Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward was grilled by state legislators during a joint committee meeting last month after the state cut funding to county fairs and directed $48,000 to a privately run event in Fayetteville.
Appearing before the Arkansas Legislative Council on July 21 in Little Rock, Ward was called to explain a change in this year’s fair funding. Funding for county, district and state fairs, which had totaled more than $4.9 million for fiscal year 2022 and $1,612,180 for fiscal year 2023, was set at $1,537,180 for fiscal 2024. The state’s new fiscal year began July 1.
The Carroll County Fair and Livestock Show, which received $50,124 in state funding in fiscal year 2022 and $9,086 in fiscal 2023, was awarded $6,045 for fiscal 2024. The county fair also received no state “construction” funding this year, said John Swallow, vice president of the county fair board.
“They cut us $6,000 on our ribbon money,” Swallow said. “… It takes away from the folks that contribute to make the fair the fair. We got some of it but we didn’t get it all. They cut us $6,000. And we didn’t know it until, just, not too long ago. So now we’re having to reach into our pockets a little bit and try to sweet talk the community into helping us.”
While funding for the county, district and state fairs was reduced by a total of $69,000, $48,000 in state funds were awarded to Arkansas Youth Expo, which will hold a livestock show the first week of October at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Fayetteville.
AYE is a 501(c)(3) organization whose principal officer is Eric Walker of Prairie Grove. On its 2021 IRS Form 990, AYE showed total revenue of $405,301.
Walker did not return a call requesting comment on Monday, Aug. 14.
During the July 21 committee meeting, state Sen. Bryan King and others questioned Ward about how state funds were awarded to AYE as part of the annual appropriation approved by the committee.
“Was it you that specifically made sure that they were funded in this?” asked King, whose district includes all of Carroll County. “Who were the people involved that put that in the funding matrix?”
“There was a request to add it included as part of the discussion for distribution,” Ward replied.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” King said. “Who made the request and then who specifically approved and signed off on it? Was it you?”
“ALC signed off on that funding distribution,” Ward answered. “But it was the discussions during the session. I’ll tell you, Jeffrey Hall was the person who asked for that inclusion as part of consideration.”
Hall is a former associate director of national affairs at Arkansas Farm Bureau.
State Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch was sharply critical of the reduction in funding to county fairs.
“To me, this is a slap in the face to rural kids by pulling this money away from these county fairs,” Stubblefield said. “… I have one in every one of my counties, and I see hundreds of kids who’ve worked all year long sweating and taking care of these animals. And then all of a sudden, in a place where we spend millions of dollars on things that we don’t even know where it’s going, we pull this money away from these small fairs, taking it away from rural kids. And to me, that is nothing more than a slap in the face to rural Arkansas.”
Swallow said he doesn’t expect Ward to attend any county fairs in the state.
“If he shows his face anywhere at any county fair — except for him going to AYE, where they’re going to put him on stage and put a little bow in his hair or whatever — if he comes to a county fair, he’d better come with his hat in his hand,” Swallow said. “And you’re more than welcome to quote me on that.”
