UADA’s Culver to be inducted into Arkansas Ag Hall of Fame in March
“We are so pleased that Chuck has been chosen for induction in the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame. His three decades of work have helped elevate the Division of Agriculture in its ability to serve Arkansans and Arkansas agriculture.” — Deacue Fields
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Jan. 8, 2025
Fast facts
- Culver to join five other Hall of Fame inductees March 28
- Culver served 34 years with Division of Agriculture
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(Newsrooms: With filer of Culver)
LITTLE ROCK — Chuck Culver, former interim head of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, is one of the six being inducted in March as part of Class XXXVII of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Culver, who joined the Division of Agriculture in 1990, spent much of his 30-plus-year career as its director of stakeholder relations, and during that time helped secure more than $600 million in funding for the division’s research and extension projects.
In 2021, Culver was named by UA System President Donald Bobbitt to be interim head of the Division of Agriculture following the retirement of Mark Cochran. Culver served as interim until Deacue Fields was appointed to the post in July 2022.
“We are so pleased that Chuck has been chosen for induction in the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame,” said Fields. “His three decades of work has helped elevate the Division of Agriculture in its ability to serve Arkansans and Arkansas agriculture.”
Other Class XXXVII inductees include:
- Aubrey Blackmon of Houston, a founding member of Perry County Cattlemen’s Association in 1970 and recipient of the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association lifetime service achievement award in 2012.
- Carl Brothers of Stuttgart, who spent 53 years with Riceland Foods, retiring as senior vice president and chief operating officer and whose leadership was instrumental in passage of the 1985 farm bill, also known as the Food Security Act of 1985.
- Mike Freeze of Little Rock, co-owner and operator of Keo Fish Farms — America’s largest producer of hybrid striped bass fry and fingerlings — who helped Arkansas become one of the top three states in aquaculture production.
- The late Jack Reaper of Albion, who was a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp before starting with a 24-acre farm in White County and growing it into a model farm that included poultry, cattle and row crops.
- Frank Wilson of Rison, who began planting pine trees with his dad more than 70 years ago and started Wilson Brothers Lumber Company in 1972, followed by several logging companies and other timber industry enterprises offering more than 100 jobs in rural Cleveland County.
Class XXXVII induction ceremonies are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. March 28 in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. Contact Cindra Jones at 501-228-1609 for ticket information or click here to purchase tickets online.
Since the hall of fame’s first class in 1987, a total of 192 men and women have been inducted for significant contributions to Arkansas’ largest industry and the economic impact of the industry.
“What an amazing group of farmers and those who help our farmers make agriculture Arkansas’ No. 1 business sector,” said Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame Chair Debbie Moreland of Roland. “Agriculture is such a critical cultural and economic part of Arkansas. It is what binds so much of our state together.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu