The College of Agriculture hosted a night filled with discussions about ethics in agriculture and a three course dinner at the Judd Hill Farmers’ Market on Monday.

Wes Ward, the secretary of Agriculture for Arkansas, led the night as keynote speaker, followed by a panel of industry professionals: Allyson Bise who works for Nutrien Ag Solutions; Craig Walker Jr., a finance administrator for Rabo AgriFinance and Art Singleton, an agricultural lawyer.

In his keynote address, Ward said honor is about having an uncompromising code of integrity, which soon became the word of the evening. 

“It’s what compels you to act responsibly, to fulfill your obligations, to hold yourself and others accountable for every action, representing with honor everything that you do,” He said.

Jacob Manlove, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture, spearheaded the event along with other faculty members within the college. He said the primary goal of the event was for the students to understand the broader aspect of how character and ethics plays into agriculture.

“If you think about agriculture, a lot of people think about farming,” Manlove said. “But one in seven people in the state work with agriculture in some way. So that’s consumption of food, food processing, food preparation, the food production, the actual farm itself and animal production.”

Manlove said since agriculture impacts a lot of people, it presents a lot of opportunities to maintain ethical standards. He said the industry professionals were brought in to share their perspectives and help inform students of different character and ethical decisions they’ll face when they leave the classroom. 

“There’s a lot of decisions that go into every piece of that so again, just things you can’t necessarily teach in the classroom but get some exposure to,” Manlove said.  “All of them will kind of provide finance, human relations and law side of how all these decisions are made,” 

Hannah Kimmer, a senior agricultural business major from Batesville, Arkansas, opened the night as the student emcee.

Kimmer said agriculture is a “way of life” for Arkansans and more than just an industry.

“It defines our communities, sustains our economy and feeds families across the country,” Kimmer said. “Agriculture is not just about production: it’s about responsibility. Responsibility to the land, to the people who work it, and to the generations that will come after us. That responsibility is built on ethics, integrity and strong leadership.”

After Ward’s address, students asked the panelists questions about the ethics of Arkansas agribusinesses prioritizing profit over long-term sustainability. 

Bise said long term environmental sustainability should be prioritized.

“The goal for me is that my future children and their children and future generations are going to be able to continue to farm and that we’re taking care of the soil and the resources that we do have so that they’re able to do that,” Bise said, “The main priority is to stay in business, but there are times when profitability needs to be part of that discussion.”

Singleton said it depends on the farmer and their goals. 

“You need to be in business tomorrow. What’s your mindset?” Singleton said. “What’s your real purpose? What’s your long term purpose? Making the most money? Or is it sustaining your practice for your future generations?”

Manlove asked the panelists what their three core values would be and how they apply them in their lives.

Walker said the three core values are family, trust and loyalty.

“Trust is key. When you’re talking to a farmer and talk to someone, you gotta be able to trust them and they’ll trust you. Try to find people who have some important values and try to build a relationship with them.” Walker said.

Bise said trust, integrity and family while Singleton said honesty, integrity and truthfulness. 

Bert Greenwalt, a professor of agricultural economics, closed the event. He said it’s important to think about how you would operate in this environment, especially if you were in a position of responsibility and authority.

“If you’re a student, now you may not have these responsibilities, but your values will be tested. Your integrity will be tested at times and maybe sooner than you think,” Greenwalt said. 

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