Former Cooperative Extension Service Director Rick Cartwright is among the latest crop of individuals to be inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame for their contributions to the state’s largest industry.

Cartwright and five other honorees were inducted March 25 during a ceremony at Embassy Suites in Little Rock. The event had been postponed earlier due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“This has been a long two years, but it’s a wonderful day for Arkansas agriculture,” Butch Calhoun, chairman of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, told the crowd of more than 300. “We have an outstanding group of inductees from all areas of agriculture.”

The other inductees include:

Cartwright, an internationally known rice pathologist, joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in 1992. He served in numerous roles for both the Cooperative Extension Service and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the Division of Agriculture. He served as director for extension from 2016 to 2020, when he retired.

 “All of us at extension are thrilled to see him recognized for his contributions to Arkansas agriculture,” said Bob Scott, senior associate vice president for the Division of Agriculture and current director of the Cooperative Extension Service. “He was a tremendous researcher and an expert rice pathologist, and he was a mentor and friend to me and many others.”

Cartwright developed the scouting method and disease thresholds for Rice Sheath Blight and Rice Blast. He worked with infrared aerial photography to determine specific areas of rice fields infested with diseases. This concept of precision application saved countless trips across the field, helped increase farmer profitability and reduced disease resistance. His research extended to other crops as well.

“Dr. Cartwright built a long legacy of research and education that has been his life’s work,” Calhoun said. “He was an inspiration, a voice of reason and a staunch advocate for the role of extension work in improving Arkansas agriculture.”

Cartwright thanked his family and colleagues, many of whom were present at the event.

“Today’s recognition is a singular honor, and really it’s not about me as an individual, it’s about an awful lot of people who shaped me,” Cartwright said. “People talked about self-made men and women, but that’s not me. I was shaped by thousands. I accept this recognition on their behalf and honor those already inducted, quite a few who I have known and admired.

“I love agriculture, and I mean in the broadest sense of the culture of agriculture — and that’s the people of agriculture,” he said. “When you get older, you don’t remember everything, but you will not forget the people who changed your life and held you up. In summary, I thank you — the people of agriculture.”

Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward congratulated the inductees on behalf of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had designated March 21-27 as Arkansas Agricultural Week.

The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, sponsored by Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, honors past and current leaders whose work has benefitted the farm industry, their communities and the economic development of the state.

With the newest inductees, there are now 175 honorees in the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.