Welcome to this edition of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report. I’m your host, Roby Brock. Thanks for joining us.
Agriculture in Arkansas has been topsy-turvy. It’s been in turmoil. I caught up recently with Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture, who was in Northwest Arkansas for a big national conference to talk about agriculture, politics, and policy. Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward is our interview on today’s Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report.
Arkansas’s farmers, and the rest of the country’s, are holding on for dear life as the agriculture sector is in dire straits. I sat down with Wes Ward, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, for a conversation.
Brock: You guys had a big conference up in Northwest Arkansas this past week. Tell me what the organization was that the conference was centered around, because you’re the—I think you’re the president of it, or maybe the past president now. And who was there? What was going on?
Ward: Yeah. So we participate as an Arkansas Department of Agriculture in NASDA, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. And we’ve been honored to serve as the president of that organization for this past year. Part of those responsibilities is to host the annual meeting, which we just hosted in Northwest Arkansas.
We’re proud to get to do that. All 50 states, four U.S. territories, federal, private, corporate—everybody came into Arkansas. We had record-breaking attendance, the largest event that we’ve ever had for NASDA, and had it here in Arkansas. Just a fantastic event. We had Governor Sanders there, Secretary Rollins there. So it was a big deal, a great opportunity to showcase Arkansas and Arkansas agriculture. And it was a big success.
Brock: Let’s talk about row crop farmers and what they’re experiencing. Obviously the one big bill at the federal level, and so much of this is federal policy in terms of potential solutions here. It does remedy some situations, but it’s going to be a year in the making because of the way reference prices work and crop insurance and things like that. What needs to be done immediately? Do you think just a financial bailout is the only option at this point?
Ward: You know, there’s a lot of conversations on that. Both Governor Sanders and Secretary Rollins talked about the short-term bridge to get us to next year. Those new reference prices should take effect Oct. 1, which is great. I think next year will be beneficial. But it’s just how do we get our producers to that point? I know you’re hearing a lot of that as well.
So I think it’s a lot of creativity we’re looking at. I know Governor Sanders last week looked at how do we take the nutrition programs in Arkansas and make those more beneficial for Arkansas producers. We’re actually hosting that international group that is in Arkansas this week. We’re meeting with them again today. They’re doing additional farm tours. That’s 25 countries where we’re having additional trade conversations. We’ve got a delegation from Taiwan that we’re signing a letter of intent with—they’re going to purchase about $5 to $6 billion worth of corn and soy.
So those sort of things—there is a need for some assistance at the federal level, but it also takes creativity at the state level, as Governor Sanders is doing here. What else can we do to help?
Brock: You’re talking about opening up some new trade markets. That’s a short-term and a long-term solution, because some of those foreign trade markets dried up over the last, I’d say, four to six years maybe. Do you think we’re looking at a $30 billion bailout package, a $50 billion bailout? Does anybody have a good estimate?
Ward: That’s a great question. I’ve heard the $30 billion number. I think everyone’s still trying to, especially for the row crop industry as they go into harvest now, see what the impact will be. How are yields? What’s the output? What are the prices they’re able to capture?
I think yields are high and prices are low. You’re absolutely right. That’s across the board. In Arkansas we’ve got a good estimate, but other states are still working on their numbers. I think we’re probably a little ahead of some other states just knowing what we’re anticipating. But it will be a big number. I’ve heard the $30 billion number, but it’s significant.
Brock: Do you think it gets done, number one? And number two, what’s the point of no return if you can’t get it done by a certain date?
Ward: That’s a really good question. With the conversations happening—we certainly have Senator Boozman as chair of the Senate Ag Committee, the governor’s involved, Secretary Rollins involved, Representative Crawford still on the House committee. Arkansas really couldn’t ask for a better position to be making that argument. So we’ve got all hands on board trying to help.
I think something will happen. The question is just how big, how long, and what will the number be. I feel like something’s coming. We’re just waiting on the details. I got that impression from Secretary Rollins this week and from Senator Boozman as well. They’re definitely trying to make that happen.
How long can they wait? Some people would say the end of the year, because farmers have to start making decisions for next year. You don’t want to go out and spend money to put a crop in the ground if you’re not going to be able to stay in business and incur that debt.
Brock: Do you talk to farmers that just aren’t even putting anything in the ground because they know, “I’d rather not do anything than lose money”?
Ward: We’ve seen that. We’ve seen people who decide, I’m going to take a portion of acreage out of production because I know I’m going to lose money on it. They try to find niche markets or something where they can capture additional value. Every farm, every producer, every position in the state is a little bit different—how far away they are from an elevator, what other opportunities they have.
It is significant. Even Secretary Rollins shared the number—potentially one in three farms in the U.S. could go out of business this year. It’s drastic. It’s severe. If that happens, it will completely change the face of agriculture across the country. Something has to happen.
We’ve seen consolidation. We don’t want that to happen. Even the larger producers say, I cannot take any more. I don’t want additional farm ground. We can’t afford to let smaller producers go out. It would be drastic and significant. If that happens, it’s a national security problem as well, because food security is national security.
Brock: It’s also got a downstream effect. Not just the farmers themselves, but everybody in the ecosystem of selling to farms—seed companies, equipment companies. The ripple effects are major.
Ward: That’s right. Especially for states like Arkansas. Agriculture is our largest industry. It is for many states. But in small agricultural communities, like where I grew up in Lake City, it’s agriculture. You may be able to drive to Jonesboro or another city to take an additional job, but those communities are driven by agriculture. If you lose the industry, you lose your schools, your restaurants, your grocery stores. You lose everything.
Brock: Last question. I’ve heard very vocally from farmers across the state, particularly row crop farmers in dire circumstances. Do you think they’re being heard? What gives them comfort right now that something’s going to be done?
Ward: I think in particular for Arkansas, having Secretary Rollins and Governor Sanders this week talk about the impact is important. Governor Sanders knows directly the impact and the numbers. She’s talked to many producers, had direct conversations with Secretary Rollins and others in the administration. So we know that message is being shared. That doesn’t always provide a lot of comfort, but I think with Senator Boozman as well, the message is being received. It’s just how much can they do?
I think they need to talk to President Trump. They need to talk to Speaker Johnson and Senate President Thune. They’re the ones who need to say, let’s get it going today.
That’s Wes Ward, Arkansas’s Secretary of Agriculture. You can catch our full interview and a story complementing that interview at NWABizjournals.com.
That’s all for this edition of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report. I’m Roby Brock. We’ll see you next time.
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