on agriculture exemptions and the commodity research and promotion programs. We helped Rep. David Hillman pass legislation to standardize seed regulation (Act 156). We supported legislation (Act 245) by Rep. Ken Bragg and Sen. Trent Garner to allow temporary rehiring of retired Arkansas Forestry Commission, State Plant Board, and Livestock and Poultry Commission personnel for emergencies (like fighting fires), disaster cleanup or extreme weather conditions.

We have a great team at Farm Bureau, including our talented staff and dedicated members. When we needed you to contact your legislators, you met the challenge.

Farm Bureau doesn’t succeed without your grassroots advocacy. Thank you. And keep up the good work.

Farm Bureau’s goals in any legislative session are defined by our grassroots policy. The legislative session is where many of our policy statements matter most. It was a successful year for Farm Bureau at the Capitol.

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Photo by Keith Sutton

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Delivering Fresh2You

Access to healthy food

by Gregg Patterson

M

ost of us are fortunate. We go to the grocery store whenever we want. Access to healthy food is not an issue. Neither is hunger. We can get to the grocery store when we want, and we think nothing about going several times a week. However, did you know almost one in five people in Arkansas is considered food insecure? Arkansas is the second worst state, behind only Mississippi, when it comes to food insecurity. Research shows 19.2 percent of the state’s population is at risk to being hungry.

Food insecurity is a way to measure hunger risk. It measures a household’s ability to provide adequate food and nutrition for every person in that household to have an active, healthy life.

Food insecurity is being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food. These areas without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food are commonly called food deserts. One in five Arkansans lives in these deserts and is at risk of being hungry every day.

Emily DeYmaz is doing something about it. DeYmaz, 24, is the program director of Fresh2U and works for Vine and Village, a nonprofit arm of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, already engaged in providing food for people living in the 72204 ZIP code area. Fresh2U presently is a single retired, retrofitted Little Rock city bus – a mobile mini grocery store – that brings affordable fresh fruit, vegetables and, more recently, meat to sell in food insecure areas of Little Rock. Other program partners include the Hunger Relief Alliance, the City of Little Rock and Rock Region Metro that donated the bus.

The Fresh2U program got its start when Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola learned two years ago of a similar program in Memphis. Stodola knew of several city buses that were soon to be replaced and helped get the bus donated. He is a big fan of the Fresh2U program.

“It’s a great way to give people direct access to healthy food,” Stodola said. Making sure the people of Little Rock have access to healthy, nutritious food is his passion. He started a program called “Love Your School” in 2011 designed to combat childhood obesity. Stodola says in doing the research for the launch of that program a map that identified food deserts in the city was created. He remembered the map when he learned about retrofitting and using retired city buses as mobile markets to reach these areas. The mayor says he pitched the mobile The Fresh2U bus in front of Parris Towers is a mobile produce market that's a ministry of Mosaic Church of Front Central that targets food deserts; areas where PorchArkansas | ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017 people don't have ready access to nutritious, healthy food.

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Fresh2U Program Director Emily DeYmaz and Vine and Village Executive Director Paul Kroger.

Photo by Keith Sutton

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market idea without success to a couple of grocery stores.

That’s when he decided to call Mosaic Church’s Rev. Mark DeYmaz.

“I knew Mark’s church was active and successful in providing meals in the 72204 ZIP code area of the city,” Stodola recalled. “And I asked him if the church would like to take on the mobile market idea. He said ‘yes'.”

Paul Kroger is the executive director of the Vine and Village ministry at Mosaic Church which oversees Emily DeYmaz’s work (Rev. DeYmaz’s daughter) with Fresh2U. He explained how the church got involved. He says back in 2008, Mosaic created a community outreach in the University of Arkansas-Little Rock/South University Avenue district to provide meals for those in need. What’s now known as “the Orchard” has grown since then into one of the city’s largest food distribution centers, serving about 19,000 people a year.

So the church was eager when Stodola pitched the mobile grocery bus idea to it.

“We’re grateful for Mayor Stodola just having confidence in us and giving us access to a bus that we’ve turned into this mobile market,” Kroger said. Grant money from Union Pacific and Arkansas Blue Cross' Blue and You Foundation helped pay for the necessary retrofitting of the bus.

“So we’re out on Tuesdays at several locations here in the city and on Saturdays, too. Our focus is what we call food deserts, places that don’t have ready access to fresh fruit and vegetables,” Kroger explained.

Emily DeYmaz says the Fresh2U program got underway in a pilot phase in August. “We learned a lot in the pilot phase, learned as we did it what worked and what didn’t.”

She says since January of this year “things are going a lot better and smoother operationally.”

The Fresh2U program has teamed with wholesale distributor K. Hall & Sons Produce to supply fruit and vegetables. “It’s a local business in the community we serve and has been there (on Wright Avenue) since the 1970s.

We don’t compete with them. We’re a bridge from their business to the local community,” DeYmaz explained.

“They’ve been great to work with.”

The most recent addition to the Fresh2U bus is meat, specifically grass-fed beef. Jason McClure raises beef cattle on his Ozark Family Farm (ozarkfamilyfarm.com) in Salem.

He sells most of his beef to friends.

McClure, 40, says he read an article about the Fresh2U program and was impressed with its mission. “We’re mission driven,” he said. “We want to provide safe, healthy food and have a relationship with our stakeholders. And Fresh2U is mission driven trying to do the same thing in these food deserts.”

McClure says he followed the Fresh2U program on Facebook for several months and then used the social media network to contact Emily DeYmaz to gauge her

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Photo by Keith Sutton

The Fresh2U mobile market bus is loaded every Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The eventual goal is to have the bus in food desert areas of the community fives days a week.

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Photo by Keith Sutton

Emily DeYmaz (right) helps shoppers select fresh produce. She says the Fresh2U team builds camaraderie with its patrons who now look for the bus on days it's scheduled to visit.

interest in introducing his grass-fed beef to the bus’ offerings.

She liked the idea.

“I thought there was a good opportunity for a partnership, McClure said. “I believe good food and good beef is a right for everybody.”

He says that most ranchers raising grass-fed beef target the affluent to sell their product to at a premium price. “There’s nothing wrong with that. But I also think if you’re kind of poor or socially disadvantaged for whatever reason, you still want good food. We just want to provide that opportunity for people,” McClure said.

McClure butchered a whole Angus-Charolais cross for the initial Fresh2U meat run and equipped the bus with a freezer.

DeYmaz says meat sales are going well. And after a month since the first meat delivery, McClure was getting another cow ready for the bus.

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Despite the high-end premium often attached when marketing grass-fed beef, McClure says his meat is affordable for the bus customers, many of whom are in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (previously known as food stamps).

He says this particular market isn’t as profitable as some other markets, but his sales are pretty good and the customers like the product.

“Our input costs are really low, and we do a lot of on-farm sustainability practices. We’re just manic about controlling our input costs,” McClure said. “Nothing goes to waste. I know since we started our partnership with theFresh2U bus, we’ve gotten a lot more likes and views on our Facebook page. It feels like the partnership and working with them is really working out well.”

Stodola echoed McClure’s sentiments about the city’s collaboration in the Fresh2U program. “It’s a great partnership,” he said.

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James Jackson, a resident of Parris Towers, is a regular customer. “The vegetables are fresh. All of it is fresh, and they give you a good deal on it,” he said. “And the people are kind.

“You’ve got people in wheelchairs, you know They don’t have vehicles. This is convenient,” Jackson stated.

“Trust me when I tell you. They should not have only this one (bus). They should have others. We’re hoping in the future they’ll have other buses that go in different parts of the city and help out other people who can’t get to the store.”

Photo by Gregg Patterson

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Arkansas Farm Bureau photographer Keith Sutton, who shot most of the photos for this article, set down his camera when he was finished. He’d just come out of the bus where he’d been taking photos of shopping customers. He was so impressed and moved by what he’d seen, he’d paid for the groceries for a woman in her 80s, who was so thankful for the Fresh2U bus being there.

She had no way to get to a regular grocery store.

“Now this is a great program,” Sutton said. “This is something truly worthwhile and good that really helps people.”

Indeed, it is.

Mosaic Church's Fresh2U team works with a group that includes Arkansas Hunger Alliance, the City of Little Rock and Rock City Metro. The bus was retrofitted inside with grant money provided

by Union Pacific and Arkansas Blue Cross' Blue and You Foundation.

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“I died four times and JRMC brought me back. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to go somewhere other than JRMC.”

