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Press Releases

WASHINGTON – For the fifth straight year, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) will be hitting the road Tuesday for his annual agriculture tour in an effort to highlight it’s importance in Arkansas.

“Agriculture is a vital part of Arkansas’s economy. One out of every six jobs in Arkansas is tied to agriculture. This year’s tour is especially important as family farm and the rural way of life are being threatened by the Obama Administration’s mandates. I will take the concerns I hear from Arkansas’s agriculture community during this tour back to Washington so we can push back on this overreach and protect Arkansas’s farmers,” said Boozman, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Boozman’s 2015 Ag Tour will include meetings with producers, ranchers and more as he visits farms, production facilities and rural co-operatives. State and local officials will join Boozman at most stops.

Boozman will also be speaking at the Ag Council of Arkansas’s breakfast in Marianna and attending the Grady Fish Fry on Thursday.

On Friday, Boozman’s stops will include Wooster Elementary where he will see how they administer the school lunch program. Prior to the adjournment of the Senate for the August in-state work period, Boozman, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced the Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act, legislation to make federal child nutrition programs more efficient and flexible to reach children in need during the summer months when school meals are not available. When the Senate reconvenes in September, the Senate Agriculture Committee has indicated that legislation to reauthorize child nutrition programs will be a priority.

In a release announcing the Hunger Free Summer of Kids Act, Boozman called eliminating hunger and malnourishment “a national priority.”

“We need to provide consistency in the summer for Arkansas children who rely on the regular meals provided at school. Unfortunately, the summer meals program has a one-size-fits-all approach that does not work well for every community. Urban, suburban and rural areas face different challenges, and this legislation provides states with the flexibility to choose the approach that makes the most sense for their communities. I am committed to creating opportunities for children to access healthy, nutritious meals when class is not in session,” Boozman, a co-chairman of the Senate Hunger Caucus said upon introduction of the bill.

Boozman’s 2015 Ag Tour includes stops at:

  • The Thrash Farm, in Perry County, which has been affected by recent flooding
  • Anderson Minnow Farm, the world’s largest minnow farm, located in Lonoke
  • Sickle Rice Farm in Prairie County
  • Gairhan Soybean & Corn Farm in Poinsett County
  • Ritter Agribusiness in Marked Tree
  • The Lawrence Group, the largest private landowner in Arkansas, located in Wilson
  • Wallace Grain Sorghum Farm in Crawfordsville
  • The Ag Council of Arkansas breakfast in Marianna (Boozman will be speaking)
  • Lon Mann Cotton Research Center in Marianna
  • Baxter Land Company, located in Watson, produces triploid hybrid catfish and also farms rice, soybeans, and cotton
  • Grady John Deere Dealership
  • Grady Fish Fry
  • Patton Cattle Farm in Wooster
  • Greenbrier High School, which has one of the largest vo-ag programs in the state
  • Wooster Elementary in Greenbrier to see the school lunch program
  • Ouachita Livestock Market