Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame to add 6

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by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) ago 215 views 

Six inductees will be added to the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, reflective of industry-changing work in aquaculture, forestry, rice, poultry and cattle as well as the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

The six inductees that make up Class XXXVII are:

  • Aubrey Blackmon of Houston, a founding member of Perry County Cattlemen’s Association in 1970 and recipient of the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association lifetime service achievement award in 2012;
  • Carl Brothers of Stuttgart, who spent 53 years with Riceland Foods, retiring as senior vice president and chief operating officer and whose leadership was instrumental in passage of the 1985 farm bill, also known as the Food Security Act of 1985;
  • Chuck Culver of Fayetteville, retired University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture executive who helped secure more than He helped secure more than $600 million in public and private funding for agriculture research and extension projects;
  • Mike Freeze of Little Rock, co-owner and operator of Keo Fish Farms — America’s largest producer of hybrid striped bass fry and fingerlings — who helped Arkansas become one of the top three states in aquaculture production;
  • The late Jack Reaper of Albion, who was a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp before starting with a 24-acre farm in White County and growing it into a model farm that included poultry, cattle and row crops; and
  • Frank Wilson of Rison, who began planting pine trees with his dad more than 70 years ago and started Wilson Brothers Lumber Company in 1972, followed by several logging companies and other timber industry enterprises offering more than 100 jobs in rural Cleveland County.

Induction ceremonies are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. March 28 in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Since the hall of fame’s first class in 1987, a total of 192 men and women have been inducted for significant contributions to Arkansas’ largest industry and the economic impact of the industry.

“What an amazing group of farmers and those who help our farmers make agriculture Arkansas’ No. 1 business sector,” said Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame Chair Debbie Moreland of Roland. “Agriculture is such a critical cultural and economic part of Arkansas. It is what binds so much of our state together.”