M

any people in Southeast Arkansas know Robert

During his illness, Robert says he was glad to be

Dill, who recently retired from Simmons Bank in

cared for by people from this community. “I knew a

Pine Bluff. But they may not know how close he came

lot of people that worked with JRMC and I knew their

to dying just a few years ago.

personality, their attitudes, their character and so

Robert came to JRMC for bypass surgery on his leg

I didn’t think I would get better care anywhere else

and had a massive heart attack while on the operating

– and I didn’t. I’ve had people come up and say ‘I

table. “I died four times and they brought me back

was there that day. I did this. I did that.’ To stop and

four times,” he says. “The amazing thing was that three

think how fortunate I am to have that many people

times is all they normally do it. So I don’t know if it was

to be there for me when something like this happens;

God or what that made them do it the fourth time, but

they’re quality people.”

I’m glad they did.”

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www.jrmc.org

Today, Robert has recovered and is enjoying

The recuperation process was long and difficult, and

retirement. “My time in the hospital was really good.

Robert spent more than six weeks at JRMC, but he never

Most people might not say that about a hospital, but

lost his positive attitude and his sense of humor. “The

it was a good experience. The people were great and

doctors told my family that I probably wasn’t going to

any needs I had they were Johnny on the spot. I’ll sing

make it, and if I did I’d be brain dead. I can say I’m not any

their praises without you even having to pay me, how

more brain dead now than I was before, so I’m okay!”

about that?”

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The number of u-pick farms involved in agritourism in Arkansas continues to grow. Popular family oriented venues include Christmas tree farms, pumpkin patch/corn maze-themed farms, berry farms among other operations. This photo was taken at Pumpkin Hollow in Piggott. (pumpkinhollow.com) Photo by Ken Moore

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Growing

Agritourism

The on-farm experience is everything

by Rob Anderson

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bout 12 years ago, not long after Thanksgiving, Lonni Davis and her family piled in their car after Sunday church services and set out to find a farm where they could cut their own Christmas tree. After a long drive around south Arkansas, they went home empty-handed and disappointed, but also inspired.

“There wasn’t anywhere nearby where we could do that,” she said. “So we decided we’d plant our own trees.”

Davis and her family run Old Milo Farms in Hamburg. She and her husband Brad planted their first trees in 2006 and started selling in 2009; just a few that first year, but with steady growth ever since. In 2010, they added pumpkins and later a small corn maze and hayride.

All of this work has put them at the forefront of a growing segment of both the tourism and agriculture industries in Arkansas – agritourism.

According to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service, Agritourism is defined as “any activity, enterprise or business designed to increase farm and community income by attracting the public to visit agricultural operations and outlets.” The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture census data show that from 2007 to 2012, the number of Arkansas farms participating in agritourism programs increased from 268 to 389.

Stacey McCullough, assistant professor of community and economic development with the UA Cooperative Extension Service, has been tracking agritourism in Arkansas for some time and working to support operators like Davis and expand the industry in the state.

“Trends (in agritourism) have been changing recently.

Five to 10 years ago, we were seeing a lot of what we call ‘agritainment’ – corn mazes, hayrides and so forth.

And now we’re seeing those that take an educational approach,” she said. “Many are trying to create experiences that actually teach visitors about agriculture production practices and life on a farm.”

Old Milo Farms (oldmilofarms.com) fits with this trend. Davis, who has a degree in agriculture and spent a decade teaching high school agriculture, says she saw her family’s leap into agritourism as an educational opportunity. When they made the change, she and Brad were running a small cow/calf operation and she was teaching horse-riding lessons. They saw their new venture as a chance to teach about the workings of the farm and ranch.

Lonnie Davis of Old Milo Farms in Hamburg decided to open a u-cut Christmas tree farm after not being able to find one nearby.

She and husband Brad have since added a pumpkin patch and corn maze open to the public during the fall/winter holiday season.

Photo by Keith Sutton

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Photo by Keith Sutton

Randy Motley's tree farm in Pulaski County features Christmas trees, a holiday store that also sells food and homemade fudge, pumpkins and gourds, and features farm animals to feed and pet, and pig races. It opens in September and runs through Christmas.

“Kids today are so far removed from the farm. They no longer have grandparents or relatives who live on a farm and no real experience in a farm setting. Some don’t even know the difference between a donkey and a horse,” she said. “We have different stations for school groups, and we do lessons. It’s something parents and teachers also can learn from.”

As fate would have it, area schools were indeed some of the first to show interest in visiting Old Milo Farms.

After her daughter was born in 2008, Davis went back to work teaching but grew tired of the grind of traveling to the nearest day care, then to work and back to the farm.

So in 2010, she quit and made the decision to expand into pumpkins.

“Our first patch was just in our backyard and very small – not even half an acre,” she said. “But a lot of pre-K classes from around the area visited and were very complimentary.”

