Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame to Add Six

Six distinguished individuals will be inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, recognizing their contributions to the fields of soybean, rice, forestry, and cotton, along with their impactful roles in the United States Congress and Senate.

The six inductees that make up Class XXXVIII are:

• Jim Carroll III of Moro who served on local and national boards, including chair of the United States Soybean Board, to help expand global markets, research innovation and strengthen sustainable production.
• Joe Fox of Fayetteville enjoyed a 50-year career in forestry and wood products, highlighted by uniting forestry businesses, non-profits and state agencies to establish Arkansas's largest conservation easement.
• Allen B. Helms Jr. of Clarkedale partnered with his dad in 1971 to form Allen Helms & Son and has managed multiple farms, warehouses, gins and companies over the years.
• The Honorable Blanche Lincoln of Washington D.C. contributed to the agriculture industry in rural Arkansas and across the nation, serving in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
• John Paul Pendergrass of Charleston sustained and expanded a family cattle operation started in 1870. As co-owner since 1979, he has grown Pendergrass Cattle Company into one of Arkansas's leading stocker and feeder cattle outfits.
• Benny Petrus of Stuttgart built, owned and/or operated five agricultural businesses, two automobile dealerships and served in the Arkansas House of Representatives (2003-2008).

Class XXXVIII induction ceremonies are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. March 27 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 198 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.

"These we will induct have made a national impact on rice, soybeans, cattle, cotton, timber, aquaculture and have helped steer the academic and research efforts that underpin Arkansas agriculture.

"I say this often to my friends, and it bears repeating; agriculture is one of the great success stories of our state. The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame is pleased to bring recognition to these individuals who have impacted our state's largest industry in such a positive way."

Brief biographies for each inductee are below.

Jim Carroll III

Jim Carroll III's lifelong dedication to agriculture extends beyond his Monroe County fields, strengthening farms across Arkansas and the soybean industry in America.

Carroll's volunteer service on local and national boards, including chair of the United States Soybean Board, helped expand global markets, research innovation and strengthened sustainable production. His work during COVID-19 ensured the soy checkoff continued supporting farmers and innovation.

Carroll helped make soybeans the state's top crop while serving on its promotion board and led infrastructure improvements protecting farmland in Monroe and Lee Counties as Piney Ditch Drainage Board president.

The fourth-generation row-crop farmer also served on the Arkansas Rice Board, representing growers and advancing economic opportunities for farmers across the Delta. Carroll graduated in 1974 from Arkansas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in biological science.

He currently serves on the Monroe County Farm Bureau Board and as finance chair of the First United Methodist Church in Brinkley.

Joe Fox

A legacy of forestry wasn't lost on Joe Fox. His 50-year career in wood products, forestry and conservation built on what his dad and grandfather started in 1947 with their family business in Pine Bluff.

Industry leaders often heard Fox say: "Trees are the answer, what's your question?" Uniting forestry businesses, non-profits and state agencies to establish Arkansas's largest conservation easement highlighted Fox's career. Moro Big Pine Natural Area-Wildlife Management Area in Calhoun County, a 15,923-acre working forest easement with Potlatch, offers a diverse habitat for wildlife and excellent hunting.

Fox grew up in the woods, spending summers painting property lines and girdling hardwoods before graduating in 1973 with forestry and agriculture economic degrees from North Carolina State. His early career focused on sustainability of Arkansas's vast timberland, providing good paying jobs and manufacturing necessary products. Forest health and rural communities were priorities.

He worked 20 years as a vice president for W.S. Fox and Sons/Arkansas Oak Flooring before working for Cloud Oak Flooring and then Hixson Lumber Sales in Rison from 1993-99. In 2000, he joined the Arkansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy as its Director of Conservation Forestry.

In 2012, Fox was appointed State Forester and assumed leadership in the state's Forestry Commission. He served as President of the National Association of State Foresters in 2020-21. He earned the Arkansas Forestry Association President's Award in 1986 and 2022 before entering the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame in 2024.

Allen Helms Jr.

