Mark Lambert, Commodity/Regulatory Affairs Director Arkansas Farm Bureau

When Mark Lambert was in school, he thought Arkansas Farm Bureau was an insurance company. Fast forward several years, now Mark serves as the director of commodity and regulatory affairs for Arkansas Farm Bureau. Watch his feature to learn how Mark started his career in agriculture, advocating for both rural and urban Arkansans.

A native of Stuttgart, Mark grew up in and around agriculture. His dad is an ag lender in Hazen, and his family has 40 acres of land in Prairie County. At 12 years old, Mark started his life in ag by building levee gates. That work grew into an opportunity to work on a rice farm and he’s been working in agriculture ever since. After attending the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Mark pursued a master’s degree to distinguish himself from his peers. His first job was selling John Deere equipment in England, Arkansas. He moved on from there to work for Riceland in Stuttgart, where he served as sustainability coordinator and helped develop a program to assist farmers with improving farm management and sustainability practices.

Mark now works for Arkansas Farm Bureau as the director of commodity and regulatory affairs and finds it rewarding because of the relationships he continues to grow. Among his duties as as director are to coordinate the activities of the wheat and feed grains and forestry divisions, and serve as administrator of both the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board and the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board. He also assists in economic analysis work in support of the bureau’s advocacy and communications efforts.

The chance to travel and see all parts of the state is something Mark particularly enjoys. Mark’s career is a great example of the diverse opportunities that a career in ag can offer. Check out more about careers in agriculture, including salary information at MyMajors.