Davis herself has played the role of student since planting those first trees more than a decade ago. She says she has learned about agritourism through research, personal experience and from other operations around the state.

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“You have to do your homework. I’ve traveled to other farms. We’re members of the Arkansas Christmas Tree Growers Association, and I’ve found a lot of group support online,” she explained.

“Randy Motley was very helpful. I’ve been to his farm a few times, and we used to buy seedlings from him.”

Motley and his wife Linda run Motley’s Tree Farm (motleystreefarm.com). They’ve been growing and selling Christmas trees for more than 30 years and gourds for the past decade. Their farm is a 20-acre, choose-and-cut operation with a variety of family activities and entertainment options, including animals to pet and feed and pig races Like the Davises, Motley has grown his operation slowly and steadily and has incorporated educational aspects into the visitor experience.

“We wanted to extend our season out, so we’ve progressed more and more into agritourism. We’ve embraced that aspect with our farm animals and pig races,” Motely said. “We’re really a ‘mini-farm’ that serves an educational purpose and gives people an idea of what the farming experience is like.”

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Another Arkansas agritourism leader that Davis used as a model is Katherine Peebles of Peebles Farm (peeblesfarm.com) near Augusta. Peebles’ husband, Dallas, was a soybean and wheat farmer looking to diversify. With help from another farmer experienced in wholesaling, he planted watermelons and pumpkins, which then led to direct sales as visitors began stopping by to ask about buying one or two melons or pumpkins at a time. Then, as with Davis, local schools came calling.

“Around 2004, when our daughter was in second grade, her school contacted us and asked if they could bring kids down to the farm to see what we were doing,” she explained. “Now we book lots of school field trips.”

The Peebles had so much success with their agritourism operations that they gave up row-crop farming four years ago and converted ground to be rented out to organic farmers. Getting to this point, Peebles says, was mostly the result of trial and error.

But they also sought advice from another pumpkin patch operator who was getting out of the business.

“They told us what to do and what not to do,” she said.

U-pick berry farms are also popular agritourism destinations.

Clyde Fenton's farm (fentonsberryfarm.com) outside of Harrison features blueberries, blackberries and strawberries.

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Photos by Keith Sutton

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Photo by Ken Moore

Interacting with the farmer is a big draw for people visiting farms. Many families return year after year because of the experience and the relationship they've established with the farmer.

For many farmers looking to get involved in agritourism, the internet serves as a critical secondary resource to advice from other farmers. The Extension Service’s McCullough points out that her division maintains an agritourism webpage that contains a selection of documents designed to help farmers evaluate agritourism options, make business plans and discover other helpful resources.

“People are always welcome to contact me and my division. On our website, we offer an agritourism resource guide, helpful links and a survey to gauge interest in and information for forming a statewide agritourism association,” McCullough said.

McCullough adds that some of the material on the page comes from the work of the Arkansas Agritourism Initiative, a partnership between the UA Division of Agriculture, the UA Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism, the National Agriculture Law Center, the Arkansas Agriculture

18 18

Department and Arkansas Farm Bureau. The Arkansas Agritourism Initiative maintains a Facebook page that disseminates helpful information for farmers involved in agritourism.

These online resources and the advice of experienced farmers are valuable not only for helping new entrants into agritourism succeed, but also for helping them overcome some of the trials and barriers they may face. For some, like Davis, obtaining sufficient insurance coverage was difficult, while Peebles says that finding seasonal labor is a challenge.

“If you have kids coming onto your farm, there’s a lot of exposure there, and some insurance companies don’t want to cover that,” Davis said. “I know some farms that have as many as 20,000 kids coming through, so the cost isn’t as big of a concern, but we’re very small.”

She also posts warning signs on her property according to state law – specifically, the “Agritourism Act” passed by the Legislature in 2011 – that helps protect agritourism operators from certain liabilities.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

“That law puts a little more responsibility on the visitors. It’s invaluable, because most farms wouldn’t open themselves up to the public otherwise,” Peebles said.

In addition to logistical challenges, Davis and Motley point out that running an agritourism operation is still a lot of work, even if someone has been in farming for a long time.

“Most people aren’t aware of how much physical labor is involved,” Motley said. “There’s a lot of mowing and trimming and dealing with pests. It’s not ideal for everyone.”

Nevertheless, Davis says she and her family have thoroughly enjoyed their experience with agritourism and wouldn’t want to give it up.

