U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman, will hold a field hearing Friday in Arkansas to gain input from Natural State agricultural producers as the process of writing the 2023 Farm Bill begins. AG leaders announced Tuesday the witnesses who will be testifying.
The hearing—entitled “2023 Farm Bill: Perspectives from the Natural State”—will be held Friday, June 17, at 9 am at Riceland Hall in the Fowler Center at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.
It will feature two panels consisting of Arkansas agricultural producers, industry stakeholders and rural community supporters. They will be preceded by a welcome panel consisting of Dr. Mickey Latour, dean of the College of Agriculture at ASU and Rich Hillman, President of Arkansas Farm Bureau.
“The best solutions come from the ground up. We have invited some of Arkansas’s top experts in their subject matter areas to testify, and I believe what they share with us at this hearing will greatly benefit the committee as we move forward with the farm bill process,” said Boozman in an official statement.
The following witnesses will testify at the hearing:
| Panel I |
| Mr. Nathan Reed, Chairman, American Cotton Producers, Marianna |
| Mr. Brad Doyle, President, American Soybean Association, Weiner |
| Mrs. Anne Marie Doramus, Commissioner, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock |
| Mr. John McAlpine, President, Kingwood Forestry Services, Inc., Monticello |
| Mr. Mark Morgan, Farmer, Peach Pickin’ Paradise and Morgan Farms, Clarksville |
| Mrs. Jennifer James, Chair, USA Rice Sustainability Committee, Newport |
| Panel II |
| Mr. Greg Cole, Chief Executive Officer, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Little Rock |
| Ms. L. Elizabeth Bowles, Chief Executive Officer, Aristotle Unified Communications, Little Rock |
| Mr. Buddy Hasten, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, Little Rock |
| Mrs. Rhonda Sanders, Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Foodbank, Little Rock |
| Mr. Dennis Sternberg, Chief Executive Officer, Arkansas Rural Water Association, Lonoke |
The hearing will be streamed live online at ag.senate.gov and on the Committee Republicans’ twitter account @SenateAgGOP
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