Service is something Wes Ward has done for much of his adult life, from his time in the Marine Corps to his current position as secretary of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Although Wes’ parents were not farmers, he knew he wanted to do something related to the agriculture industry to give back to the community he grew up in and was surrounded by.
Wes grew up in Lake City in the northeastern portion of Arkansas. He joined the Marine Corps after high school and completed deployments in Afghanistan, Jordan and Japan, and is still serving in the Marine Corps Reserve.
Wes attended Arkansas State University, earning his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business, and also received a Master of Laws degree in agricultural and food law from the University of Arkansas.
“Growing up in a small town in a row crop area of the state, I knew that I wanted to be involved in agriculture,” Wes told WLJ. “Coming out of active duty, my family members weren’t landowners and I didn’t have a farm to come back to, so I knew that was not an option. In the Marine Corps they taught lifelong learning, always looking for areas to grow and increase understanding, and so that was also a part of me. It worked out between agriculture and the desire to keep learning to pursue my degrees.”
After returning from duty, Wes worked for Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR-01), who encouraged Wes to speak with then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) in 2015 about the Agriculture secretary position.
“I had a good relationship with Gov. Hutchinson,” Wes said. “He was very gracious to give this young guy the opportunity to be in this position.”
Wes served eight years under Hutchinson and was reappointed under current Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) in 2022. Wes said he has a good relationship with Sanders, and that she understands how important agriculture is to the state, which makes his job easy.
“She is the most personable, nicest person who understands how important agriculture is in the state, cares about the state, cares about the country and wants to do what’s right to help us move forward,” Wes said.
Wes said Sanders encourages a collaborative environment of cabinet members working together, holding regular meetings and having an open dialogue. Wes carries that open door policy to the industry associations, trade groups and producers he works with, and tells them that if something is not working, to let him know.
“That’s what we are there for,” Wes commented. “If something isn’t working, let us know. We want to get out of the way of industry and let free markets work. Let producers work.”
Wes said that in his discussions with producers in the state they are concerned about farm bill negotiations and have an uneasiness with the uncertainty. He said they are fortunate to have Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, to communicate about the bill.
Climate issues are also a concern and how the industry is going to meet the challenges with the Biden administration, along with other issues such as waters of the U.S., Endangered Species Act and herbicide regulations. Wes said exports and trade are another concern as a large portion of the commodities produced in the state are exported. If one country closes off trade, there needs to be other avenues to continue selling the goods the state produces, he said.
China land sale announcement
On Oct. 17, Sanders announced that Northrup King Seed Co. has two years to sell 160 acres in Craighead County as the company is a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company.
Earlier this year, Senate Bill (SB) 383, also known as Act 636, was passed and signed into law, barring a “prohibited foreign party” from holding or acquiring public or private land in the state, including agricultural land. The law would apply to entities subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations such as China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.
The enforcement action by Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin is the first in the nation amid growing concern about foreign ownership of farmland.
Wes said efforts initially started in 2021 when SB 312 required foreign investors to submit copies of federal Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reports—which they already submit to USDA—to the secretary of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
“Over that two-year period, the national conversation around foreign ownership—particularly China—regarding their land ownership was problematic and raised concerns about where they were owning farmland and what they were going to do with it,” Wes said.
Wes said members of the legislature discussed what additional steps the state could take to limit foreign ownership in 2023 and passed SB 383, or Act 636.
Wes continued while it may only be 160 acres that ChemChina owns in the state, and to some it may not seem like a big concern, an quick online search would reveal the company is on the Department of Defense list as a Chinese military company doing business in the U.S.
“It’s not just 160 acres in northeast Arkansas,” Wes said. “It’s part of a larger conversation that we can’t just let a country that is adversarial to our interests do whatever they want.”
Wes said the issue of foreign ownership of agricultural land has been on the minds of other states, and according to the National Agriculture Law Center based at the University of Arkansas, 24 states have laws that restrict foreign businesses or individuals from owning agricultural land.
Wes said there have been other states and Departments of Agriculture that have reached out to him asking how Arkansas enforced the law, what worked well, and how the state would change the enforcement. Overall, Wes said the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from other states, the industry and citizens.
“I think from an agriculture standpoint it sends a message that agriculture is important,” Wes said. “We’ve got great producers and a great industry that has spent a lot of money on research and to grow technologies, whether it is equipment or seeds, to make our industry successful and we just don’t want to hand it over to someone who wants to displace the U.S.”
Wes continued China is a trading partner, but it is sometimes hard to do business with someone who could potentially undercut, steal technology or take advantage of agriculture. Wes said that the state and country want to do business with China, but they have to follow the rule of law and act appropriately. Otherwise, Wes said, “We’re going to do our best to correct that and put them back on course.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