“Our boys are sick of it in August when they’re working in the heat to get things ready, but they love it come October,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but they’re very excited during the season. Their friends come out to work and earn community service hours. Our daughter is 9 and doesn’t do any of the labor yet, so she loves it. For her, it’s a party every day at our house.”

She says their farm even means a lot to her neighbors who come to provide help and support.

“The people who work here are my neighbors, some of whom are in their 80s. The kids gravitate toward them, and they enjoy it as much as the kids. They don’t get tired. One even wants us to be open yearround,” she said with a laugh.

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Photo by Keith Sutton

The Davises run a beef cattle operation year-round on the farm. Lonnie Davis has a degree in agriculture and taught high school agriculture classes. She uses the farm now to teach visitors about farm and ranch life.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

21

BUILDING WEALTH

New Insurance Billing System Highlights customer convenience and ease

F

arm Bureau Insurance in Arkansas has just launched a new customer-friendly billing system making it easier to pay your insurance bills. The system ushers in a new level of customer service that allows you to take advantage of advanced technologies as they relate to insurance invoicing.

“Our customers should really like the new billing system. It offers many conveniences that allow them to better manage their Farm Bureau insurance products,” said Dina Bates, vice president of products and education.

“And all your payments can still be done on our mobile app, Farm Bureau Mobile Agent.”

Bates says some of the new enhancements made to the billing system include the choice of paper or paperless billing, text or email communications when your bill is due, and the option to use a QR code is now available to pay your bill online. By scanning the QR code on your bill with your smartphone, you’ll be taken to a site that enables you to log in and pay the premium immediately via electronic check or credit/debit card. This means you can continue to perform all your bill-paying-tasks from your phone. There is also an option where you can set up payments via electronic funds transfer (EFT) from your bank account. The billing invoice will also provide more detailed information about your account.

“We have known for some time that we wanted to go to a new billing system to make things more convenient and easier for our customers,” Bates said. "It fits in with the whole suite of product improvements we have planned for our customers.”

The implementation of the new billing system not only provides greater customer service for Farm Bureau's members, it also signals the company's ongoing commitment to provide robust and effective computer systems to service our customers. This will allow the company to deliver superior insurance products and services to our customers at competitive rates.

“The new billing system provides an enhanced level of ease and convenience for our insurance customers,” Bates said.

“We’re excited to have streamlined the billing process in a way that allows our members to keep track of and easily handle payment of their insurance products right from their smart phone wherever they are.”

While these changes require significant adjustments for the insurance company staff and agency force, the enhancements will also require some adjustment from Farm Bureau’s customers. We encourage you to read your initial billing documents closely to become familiar with the new format. To assist with these changes, Farm Bureau Insurance will provide correspondence explaining the new invoice along with explanations of other changes you can expect to see with the billing system. We take pride in serving our customers at every stage of the insurance process. We will be happy to answer any questions you have about our billing changes, and we will promptly handle your claims needs when that time arrives. Serving you is always our priority.

The implementation of the new billing system not only provides greater customer service for Farm Bureau's members, it also signals the company's ongoing commitment to provide robust and effective computer systems to service our customers. This will allow the company to deliver superior insurance products and services to our customers at competitive rates.

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TASTE ARKANSAS

A Special Kind of Beef Taking the plunge into the specialty beef market

by Rob Anderson Photos by Keith Sutton

A

rkansas cattleman Brett Ausley describes wagyu as “the gentlest bulls you’ll ever work with.” This matters, he says, because temperament and taste are related when it comes to beef.

“Real high-strung cattle won’t give you the type of meat you want,” he said. “We’ve always aggressively culled for temperament.”

Ausley and his family’s cattle operation in Bismarck are heavily invested in wagyu, the famous Japanese beef cattle breeds that produce some of the most expensive and soughtafter meat in the world. Ausley’s venture into the world of wagyu began almost five years ago, when his grandfather shared a magazine article about the breeds with him.

“I thought the idea of getting into wagyu was crazy,” he admitted. “They aren’t very pretty, and it was going to be a major change for us, because we were running Angus and semi-Angus (cattle) at the time.”

Angus are the most commonly used breed in U.S. beef production. Despite his initial reservations, Ausley did some more research and decided to take the plunge.

However, he says the process was slow initially.

“We ordered semen from a high-powered bull and bred with five angus cows, but we got five heifers,” he said. “The following year we bred 10, and we finally got some steers.”

In 2014, Ausley purchased a bull from Lone Mountain Ranch in New Mexico, a well-known full-blood wagyu breeding operation. After that investment, he bought four more bulls from a Missouri breeder in 2015.

