Rich Hillman of Carlisle is in his first term as president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the 11th president in the organization’s 85-year history, succeeding longtime Farm Bureau President Randy Veach in late 2019.. A sixth-generation farmer, Hillman raises rice, soybeans and wheat. He previously served as vice president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau board for 11 years, and has been on the board since 2001.
Hillman is vice chairman of the Riceland Foods board of directors and past chairman of the Arkansas Foundation for Agriculture. He serves on the board of the Southern Farm Bureau Life & Casualty companies, based in Jackson, Mississippi.
You spent 11 years as the bureau’s vice president, so has it been a big transition taking over?
I really thought I knew what to expect from my time as vice president, but none of that prepared me or anyone else for the pandemic we find ourselves in. Our staff, our membership and our insurance company have done a great job adapting very rapidly to all the necessary changes that had to be made. All of our team, including our state board, has met those challenges to get our job done.
What are the biggest challenges facing Arkansas farmers today, and how have they evolved?
Arkansas farmers and ranchers battle a plethora of challenges every day. Foremost is our friend and foe Mother Nature. Weather is always a major factor in profit or loss in agriculture. There are also regulatory issues, technology, financial stability and, right now, labor — which is probably near the top of challenges in agriculture today. With that said, farmers and ranchers are the most resilient people I know. They risk their net worth every year, and in doing so they are the most efficient farmers in the world.
Agriculture has also been practicing sustainability for decades, conserving and taking care of our land and natural resources. That has long been the key to our longevity and profitability. We are going to do a better job of telling that story.
What policy priorities will you be pursuing with lawmakers and federal and state agriculture departments?
Our policies for the upcoming legislative session will be determined by our members in every county. That process will be solidified in December at our annual meeting. This grassroots process is what has made Arkansas Farm Bureau so successful for more than 80 years. Our national priorities will be forwarded to the American Farm Bureau, where they will be considered for shaping national policy.
Arkansas and Arkansas agriculture are tremendously diverse. Our policy positions reflect that, and they are sure to cover topics from the dire need for better rural broadband and rural roads to livestock and row-crop issues.
How has this pandemic affected agriculture here in Arkansas?
COVID-19 has affected every sector of business all over the world. We have had issues with some of our processing plants, and that affected the food chain in some parts of the country. Hopefully, those problems have subsided now. But as a whole, Arkansas farmers and ranchers have quietly continued to get their job done every day without much fanfare. They have had to alter their normal practices but have continued to raise their livestock and crops to stock the shelves in your favorite grocery store. The silver lining in this pandemic is that the general public is more aware and probably more appreciative that Arkansas’ largest industry is agriculture.
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