PINE BLUFF, AR – Hundreds of area farmers and ag industry representatives gathered here last week at the Conyers Family Farm for the Arkansas stop of the National Black Growers Council (NBGC)
2024 Model Farm Field Day, but in addition to the typical field day information and remarks, this event was set up to make a pitch to area young people to consider ag careers.
Lawrence “Wink” Conyers, a second-generation farmer who grows rice, soybeans, wheat, corn, and grain sorghum, insisted organizers reach out to local schools, and indeed, more than 100 area high school seniors and college juniors soaked up the information and visited exhibitors, many of whom had hundreds of corporate job and internship opportunities available.
Following welcome remarks from Wink, his daughter Masherrl, and NBGC Chair PJ Haynie, Dr. Dewayne Goldmon, senior advisor to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, spoke passionately about the work USDA is doing in pursuit of equity that benefits specifically traditionally underrepresented farmers, but in reality, the entire U.S. ag ecosystem.
After greetings from local politicians, the agenda turned heavily to student engagement with representatives of University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the U of A Division of Agriculture promoting the opportunities ag presents to young people. Dr. Deacue Fields, vice president of agriculture for the entire U of A system, pointed out agriculture is not just about working in the soil – there are thousands of ag-related jobs from high tech to on-farm work that need filling to ensure America continues to produce affordable, safe food for the world.
Representatives of agri-businesses, John Deere, Bayer, FMC, BASF, and Syngenta shared highlights of some of the services and technology they offer farmers, but also urged the students to come visit their booths to talk about internships and jobs.
The conversation turned to conservation and policy with remarks from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Scott Bray and representatives of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, before the USDA’s Climate Smart Commodity Programs took center stage with updates from ADM, the NBGC’s Elzadia Washington, and USA Rice’s Emily Woodall. When all the talking was over, the crowd dug into a terrific lunch of fried fish, hushpuppies, and bbq sandwiches.
“It was new for me to see all these young people at a field day,” said Michal Klein, USA Rice vice president of communications & domestic promotion who was in attendance. “They really seemed interested and took everything in. It helped that they got to see a bit of real ‘farmer on-the-fly’ adaptation when Wink asked a horseman in attendance to move his horse and trailer so a neighbor could come get Wink’s excavator to help with an emergency down the road. But the presentations went on!”
The next NBGC model farm rice field day is July 25-26, in Bastrop, Louisiana, at Armstrong Farms.