“We haven’t looked back since,” he said.

Ausley says he’s enjoyed the experience working with these unique cattle. In addition to being docile, he points out that the wagyu haven’t had any calving issues, which is something that gave him troubles in the past.

Rancher Brett Ausley and wife, Pasha, raise wagyu-Angus beef cattle on their ranch in Bismarck. (facebook.com/ausleyfamilypremiumbeef)

24 24

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

These wagyu-Angus cattle are almost ready for the slaughterhouse. Wagyu beef is prized for its marbling of flavor-rich fat throughout the meat. The wagyu breeds originated from Japan.

“You don’t have to pull calves with wagyu. They hit the ground running at about 55 pounds,” he explained of the birthing process. “You need to tag them and get them vaccinated right away, because they’re on the move quickly.”

Ausley says that he and his family didn’t sell the first wagyu meat they produced.

“Really, we were the first customer,” he said, laughing.

“Those first steaks were phenomenal. It’s a totally different level of tenderness, flavor and texture.”

They also shared some of that first meat with friends and with certain local restaurants. He says much of the wagyu found in American restaurants comes from Australia, and it’s frequently a half-blood variation, so he wanted the restaurants to compare his wagyu with the Australian import.

“That’s how we knew our feed program and genetics were working,” he said. “They graded ours above what they got out of Australia.”

Ausley has had to be patient with the wagyu venture, because the process takes more time than with Angus cattle.

“It’s like fine wine,” he said. “You let them age more and grow a little slower. You feed them for about 24 months, which is longer than Angus. So, instead of pushing hard, you let them grow into their frame and gradually increase the feed.”

He says this process makes a difference in the quality of the wagyu beef ’s marbling.

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

“You don’t have to tenderize the meat the way you do with other types of cattle. The marbling is doubled and it’s more inner-muscular fat, rather than exterior fat. It’s higher in monounsaturated fats – the good fats – and this type of fat will melt at room temperature and disperse throughout the meat, giving it a buttery taste,” Ausley said.

Ausley says 2017 is a critical year for the operation, because it marks the first year they’ll have a steady supply of wagyu beef to sell. Specifically, he says they have 17 steers ready for slaughter, and he has a solid clientele base he’s worked with for years, many of whom have already been buying the wagyu in smaller amounts – halves, quarters, etc.

“This is the first year we can truly say ‘we can supply you,’ and know that we won’t have any trouble doing that,” he said.

“I know I won’t have trouble selling steaks, but the issue is trying to find an outlet for the ground beef. Not everyone needs 600 pounds of high-end ground beef per week.”

He says this year will help better determine the right price points for selling to different customers and what his farm will need to receive in order to be profitable. In addition, he says they still must deal with the challenge of processing the meat in a timely manner and locating more freezer space, so they can increase supply.

25

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27

LAND & PEOPLE

Berries and Blooms Tapping the local market

Photo by Keith Sutton

Butch and Beth Eggers grow flowers commercially and operate a u-pick berry farm on Wye Mt. outside of Little Rock.

by Gregg Patterson

B

eth and Butch Eggers are proof that it’s possible to make a living farming just a few acres. They run and own a flower and berry farm on Wye Mountain outside of Little Rock (wyemountain.net). They grow raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and several kinds of flowers on an 18-acre farm.

They both grew up in Bismarck, Missouri and have been married for 39 years. Butch had a 39-year railroad career with Union Pacific, and his job led them to migrate south to Arkansas from Omaha, Nebraska. Butch wanted some land, and Beth wanted to make some extra income for the family. They bought the little farm in 1997, and Beth and their two daughters, Chloe’ and Collin, planted 10 beds of flowers there the following year.

The idea was to sell dry flowers to the craft market. But Beth took some fresh-cut flowers to the farmers market at the River Market in Little Rock and sold everything they had in an hour.

That’s when she knew there was a big demand for fresh-cut flowers.

“Our whole business plan changed in just a couple of weeks,” Butch, 63, said. The couple now sells in four farmers markets in Little Rock.

The farm’s crops and marketing schemes are diverse. In total, they cultivate 11 acres of the 18 that make up the farm. The Eggers added berry bushes and the opening of the farm to the public as a u-pick berry farm. The farm opens for berry picking on Memorial Day weekend. Beth, 58, says the busiest time on the farm for that is from Father’s Day weekend until the end of July.

They also added goats, peacocks, chickens and rabbits for the

28

farm’s visitors to see. It’s an agritourism experience for those families.

