The College of Agriculture at Arkansas State University hosted the annual Bill and Alice Nix Farm Day at the Judd Hill Farmers’ Market, commemorating a yearly tradition and showcasing the value of agriculture for the A-State and Jonesboro communities.

The event originally began in 2007 as a free petting zoo for the public. Nineteen years ago, the Nix couple would allocate an endowment to the A-State College of Agriculture to give the community a glimpse of the College’s inner projects. 

Today, the event’s name honors the couple’s memory and generosity. Still a key part of the College of Agriculture, the event continues to carry out its founding legacy almost two decades later. 

Mickey Latour, Dean of the College of Agriculture, stated his enjoyment at watching the community engage with all that agriculture has to offer.

“I love for people to come out here and just have a wonderful time, you know, it’s just wholesome,” said Latour. “You look outside, and we have a mixture. We have everything from educational activities all the way in the back with the cotton, where they can look at a variety of things and insects, to the animals that we have to get pictures with.”

The gates of the Judd Hill Farmer’s Market were flooded with town and university locals alike for the opening of the farm day, and, past the market’s entrance, booths were set up all around the patio for visitation. Agriculture was represented in many ways, with table setups displaying agricultural processes live and in action.

Members and staff of the A-State College of Agriculture gathered eagerly to display their love and appreciation for agriculture, as well as the College’s accomplishments. Land Smith, a junior plant and soil science, and geographic information systems and precision agriculture major and College of Agriculture Ambassador from Tyronza, Arkansas said his main hope is to educate the community on agricultural processes.

“Allowing the community to understand what we’re doing here at A-State is our main purpose here today,” said Smith. “It’s just mainly to let everybody get involved and learn something about agriculture.”

Overall, the big picture of the farm day event aimed to further immerse and educate the community on the importance of agriculture, most valuably as part of the larger Arkansas population. In the state of Arkansas, agriculture is the number one industry and a principal facet of the local economy.

As members of the celebrated natural state, Arkansans are surrounded by agriculture in their day-to-day life, and it’s important to celebrate the resources our town has to offer. 

Dixie Book, a junior plant and soil science, and geographic information systems and precision agriculture major and College of Agriculture Ambassador from Piggott, Arkansas, stated the importance of recognizing the abundance of agriculture in our lives. 

“I want people to understand the big picture of Ag,” Book said. “It’s not what you see on the Internet or what you watch in the news. I want people to know why we do what we do…I think it’s important to show everybody why what we do is important and why it has to stay. It affects everybody. No matter what you’re doing, it’s usually tied back to agriculture in some way.”

Additionally, big opportunities are coming for the College of Agriculture and A-State, as developments continue underway for the new College of Veterinary Medicine, a close partner to the university’s agricultural community.

“The College of Veterinary Medicine, which just got its final approval last week, also has about 1000 applicants already for the first 100 or 120 students,” said Latour. “Things are fantastic on campus right now, and we’re so closely connected with them, and it’s wonderful.”

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