Farming expo showcases innovators

WASHINGTON — Members of Arkansas’ agricultural community joined farm equipment manufacturers, growers and industry groups last week on the National Mall for an exposition exhibiting trends within the farming sector.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers hosted its second Celebration of Modern Agriculture in the nation’s capital, providing lawmakers, public officials and citizens with opportunities to learn about innovations affecting cultivation and production practices.

The theme of the threeday exposition concentrated on the future of food and farming. Groups — ranging from companies like John Deere to associations like the National Pork Producers Council — highlighted technologies for increasing outputs with reduced environmental effects.

“The Earth is a complicated mother,” said John McEntire, whose family has a farm near Stuttgart in Arkansas County. “If you think about it, sustainability should be considered simply the harmony of resources. If you give her what she needs, you’re going to get the best outcome in return.”

McEntire serves as director of communications for Arva Intelligence, a Houston-based company providing farmers with tools for monitoring farmlands and implementing better practices to reduce carbon emissions.

Arva Intelligence has embraced artificial intelligence to produce more accurate data, allowing farmers to change their approach to maximize profits while reducing an operation’s environmental impact.

Arva Intelligence manages a research farm in Arkansas County to study analytics and possible best practices.

McEntire recognized agricultural producers’ growing embrace of artificial intelligence, noting farmers have to balance various data sets involving soil samples, machine efficiency and land stability.

“It’s a lot of information to process,” he said. “Instead of having to spend three weeks doing math on pen and paper, we can get all of that out there in three seconds and then just spend a little time making sure it’s right or making sure this is something that we want to do, and then being able to use those analytics to predict what’s going to happen next year.”

There is an additional economic benefit for farmers to reduce their carbon footprint; smaller operations sell carbon credits of unused carbon emissions to larger producers, providing a secondary income source.

Arva Intelligence’s co-founder Mark Isbell touted this return to farmers, noting the company helped farmers earn $20 million last year through selling credits to other parties.

“It came from the food companies who have very much an interest in making sure their supply chain emissions are reduced,” he said. “The best way to do that is to pay the farmer for the good practices that he or she can do.”

Todd Martin of Fayetteville also backs artificial intelligence’s use in agriculture. Martin helped found EarthOptics, an analytics company whose work involves measuring soil content through multiple sensors. EarthOptics uses artificial intelligence with this data to create maps detailing soil quality and nutrition content.

“Growing up in agriculture the way that I did, I can tell you that agriculture wasn’t cool back in my formative years,” Martin said. “But today, it’s the nexus of every discipline that we have to produce more for the people, more for feed, more for energy, all the way across.”

The event attracted the attention of visitors to the nation’s capital, intrigued by multiple displays showcasing tractors and heavy farm equipment, and federal lawmakers alike. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., visited the event Tuesday with staff members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. Boozman, of Rogers, serves as the committee’s top Republican.

“Right now, Americans are so divorced from the farm,” he told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “I think it’s really good that people get out and realize that they don’t just get their food from the supermarket. There’s a lot of work behind it, and there’s not anybody nicer than the agriculture community.”

Boozman stopped at multiple displays during his visit, including Arva Intelligence and EarthOptics’ stalls. He additionally spoke with representatives of USA Rice, a national organization advocating for the American rice industry.

Arkansas rice producers account for nearly half of the United States’ total rice production.

Michael Klein, USA Rice’s vice president of communications and domestic production, echoed Boozman’s point regarding the disconnect between Americans and agricultural production, adding the event provided an opportunity to educate lawmakers and the general public.

“The National Mall in Washington is a great place. It’s always busy and people are walking around,” he said. “People don’t realize that we grow rice in the U.S., and so we’re just educating them a little bit.”

The event occurred as federal lawmakers are ramping up efforts to consider farm bill proposals in the coming weeks. Republicans on the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee and Democrats on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee have released separate overviews explaining their plans addressing nutrition, rural development and agriculture programs.

After delaying action on a new farm bill for a year, lawmakers hope to pass a legislative package by the Sept. 30 deadline.

Boozman has been watching House Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson, R-Pa., and other House counterparts, waiting for the appropriate time for Senate Republicans to put forward a framework.

“Right now, looking at Chairman Thompson’s framework and (Senate Agriculture Committee) Chairwoman (Debbie) Stabenow’s framework, I’m much more inclined with the way that Chairman Thompson is going,” Boozman said.

Isbell, who helps with his family’s rice operation in Lonoke County, hopes Congress passes a new farm bill. He stressed the final package needs to address rising input costs and stagnant reference prices for commodities.

“It is critical for farmers that we see progress,” he said. “It’s very dangerous for farmers right now to try to make a living.”

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates spending associated with farm bill programs will amount to $1.4 trillion over the next decade, of which nutrition programs account for 82% of this projection.

The House Agriculture Committee will mark up the Republican proposal during a May 23 session. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., serves on the House committee; the Jonesboro congressman and Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., were co-chairs of the committee’s working group studying issues involving the federal H-2A visa program.

Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, and Democratic lawmakers in both chambers have expressed disdain for the Republican suggestions affecting nutrition programs and previously appropriated dollars for “climate-smart” programs.

“When you talk to the average person in Congress on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, members want to get a farm bill done,” Boozman said. “We’ve got to get the things we agree on, fine-tune those, and really, wrestle around and come to an agreement on the rest of it.”

Boozman