11 young farmers, ranchers visit D.C.

WASHINGTON — Members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers program visited the nation’s capital last week.

They stopped on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the state’s congressional delegation, staking out a spot in the basement of Tortilla Coast, a bustling lunchtime Tex-Mex restaurant.

They also made trips to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Mexican Embassy, where they heard about the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The names of participants and an abridged list of their crops is below.

The delegation of up-andcoming agriculture leaders included Chase and Krystal Groves of Garland (they raise cattle and grow soybeans, corn, wheat and pecans); Mark Morgan of Clarksville (peaches, cattle and turkeys); Terrance Scott of Cotton Plant (soybeans and purple hull peas); Dustin Cowell of Mount Judea (cattle, hay and timber); Jared and Michelle Pass of Hartford (cattle); Adam and Sandra Cloninger of Keo (soybeans, rice, corn and wheat); and James and Christina Smith of Hope (poultry and cattle).

Cowell said the trip was a great opportunity “to talk to a lot of people … and make contacts.”

He’s glad the Farm Bureau is committed to training young farmers.

“A lot of our farmers are older generation, a lot of them [are] getting out. Not a lot of the younger generation [are] coming back to the farms,” he said. “Who’s going to take over that farm once this generation passes on? I think that will be a big issue.”