Farmer veterans get Heroes brand

State unveils logo of marketing tool for service members

LITTLE ROCK -- A new program announced Thursday by the state's Veterans Affairs and Agriculture departments will assist veterans and military members who run agricultural operations with advertising their businesses.

The program combines the Arkansas Agriculture Department's Arkansas Grown initiative, which provides free marketing for producers of state-grown goods, with Homegrown by Heroes, an effort by the national Farmer Veteran Coalition to guide service members as they transition into farming.

Farmers in Arkansas with military backgrounds will be able to use the program's labels and signs to advertise their business. The logo, which was unveiled Thursday at the state Capitol, shows the Homegrown by Heroes' silhouette of a saluting soldier against an American flag backdrop. The black-and-green Arkansas Grown logo is at its base.

"The least we can do is give them a branding tool, give them an opportunity to market their products," said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. "I hope that this will really do some good things."

The Arkansas Agriculture Department will provide a sign with the new logo to each eligible agricultural operation that signs up for the program, said Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward. Business planning and financial consultation will also be made available.

"It's a marketing tool -- something that will hopefully draw attention to their military service and help them be more successful," Ward said.

It is unsure how many people will be able to benefit from the program, said Ward and Matt Snead, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. Of the state's approximately 250,000 veterans, Ward said: "We don't know yet how many are involved in agriculture. We know a lot are, but we're hoping this will give us a better indication."

One farming family, several of them wearing their earned military medals, sat in the front row for Thursday's announcement. They plan to apply for the program.

Earlier in the week at their farm in rural Lonoke County, members of the Barnhill family loaded boxes of fruits and vegetables onto a truck to be sold at an evening market.

It was a typical day at Barnhill Orchards, which supplies produce to 10 area restaurants and is a longtime vendor at farmers markets in Cabot, Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The family patriarch, 84-year-old Robert Barnhill, started the farm 35 years ago with his wife, Carlotta, after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. His five children have followed his lead. Together, Robert Barnhill, his four sons and one daughter have accumulated 117 years of military service.

One of Robert Barnhill's sons, 55-year-old Rex Barnhill, runs the farm and continues to serve in the military. As a member of the Arkansas National Guard, he trades in his straw hat and button-down shirt for an Army uniform one weekend each month.

"We're hoping with this new program that there'll be some community support," said Ekko Barnhill, Robert Barnhill's daughter. "It's about us being able to support our community, and the community coming back to support us."

Besides giving farms like Barnhill Orchards more publicity, Ward said he hoped the program would serve as a recruiting tool to get more veterans involved in agriculture. As current farmers age and fewer people pursue agricultural careers, a void needs to be filled, he said.

"We have a lot of challenges ahead of us in agriculture, and our service members are well-trained and well-positioned to help answer some of those challenges," Ward said.

Addressing the gathering of about 50 Thursday, Snead said he wanted the program to present a positive image of Arkansas veterans.

"We're not just honoring their service in the military with this program, we're honoring their continued service to the state of Arkansas," Snead said. "We want folks to see that veterans are an asset to the state. To me, this is just a good way to do that."

Those in the agricultural industry who want to enroll in the program must prove that they are either an active-duty, Reserve or National Guard veteran of any branch of the armed forces. The operation must maintain a 50 percent or higher veteran ownership, and the products must contain at least 50 percent veteran-produced ingredients.

To qualify to use the new logo, veterans must first be approved members of the Arkansas Grown program.

"If you just start looking around, we're everywhere," said Rex Barnhill of veteran farmers. "A neighbor right here is an Air Force veteran, and a neighbor to my east is another Air Force veteran.

"They're just not talking about it. We don't crow too much. We're just making a living."

NW News on 07/04/2015

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