HOT SPRINGS, Ark.—More than 1,000 farmers and ranchers from across Arkansas have filled the Hot Springs Convention Center this week for the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 91st Annual Convention, a three-day event that blends policy discussion, education, fellowship and the largest agricultural trade show the organization has ever hosted.
“This is our 91st annual convention, and it’s just a chance for our farmers and ranchers from across the state to come together,” said Senior Events Director for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Jeff McClure. “We have workshops, we have dinners to support our foundations, and we had a concert last night with Mark Chesnutt.”
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The convention runs from Dec. 3 to Dec. 5 and has drawn one of the largest turnouts on record. McClure said four hotels in the city of Hot Springs have been filled by Farm Bureau groups, and the event is once again serving as a major statewide gathering point for Arkansas’s agricultural community.
This year’s trade show includes the most vendors the Farm Bureau has ever hosted, featuring everything from large farm equipment—including John Deere and Kubota—to disaster-relief services and the Farm Bureau merchandise store. For the first time, the event also features a farmer’s market section, highlighting 30 Arkansas vendors from across the state…