Lonoke aquaculturist named to AGFC

LITTLE ROCK – Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Jamie Anderson of Lonoke to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Wednesday afternoon at AGFC headquarters in Little Rock.

Anderson is vice president of I.F. Anderson Farms Inc., known as Anderson Minnow Farm, the world’s largest producer of minnows. He succeeds J.D. Neeley of Camden, whose seven-year term on the Commission expired June 30.

“I’ve been lucky enough to call Jamie and his wife Elizabeth friends for years and I am beyond excited to appoint Jamie to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission,” Sanders said. “As a longtime aquaculture farmer and hunter, Jamie’s knowledge of wildlife and conservation policy will be a great asset to Arkansas. I have no doubt he will approach this appointment with strong leadership and a servant heart.”

The Andersons are the fourth generation of the family that started and owns the minnow farm along U.S. Highway 70 just west of Lonoke. Anderson became emotional when he thanked his two teenage sons, his father and his wife.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I eat, sleep and breathe the outdoors,” Anderson said. “It’s not just what I do in my free time; it’s my life’s work. For the past 32 years I have worked on our family fish farm learning every day: If you don’t take care of the resource, it will not take care of you. Some of my earliest and best memories of the outdoors were my dad and my grandad taking me hunting and fishing.”

Anderson is a founding member of the Arkansas Waterfowl Association, a nonprofit group that teaches underserved youngsters about hunting, fishing and the outdoors.

“When we talk about the resource, we’re talking about more than land, water, trees and animals,” Anderson said. “The most important resource is our youth. Keeping young people connected to the outdoors doesn’t just give them a better life, it secures the future of conservation, and that’s why I’m excited to see the Game and Fish education staff leading programs like the school of conservation leadership and shooting sports.”

I.F. Anderson Farms Inc. – known as Anderson Minnow Farm – began in 1949 and produces more than 1 billion minnows per year on 3,400 surface acres of ponds. The farm, which includes an 11,000-square-foot hatchery, produces several varieties of baitfish, including golden shiner, fathead minnow, pink fathead minnow, goldfish and its proprietary black salty. The farm is able to ship live fish overnight to more than 40 states.

Anderson, who started working on the farm when he was 12, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from the University of Arkansas in 1998.

He’s vice president of the National Aquaculture Association and chairman of the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Aquaculture Committee. He also sits on the boards of the Arkansas Bait and Ornamental Fish Growers Association and Lonoke County Farm Bureau. Anderson also was appointed to the National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee.

“Whether it be through business or recreation, my life revolves around the outdoors and conservation,” Anderson said. “Through that, I have seen the stellar reputation of the men and women of the Arkansas Game and Fish (Commission) around the country, and how highly they are thought of by their peers. Arkansas is on the forefront of wildlife management and resource conservation, and I am deeply honored that Governor Sanders has put her trust in me to be a part of that at this level.”

Anderson’s term on the seven-member Commission will run through June 30, 2032.

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Cutline: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Doug Schoenrock (left) and former AGFC Commissioner George Dunklin (right) speak with new Commissioner Jamie Anderson of Lonoke. Anderson was appointed to the commission by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a ceremony today in Little Rock.