Three Farmers-Members Elected to Riceland Foods Board of Directors

The farmer members of Riceland Foods, Inc. elected three new board members to its Board of Directors. Benjamin Nobles of Poplar Bluff, Mo. will serve as the new director representing District Four. Mikka Felty of Stanford, Ark. will serve as a director of District Two. Gary Sitzer of Weiner, Ark. will serve Riceland members in District Three.

Riceland’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Rich Hillman welcomed the incoming directors.

“With the agriculture industry facing some challenging times, adding new directors to serve our cooperative’s membership is no small undertaking,” Hillman said. “Their commitment to the cooperative mission inspires confidence in the future, and I am looking forward to serving with Benjamin, Mikka and Gary as they take on their new roles.”

Benjamin Nobles farms rice, soybeans and corn near Qulin, Mo. and Pollard, Ark. Nobles grew up on his family’s farm. He began working full-time on the farm in 2008 alongside his father and uncle, while adding acres of his own. He and his brother Danyel joined forces to continue the family farming tradition in 2024 when his dad and uncle retired.

Nobles graduated from Arkansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business and a Master of Science in Agriculture. He is a member of Fellowship General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, where he is chairman of the audio/video department and currently serves on the church’s finance board. He previously served in local organizations such as the University of Missouri Extension and Ducks Unlimited. Nobles was also in the 2023 Riceland In-Depth program. He and his wife Michelle have one son, Oliver.

Mikka Felty is a third-generation rice, soybean, wheat and corn farmer in Greene County, Ark. Encouraged by her father, grandfather and other members of her farm family, Felty got her start in rice farming in 2008. During her early years of farming alongside her family, she also earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2012. She studied for many of her nursing exams from the cab of a tractor during rice harvest, and she worked in labor and delivery for eight years while staying active on the farm.  

Felty began farming full-time in 2020, and she took over the family farming operation full-time in 2022. Felty currently serves as an MFA delegate. Additionally, she is in the 2025 Riceland In-Depth program for future cooperative leaders. Felty and her significant other, Heath, farm in Stanford, Ark. in alliance with Rowe Farms.

Gary Sitzer is a fourth-generation rice farmer from Weiner, Ark. Gary has a bachelor's degree in agriculture business from Arkansas State University. Sitzer served on the Weiner Grain Drying Cooperative Board from 1983-1992, and he is a graduate of LeadAR. He has served as a past chairman of Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, Arkansas Soybean Association, and Farm Credit. He was the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce Farmer of the Year and Poinsett Farm Family of the Year. In 2013, Sitzer Farms was chosen as an Arkansas Century Farm. In 2024, he was inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Jeannie, have been married for 40 years and have three children and seven grandchildren.

Riceland Foods President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin McGilton shared his enthusiasm for the new additions to the Riceland Board of Directors.  

“It is always an honor to welcome new board members as they begin their service to the Riceland membership,” McGilton said. “Over the last year, the membership has appointed six new board members, and the staff has worked diligently to create a robust orientation program to ensure our new board members are well informed as they begin their service. We look forward to the leadership Benjamin, Mikka and Gary bring to our board room.”

Riceland Food’s board of directors sets the strategic vision for the cooperative, establishes policies to execute the vision and govern membership programs, hires the Chief Executive, management, and provides oversight of Riceland’s business strategy, which is critical to maintaining a strong cooperative for the benefit of Riceland’s current and future farmer members.

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