Vernon Scott

Vernon Scott spent more than 50 years working for the betterment of agriculture and his fellow man. He earned an Ag Education degree from Mississippi State College and later a masters degree in Ag Economics from Louisiana State University. Mr. Scott worked for the Farm Security Administration during much of the 1930s. He strived diligently to help people remain in the farming business and to enlarge their operations during some of the most difficult economic times ever faced by this nation. Vernon joined the U.S. Navy and was an officer on PT boats in the South Pacific, where he saw much combat. After the war, he returned to Arkansas and was hired to run Tillar & Company, a large farming and timber operation located in Tillar. Through hard work and superior management, he made the company very profitable and well respected in the area. Mr. Scott served in many agricultural related offices, including president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas and the American Cotton Producers Associates. He served on the board of directors of the Arkansas Soybean Association, the American Soybean Association and Cotton, Inc., to name only a few. Mr. Scott was on the organizing committee of the Cotton Producers Institute and the original Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. He gave leadership and moral support to the Rice Checkoff Program for research and promotion. He has been a strong supporter of cooperatives as a means of farmers helping themselves. He has served on the board of Staple Cotton and has been an active participant in Riceland Foods. But when farmers were not able to realize a profit from their inputs, he has always been willing to ask government to create an atmosphere whereby reasonably efficient farmers could have a decent chance at a profit. He has also been willing to lend his leadership and reputation to such efforts. Mr. Scott was named Progressive Farmer “1980 Man of the Year in service to Arkansas Agriculture.”