Their fresh-cut flower business runs from mid-May until first frost but is not part of the u-pick experience. People visiting the farm love seeing them and can buy flowers during their visit. They also deliver sunflowers, zinnias and globe flowers to Whole Foods.

The Eggers also developed a commercial sunflower business.

From March through August, they plant 2,000 to 2,500 sunflower seeds a week. That allows them to sell sunflowers through October. The type of sunflower they plant fully develops in 55 days. They are a major supplier of sunflowers to Southern Wholesale, a large wholesale flower supplier. They also supply Tipton & Hurst florists.

The Eggers have found that just like people’s desire to purchase locally grown food, the demand is also there to buy locally grown flowers. They are a part of the Arkansas Grown program. “Our customers are excited to know the flowers they’re buying are grown locally, too,” Beth said. The Eggers also supply flowers for special events like weddings.

“It’s been so much fun. We’ve met so many wonderful people,” Butch said. “We’ve had such long relationships with our customers,” Beth added. “Many of them have been with us since we started. You get to know their families. That’s what makes it really rewarding. By the time we get through winter, we cannot wait to get back with our customers. It’s an adrenaline rush for both of us.”

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

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31 4/4/17

2:55 PM

IN THE KITCHEN

A Beautiful Berry Concoction A blueberry farmer’s delight

by Gregg Patterson

I

t’s the onset of blueberry season at Wye Mountain Flowers and Berries farm in Roland. Beth and husband Butch are deep into unfinished morning chores. Yet Beth is making time to be a gracious hostess while trying to get gallons of blueberries and blackberries picked and flowers cut for market. She ushers me into the house where the warm scent of something baking assails my senses with mouth-watering deliciousness. Hints of lemon, cooked blueberries and cake have me quickly scanning the kitchen counter tops in search of the wonderful concoction. Butch trails us in like a bird dog working an overgrown fencerow, nose flaring, locked on its quarry.

Nothing.

“It will be ready soon,” Beth says cheerily with a wave of her hand at the oven. “We can talk here and wait for it to be done.”

I quickly learn that the potpourri of baking and blueberry scents with that zesty hint of lemon is Beth’s favorite Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake. During our visit, the beautiful confectionery creation is set to cool on the counter. Soon we’re outside at a picnic table with fresh cups of coffee before the heat of the day sets in sampling this lemony blueberry delight. We’ve literally gone from farm-to-table, and everyone digs in with passion. You need to try this recipe. It’s easy and will become a favorite from your kitchen.

Photo by Keith Sutton

LEMON BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE Skillet version: Ingredients • • • • • •

1 box of lemon instant pudding 1 box of lemon cake mix ½ cup butter ⅔ cup milk 2 eggs 1 to 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter or spray nonstick oil on the inside of a 13”x 9” glass baking dish or No. 12 iron skillet. With pastry blender, mix cake mix and butter until crumbly.

Set aside 1¼ cups of it to use for topping.

Add pudding to the remaining cake mix and fold in. Then add milk and eggs and beat together for 2 minutes.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish or iron skillet, and scatter the blueberries in a single layer on top, pressing berries down slightly into the batter. Sprinkle the 1¼ cups of reserved topping over the blueberries.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Beth Eggers shows off her wonderful Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake made with fresh blueberries from her farm.

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Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

Great Savings for Farm Bureau Members Save up to

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To Learn More About These And Other Valuable Member Offers Visit…

34

www.arfb.com Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

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1-800-859-4255

ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

www.MySafeStep.com

35

DELTA CHILD

Spring Fever

by Talya Tate Boerner

S

pring fever settled on me much like the cottonwood seeds that covered the schoolyard in a blizzard of white.

I felt restless. We all did as we followed our teacher from the elementary school building into the yellow sunlight. We weren’t allowed to talk or run or even dawdle long enough to pick a dandelion growing inches from the sidewalk. I knew, because last month I’d tried.

We were having a fire drill. Another fire drill. Sometime after Christmas, I’d lost count of the number we’d had that school year. I couldn’t help but wonder if these recurring fire drills were a sneaky way for our teachers to enjoy a small break from the classroom. I didn’t much blame them.

Teachers had a case of spring fever, too, or at least my fifth-grade teacher did. I could see it in her faraway eyes and the way my class spent more time outside on nature walks than inside the pages of our science book. Not that I was complaining, because I wasn’t.

