By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Hunter Biram has been named associate director of the Southern Risk Management Education Center, effective June 15.

LEADAER —Hunter Biram has been named associate director of the Southern Risk Management Education Center. (Division of Agriculture photo)

The new role is in addition to his current duties as assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas and as extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The Southern Risk Management Education Center, housed within the Division of Agriculture, is one of four centers nationwide whose mission is to educate farmers and ranchers to manage the unique risks of producing food. The center is funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The center has served nearly 1 million individual farmers and ranchers in the southern region, empowering them with the skills and tools to effectively manage risk. The southern region encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“I am excited to have Dr. Biram join our leadership team,” said Ron Rainey, center director and assistant vice president for the Division of Agriculture. “His appointment allows the center to leverage Hunter’s expertise and experience in policy and crop insurance. SRMEC will be able to enhance the depths of our outreach programs.”

Biram brings plenty of experience to the job. He grew up in Floral, Arkansas, working on a diverse family farm operation consisting of a cow-calf herd, broiler chickens, a greenhouse nursery and peach orchard. His applied research and extension program focuses on agricultural production and price risk management using federal crop insurance and commodity programs in the farm bill.

"As associate center director, I plan to raise the profile of and elevate the need for extension risk management education across the Southeast region,” Biram said. “It has become quite clear the need exists for risk management education for producers managing risk with federal crop insurance, especially those who are historically underserved. Additionally, I plan to improve measuring extension scholarship for my colleagues across the region so we can better tell our story as extension specialists to the institutions we serve our states with."

Biram has a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness from Arkansas State University; a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University; and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University.

Biram will work with Rainey and Erica Fields, an associate center director responsible for overseeing the center’s financial operations.

For more information about the Southern Risk Management Education Center, visit http://www.srmec.uada.edu

To learn about Extension programs, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Erica Fields has been named associate director of the Southern Risk Management Education Center.

Fields joined the center in February 2017 as a financial manager.

Erica Fields has been named associate director of the Southern Risk Management Education Center. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Kerry Rodtnick)

“Erica has performed admirably as financial manager. In her new role, she will expand her financial duties to include program development in financial stress,” said Ron Rainey, center director and assistant vice president for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “We are proud of her efforts and glad for the opportunity to promote her to associate director.”

Fields is uniquely qualified for work with financial stress. She is a licensed social worker with a Master of Social work from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and holds a Master of Business Administration from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University.

“I am deeply honored to carry on the responsibility of overseeing the financial operations of the Southern Center,” Fields said. “I am enthusiastic about spearheading initiatives aimed at developing and promoting education on farm financial stress and well-being, while also fostering collaborative efforts with ag stakeholders.”

The Southern Risk Management Education Center, housed within the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, is one of four centers nationwide whose mission is to educate farmers and ranchers to manage the unique risks of producing food. The center is funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The center has served nearly 1 million individual farmers and ranchers in the southern region, empowering them with the skills and tools to effectively manage risks. The southern region encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.