WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman honored owners of the Long Planting Company, Heath and Betsy Long, for their achievements and recognition as the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Farm Family of the Year.

“We are blessed to have such outstanding agriculture innovators in our state who have a vision for this industry. I am pleased to have the opportunity to recognize the efforts of Health, Betsy and their daughters Shelby and Sydney as they continue their work in Arkansas’s number one industry,” Boozman said. 

The following is the statement submitted to the Congressional Record, the official proceedings of Congress. 

Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the Long family for earning the distinction of 2011’s Arkansas Farm Family of the Year. 

This honor reflects Heath and Betsy Long’s dedication to farming and the importance of farming as Arkansas’s number one industry. As owners of Long Planting Company, a rice, soybean and wheat operation of more than 2,200 acres of land, the couple has taken advantage of technology and improved farming efficiency while expanding their farm. 

Heath has devoted his life to farming, spending his childhood on the farm and earning a degree in agriculture from Arkansas State University. As a fourth generation farmer, his commitment to the agriculture industry has helped his farm as well as other farms within the state as he serves as the vice president of the Arkansas County Farm Bureau board of directors and a member of the Arkansas and USA rice councils. 

The Arkansas Farm Bureau’s program honors farm families across the state for their outstanding work both on their farms and in their communities. This recognition is a reflection of the contribution to agriculture at the community and state level and its implications for improved farm practices and management.  The Longs are well-deserving of this honor. 

I congratulate Heath and Betsy, and their daughters Shelby and Sydney for their outstanding achievements in agriculture and ask my fellow colleagues to join me in honoring them for this accomplishment. I wish them continued success in their future endeavors and look forward to the contributions they will offer in the future to Arkansas agriculture.

As the Farm Family of the Year, the Longs will compete in the 2012 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year program.