HOT SPRINGS -- More than 1,000 farmers, ranchers and agricultural leaders from across the state will gather in Hot Springs beginning Wednesday for Arkansas Farm Bureau's 84th annual convention.
Speakers will include Ted McKinney, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs; Anne L. Idsal, regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency's South Central Region; comedian Ed Wiley; and Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach, a news release said.
Author and motivational speaker Stephanie Payne will give the keynote address at the Women's Leadership luncheon during the convention, which will run through Friday at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The convention's theme, "Empower Your Grassroots," will be reinforced through workshops that include topics such as engaging the public, leadership, effective advocacy communication and legislative session previews, along with discussions that cover management and profitability for livestock, row crop and specialty crop producers, according to the release.
Farm Bureau's annual business session, where voting delegates define the organization's policy positions, will conclude the event.
"It is encouraging to see leaders across Arkansas -- from every county and segment of agriculture -- who want to empower and be an effective part of Farm Bureau," Veach, a third-generation farmer from Manila in Mississippi County, said in the release.
Metro on 11/26/2018