More than a successful farmer and ginner, Allen Helms Jr. offers leadership influencing agriculture far beyond East Arkansas. After graduating in 1966 from prestigious Vanderbilt University, Helms rose to captain in the United States Air Force. He returned home to Clarkedale, Ark. in 1971, partnering with his dad to form Allen Helms & Son and has managed multiple farms, warehouses, gins and companies over the years. He remains a partner today in Helms Family Farms.

Helms held numerous influential positions in various agricultural organizations, including president of Crittenden County Farm Bureau, Arkansas Soybean Association and Agriculture Council of Arkansas. From 1999-2007, Helms chaired and/or served as president for National Cotton Council, American Cotton Producers and Cotton Foundation. He's been president of Crittenden Gin Company since 1994.

Helms supports future-competitive adoptions of technology and efficiency in the cotton industry with a deep understanding of issues impacting food and fiber production and processing. His leadership was key in development, establishment and operation of the Agricultural Workers Compensation Self Insurer Fund serving farms and agricultural businesses.

The Honorable Blanche Lincoln

Helena native Blanche Lincoln contributed to the agriculture industry in rural Arkansas and across the nation, serving in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

She helped broker passage of the 2008 farm bill, including stopping an amendment regarding payment limitations that would have reduced the safety net for Arkansas farmers. She also led implementation of the bill after being named chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. She was the first Arkansan and first woman to chair the Committee on Agriculture.

As the youngest woman ever elected to the Senate, Lincoln worked for emergency disaster funding for farmers suffering losses due to natural disasters and led efforts to strengthen conservation programs within the farm bill. She also continued Senator Dale Bumpers work to secure funding for the Grand Prairie and Bayou Meto Irrigation projects in Arkansas.

In 2010, Lincoln worked to amend the IRS code by raising the estate tax exemption for family-owned farms and ranches. She also led efforts to reauthorize the federal child nutrition program without adding to the federal deficit.

John Paul Pendergrass

Born and raised in Franklin County, John Paul Pendergrass sustained and expanded a family cattle operation started in 1870.

As co-owner since 1979, the sixth-generation rancher grew Pendergrass Cattle Company into one of Arkansas's leading stocker and feeder cattle outfits with close to 3,500 acres for grazing and an on-site feedyard/grow yard. Pendergrass provides a consistent market for many small producers across western Arkansas and millions to the local economy.

The University of Arkansas graduate with degrees in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness also serves on the board of directors of Innovative Livestock Services, a cattle feeding and farming enterprise with more than 40,000 farmed acres and up to 200,000 head in Kansas and Nebraska. His leadership in the vertically integrated company influences modern cattle feeding and sustainable agriculture in America.

As Arkansas's representative on Farm Journal Foundation's Farm Team, Pendergrass engages national and international discussions on global hunger and modern agriculture's role in the feeding the world. He served as a panelist for multiple forums, including Farm Journal Foundation in Washington D.C. and as commencement speaker at UA's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences in 2017.

Benny Petrus (posthumous)

Benny Petrus spent most of his 70 years raising crops and building businesses in or near his hometown of Stuttgart.

Petrus attended the University of Central Arkansas for two years, playing baseball for the Bears and then selling cars around Central Arkansas before returning in 1990 to Arkansas County. He would eventually build, own and/or operate five agricultural businesses, two automobile dealerships and serve in the Arkansas House of Representatives (2003-2008).

Benny Petrus Farms, Circle P Farms, Adams Fertilizer Equipment, Bingham Ag and Delta Wings Farm were led by the 1975 Stuttgart High graduate. Petrus started his first farm at Dewitt in 2000, established Circle P Farms in 2009 at Stuttgart, became a partner in Bigham Ag of Carlisle and owner of Delta Wings in McGehee in 2024.

Petrus employed innovative ways to conserve resources on his farms for decades, including digging ditches to hold runoff water for reuse on his farm. He championed issues in agriculture, education, economic development, environmental conservation and child protection at the state capitol. Friends says Petrus was gifted in bringing people together to share knowledge and support of future agricultural leaders.