Front Porch Magazine: Arkansas Farm Bureau, Recent Issues and Readers
Profile updated November 2026
Front Porch magazine is the Arkansas Farm Bureau's quarterly for its members, built to connect consumers with the farmers and ranchers who feed them. Mailed four times a year with a listed circulation of 200,000, it mixes Arkansas farm stories, rural history and profiles of people who keep the countryside running.
| Publisher | Arkansas Farm Bureau |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Listed circulation | 200,000 |
| Federation | Incorporated 1931, active from 1935 |
| Membership | More than 230,000 member families |
| Recent issues | Issue 137 (December 2025), Issue 138 (March 2026) |
| Official website | Front Porch on Issuu |
History of Front Porch
The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation was incorporated on April 28, 1931, and began operating in 1935 with 65 members from Mississippi County. James Feagin Tompkins served as its first president. By the end of 1936 it had 8,657 members, and it held its first state convention in Little Rock that year. Arkansas was the 39th state to join the American Farm Bureau.
In 1948 John Gammon Jr. organized the federation's Negro Division, which merged into the parent organization in 1966. From 1957 the federation opposed creating a state department of agriculture, dropping that opposition in 2005 when the General Assembly supported the department.
Front Porch has carried the federation's voice for well over a hundred issues. In late 2019, outgoing president Randy Veach used his final Farm Bureau Matters column in Front Porch to thank members after 11 years in office.
Front Porch Today
Front Porch appears four times a year and is posted online after each mailing. Issue 137, from December 2025, featured a perfect storm in the Delta, Young Farmers and Ranchers award winners and a day in the life of a rural sheriff's deputy. Issue 138, from March 2026, told the story of America's first Italian colony farming through adversity in the Arkansas Delta, followed a Game and Fish game warden and introduced the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame inductees.
The magazine is written for the full Farm Bureau membership, many of them insurance customers, so it explains agriculture in human terms rather than market reports.
What Front Porch Is Publishing Now
Arkansas agriculture
Stories from the Delta rice, soybean and cotton country to the poultry and cattle farms of the Ozarks and River Valley.
Rural life and history
A Day in the Life features on rural public servants and long-form history of Arkansas farm communities.
Farm Bureau news
Young Farmers and Ranchers awards, Hall of Fame inductees and the president's Farm Bureau Matters column.
Front Porch Editors and Staff
Arkansas Farm Bureau leaders and Front Porch contacts on record include:
- Cindra Jones - Editorial contact
- Randy Veach - Former President (about 2008-2019)
- James Feagin Tompkins - First President
Front Porch issues are archived on the Arkansas Farm Bureau's Issuu page.
Who Reads Front Porch
Front Porch reaches Arkansas Farm Bureau member families statewide, in a state where Randy Veach described agriculture as the largest industry. The magazine's audience includes many consumers who are not farmers, which is why it focuses on connecting readers with the people who grow their food. Arkansas county crop and livestock statistics are available in USDA's Quick Stats.
Nationally, the 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1.9 million farms, and ERS data show poultry and eggs brought in $46.1 billion in 2021, a sector central to Arkansas.
Front Porch readers know that the best stories in rural Arkansas get told in a rocking chair after supper. For a few more of those, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor about Delta floods, Ozark hills and stubborn mules, plus ranch humor for the cattle folks along the River Valley. Its farm jokes are porch-tested and sweet-tea approved.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
Front Porch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Arkansas Farm Bureau - federation history and milestones.
- Front Porch data card - frequency, circulation and audience.
- Front Porch Issue 137 - December 2025 issue.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Arkansas crop and livestock statistics.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - poultry, cattle and other livestock sales.
Front Porch FAQ
Who publishes Front Porch magazine?
The Arkansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest agricultural advocacy organization.
How often does Front Porch come out?
Four times a year, with a listed circulation of 200,000.
When was the Arkansas Farm Bureau founded?
It was incorporated in 1931 and began operating in 1935 with 65 members in Mississippi County.
Where can I read Front Porch online?
Issues are posted on the Arkansas Farm Bureau's Issuu page.
Pull up a chair: Front Porch magazine keeps telling the stories of Arkansas farms and the rural people around them.