Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Thank you, doctor, for being here, and for your investment in Arkansas. And for your
belief in our people, and for the opportunity to grow the economic opportunities
for the people of this region. To the higher education officials and to the folks
whoíve been on the ground with me also, add my sincere thanks for all of your
collective efforts that got us to where we are today.
You all probably have heard me say ñ certainly the media has over and over
ñ about the correlation between education and economic development. Inevitably,
a lot of the peopleís emphasis has to do with workforce training and upping our
skill level of our people in order to be able to retain and/or attract the kind of businesses
and industries that tomorrowís educational demand requires. [It requires] a higher
and higher skill level, a higher and higher understanding in so many different fields
that traditionally, particularly in manufacturing, werenít even applicable a few
years ago. Thatís certainly going to be true here, as well. Youíre going to have to,
and we will do all we can and we will provide all the assistance we need to provide,
to ensure that the workforce that ends up working here is the kind of quality
workforce with the kind of additional training necessary to make this company
the most successful company it can possibly be.
But thereís another aspect of this marriage, if you will, between education and
economic development, that doesnít get talked about quite as much. It does in
smaller circles. It certainly does in our office. And it certainly does in our
institutions and higher education. But todayís announcement is a specific
reflection of that other aspect of that marriage between economic development
and higher education.
What has gone on at the University of Arkansas, the research that has
occurred, the collaboration between the educators, the scientists, the research
individuals who work day and night without you ever knowing about it,
to try to improve existing products and create new ones, is a major component
of the reason that we are here today. The whole string, now; this isnít
your normal soybean people. And itís already been mentioned: we grow
soybeans better than anybody in the world. Arkansas knows how to grow soybeans.
But the soybeans that we have traditionally been growing across the state,
particularly in eastern Arkansas, is a little bit different variety and has a different
usage than the soybean that is going to be used in the edamame.
Itís a totally different soybean, and the research that has gone
on at the University of Arkansas Department of Agriculture, in cooperation
with the USDA and in cooperation with the Farm Bureau, and in cooperation
with all the other entities that have been mentioned, provides
another application for that traditional soybean; a different type of soybean
thatís used in a different fashion. I didnít even know what this stuff
was a few months ago. Well, maybe a little longer than that.
My wifeís hooked on it. I mean, Ginger is hooked on this stuff,
and apparently a whole lot of Americans are getting hooked on it as well.
And it is really a growing industry that has the opportunity to be able
to take its place in our food chain and for our consumers;
not just around this country, but indeed around the globe.
And Dr. Chung was mentioning the fact that things have changed in China.
We are seeing that more and more. And with transportation costs,
with increased labor costs in China, they have a very aggressive
program in China that ëupí the wages theyíre paid in China.
America has become a more competitive place, even with our higher
wages, with the wages that we have that are still so much higher when
you factor in the transportation costs and all the other logistics;
we now have a competitive opportunity. Dr. Chung saw that in
his vision [and] was actually able to relate that, and he chose this part
of America, not just this part of Arkansas. He chose this part of America
because of that relationship between our education, because of the research
thatís been going on, because of the understanding
and the commitment of all of our people. And I canít say enough
about our AEDC people and our ADVO people. I mean, they work tirelessly;
they are better than a major-league all-star baseball player.
They donít bat a thousand percent; we lose, we lose to other states,
we lose sometimes, but theyíre batting so much better than that .333
or .340 that a major-league baseball player gets inducted in the Hall of Fame for;
they ought to be in the Hall of Fame, too,
because they win a whole lot more than they lose.
And part of itís because of you. Itís you.
The ultimate secret strength of this state is its people.
We couldnít do this without the U of A; we couldnít do this
without the city leaders and the civic leaders; we couldnít do
this without our state agencies; we couldnít do it without
the entrepreneurial spirit that exists. But ultimately,
we could not do it if we didnít have the populace, the work ethic
and the values exhibited by the people of Arkansas.
So in the final analysis when you start congratulating these folks
ñ and they need to be congratulated ñ when we start throwing
accolades around ñ and they need to be thrown around ñ you do not
need to forget that all of the folks in this room and
countless others like you across our state are the reason for our success.
I bet you every governor in America feels that way about
his people, but theyíre wrong. There is no place in America,
and weíre seeing this every single day.
I made a speech; I wasnít going to get off into this and Iím going
to hush here in just a second, but I made a speech
a couple of years ago to Boys State. Itís the first time
Iíve ever used this line. I said, your parents, maybe some of you
all youngsters have been guilty of it, but your parents have
been guilty of it, Iíve been guilty of it; for too long, there was an attitude
among our people a lot of times about ëthank God for Mississippi.í
Anybody here ever said that? Huh? Well, donít say it anymore.
Itís not even applicable anymore. We are now ranked fifth in America
in public education. Number five. As the mayor mentioned,
we are one of four states that entered this fiscal year not in financial trouble.
We have been lapping the rest of this country the last four or five years
in a number of different areas, not the least of which is the quality of life
and the opportunity for growth and expansion of our people.
So donít say that. Let Louisiana or Alabama say ëthank God for Mississippi.í
Let Oklahoma say it, for Godís sake. If you want to say something,
you say youíre mad because Marylandís first in education,
and weíre just fifth, and weíre not happy with that.
You say youíre unhappy because weíve, for the first time since
theyíve been keeping records, passed four states in four years in per-capita income,
when we never passed any state in any per capita income rating
in the past 50 years. And youíre not happy with passing four
states in four years; you wanted to pass eight states in four years.
Set your goals higher, set your sights higher. You people are
the reason Arkansas is where she is today and where she is going tomorrow.
This is another example of it. Itís cooperation; itís collaboration;
itís hard work; itís Arkansas values; and itís education
and economic development. God bless you, Mulberry.
Your Arkansas Soybean Podcast is a production of the
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and
was funded in part by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.
For more information on soybean farming in Arkansas,
contact your local county extension office.