As our teacher walked to the designated spot a safe distance from the school, we followed single file, ducks in a row. My friend, Judy, accidentally stepped on the back of my tennis shoe. Pausing for only an instant, I nearly caused a dominolike chain reaction of kids bumping into one another. Judy snickered and so did I. But I continued hobbling, my foot pressing on the back of my shoe until I turned my heel just right, and my shoe slipped back into place.

How I wanted to kick off both tennis shoes, shed my bobby socks and turn a cartwheel across the playground. Only yesterday, Mr. Green had cut the grass, riding his lawnmower back and forth outside our classroom window. The soothing hum of the motor nearly put me in a trance, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open for the remainder of the afternoon. Today, the grass shimmered in a checkerboard pattern, and the thin air still held that just mowed smell. There was no real fire, but I recognized the smell of smoke.

The greatest fire threat to our school involved not a grease fire in the cafeteria or an explosion in the junior high science

36

lab. Keiser Elementary was at greatest risk after harvest when farmers burned their fields, and the sky above our county filled with clouds of smoke and soot. But on a faultless day beneath an endless sky when the farmers were back in the fields working the soil, the only possible hazard imaginable was spring fever. Farmers suffered most from that weakness.

We reached the parking lot and joined other classes standing in clumps with their teachers. Everyone stared at the school building as though flames raged over the roof and licked the sky. In all my days, I couldn’t recall a single instance when a school had burned to the ground. Not on the news or in the pages of a book or even in the stories retold by old people when they had five minutes to spare.

I would never admit it to anyone, but deep down I worried these fire drills were doing nothing more than testing fate.

Like Peter who cried wolf. What good could come of it?

Practicing for an emergency seemed pointless. If the real “wolf ” showed up, my heart would clobber my chest from the inside out. I wouldn’t calmly walk to the parking lot while avoiding sidewalk cracks. I would run. We all would.

When the fire alarm stopped blaring, our teacher gave the signal, and we walked back across the parking lot toward the school. On each side of the main doors, a vine bursting with pale pink blossoms grew along the wall as though it tried to sneak inside the building. On a less perfect day, the vine would have disappeared into the blandness of the brick. As I passed, I plucked a tiny flower, carried it inside like a baby bird and placed it on the edge of my desk in the slot reserved for a pencil.

“Settle down,” our teacher said, as we dropped back into our seats and reopened books with more noise than should be possible. Soon, I returned to diagramming the longest sentences ever strung together. However, this time while I separated subjects from verbs and identified adjectives on diagonally drawn lines, I inhaled spring from the tiny flower perched on the edge of my desk. And everything felt right.

Front Porch

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ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

We Support Arkansas Farmers and Ranchers They provide one in six Arkansas jobs, 25% of our economy, 75% of wildlife habitat and spend millions each year protecting our state’s environment.

Asa Hutchinson

Arkansas Governor

They provide safe, affordable food for our families.

Lacy Glover

Former Miss Arkansas

Agriculture is growing Arkansas Front Porch

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growingarkansas.org ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU • SPRING 2017

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With your Arkansas Farm Bureau membership, you have access to member-priced loans, compeeeve proteccon plans, and exible terms on new or used boats, motor homes and travel trailers.

Get ready to experience the great outdoors with a Farm Bureau Bank recreaaonal vehicle loan!

Ask your local Arkansas Agent for more details and apply for your Farm Bureau Bank Vehicle Loan today!

Existing Farm Bureau Bank Boat loans are excluded from this offer. * Rates disclosed as Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and are based on excellent credit and acquiring Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP). GAP coverage not to exceed 84 months. Rates are subject to change without notice. The advertised APR of 3.99% is effective as of 03/31/2017. Final APR may differ from the loan interest rate due to additional fees (such as a loan documentation fee, which may be applicable). For a $25,050.00 boat loan with a term of 36 months, a 45 day first payment date and a 3.99% APR, the monthly payment will be $768.78. To qualify for the disclosed rate, customer must be a Farm Bureau member. Rates may vary based on the amount financed, term, and first payment date. Finance charges accrue from origination date of the loan. Rates and financing are limited to new or used boat models 2012 and newer. Visit www.farmbureaubank.com for rates and financing on boat models 2007 - 2011. All loans are subject to credit approval, verification, and collateral evaluation. Farm Bureau Bank does not finance totaled, reconditioned, refurbished or salvaged boats. Non-member rates may be 4% higher than posted rates and additional fees may apply. This offer is not available in all states. Banking services provided by Farm Bureau Bank, FSB. 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. B_Ark_4.17