LITTLE ROCK — Five men, including a Southeast Arkansas resident, will be recognized for their contributions to the state’s largest industry with induction into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.
The 24th annual induction luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday in the Ambassador Ballroom of Little Rock’s Embassy Suites Hotel.
The inductees are Abraham Carpenter Sr. of Grady (Lincoln County), Lionel Barton of Fayetteville (Washington County), the late Jon S. Fitch of Hindsville (Madison County), the late Stanley E. Reed of Marianna (Lee County), and Howarth Erwin Taylor of Hickory Ridge (Cross County).
• Carpenter
Abraham Carpenter Sr. and his wife, Katie, began growing produce at their home in Grady more than 50 years ago. They raised five sons and three daughters who all live on the farm and work in the family business, Carpenter Produce. Their son, Abraham Jr., is farm manager and says his dad is most proud of keeping the family together.
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“Like I always tell people, mom and dad didn’t have a whole lot of education but they got a Ph.D in common sense and they knew how to keep the family together,” Abraham Jr. says.
“I think the thing he’s most proud of is he was able to provide a living for his family and give others an opportunity to have gainful employment. The fact God enabled him to do that I think is his greatest achievement.”
• Barton
During his 28-year career as a poultry specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service, Barton developed a comprehensive poultry education program at the University of Arkansas and was instrumental in the development of the school’s Poultry Center of Excellence. He credits his many colleagues in Extension and within the Animal Science department for this recognition.
“Being housed on the campus here in Fayetteville so many things come up you don’t know the answer to but you have co-workers who know the answers,” Barton says. “This award, I’d certainly like to share it with my co-workers at Extension and here on the campus. It’s really an honor for me and very much appreciated.”
• Fitch
A life-long Madison County cattleman, Jon Fitch served 24 years in the state legislature, (six years in the House of Representatives, 18 years in the Senate).
In 2007, then-Gov. Mike Beebe appointed him as director of the Livestock and Poultry Commission, a position he held until his death in February 2011. His top legislative achievement was passage of the Brucellosis Eradication Act in 1985, which eventually led to the elimination of the cattle disease in 1997. His son Jeff says his dad just enjoyed helping others.
“He truly enjoyed being out there as a public servant and as a farmer,” Jeff says. “Anyone he came across he felt needed help or guidance he would willingly offer it. He’d go to bat for just about anybody and stood up for people that wouldn’t have a voice otherwise. He did that for his family, his constituents and for farmers. He just enjoyed helping people and I will always admire him for that.”
• Reed
Stanley Reed was passionate about agriculture and spent his life advocating for it through the numerous leadership positions he held prior to his death in July 2011.
Chief among them were as president of Arkansas Farm Bureau for five years and 10 years as a member of the U of A board of trustees. His widow, Charlene, says her husband developed a love of the land as a boy and never lost it.
“Even though he went to law school … agriculture was a passion he never gave up,” Charlene Reed says. “He could have been an engineer, could have been a lawyer but his gut-love, his passion, was agriculture. He wanted to serve his fellow farmers and ranchers and make agriculture better because his heart was a love for the land.”
• Taylor
Howarth Taylor will be 91 years old March 11, two days following his induction. His wife, Ella, is appreciative of the recognition for her husband. She says he made it his mission to grow and provide crop farmers with the cleanest, best-quality seed he could.
“He was real particular about the quality of the seed he produced,” Ella Taylor says. “We would always be the last ones harvesting because he had to tear down the combines and totally clean them, the trucks and grain buggies. He had a good name in the industry and worked hard to deserve that.”
Tickets to Friday’s induction luncheon are $35 and are available by calling (501) 228-1470.
The Agriculture Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas Farm Bureau. It honors those who have made significant contributions to Arkansas agriculture, as well as community and economic development.