News - August 2014

Muscadine production updates, tour set at Fruit Research Station

CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – The latest on breeding, producing, growing and shipping muscadines will be featured during a workshop and field day Sept. 11 at the Fruit Research Station of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The event will run from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will include several prominent speakers. The workshop is partially funded by the Arkansas Agriculture Department Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Centennial celebration/field day set for Sept. 25

PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Cooperative Extension in conjunction with its Lonoke Farm Field Day, Sept. 25 at the Pearlie S. Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center in Lonoke.

Red, orange, yellow, run! Rainbow Run, Kids Dash raise money for 4-H program

MOUNT IDA, Ark. – 4-H may be known for its green, but on Saturday, Sept. 6, it’s going multi-color to raise money for its rapidly growing through its Rainbow Run 5K and Kids Dash.

Food safety applies to Fido too

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Food safety isn't just for people. It’s for Fido too.

Ark. crop value losses tallied at $35.6M; figure expected to rise after harvest

LITTLE ROCK – Flooding has caused $35.6 million in lost crop value, but the full extent of the damage won’t be known until after harvest, according to economists with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Plant of the Week - Coneflower, Mexican Hat

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Though I’ve known the wildflower Mexican Hat (Ratibida columnaris) since my childhood growing up on a dryland farm in central Oklahoma, I haven’t thought of it until recently when I read Michael McGarrity’s 1997 book Mexican Hat on my I-Pad.

After the Emmys — lights, cameras, grapes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — You didn't see it onstage during the glitz and glamor of the Emmys, but Arkansas earned a best supporting actor award at the star-studded after-party.

Emerald Ash Borer confirmed in six counties; quarantine proposed for 25 counties

LITTLE ROCK  – Twenty-five counties in southern and southwest Arkansas could be subject to quarantine on the movement of firewood, ash nursery stock and ash logs in an effort to halt the spread of the emerald ash borer, state officials said Tuesday. 

Big Creek scientists take innovative approach to study

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The complexities of water movement around a Newton County hog farm in the Big Creek watershed have prompted researchers to use an innovative approach to discover how nutrients move above and below ground.

Sept. 9 Manila Cotton Field Day could change NE Ark production practices

KEISER, Ark. – A Sept. 9 Cotton Field Day will feature new research that could alter the way farmers in northeast Arkansas irrigate their cotton and other crops.

Is using goats, sheep to control weeds and brush right for you?

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – At this time of year while livestock producers who haven’t been proactive about controlling weeds overtaking pastures are considering using goats or sheep to do so, goat producers are often thinking free feed and easy money. However, this isn’t always the case, said David Fernandez, Cooperative Extension Program livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Plant of the Week -Cornus Dogwoods, Shrub Dogwoods, Swida

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Every gardener knows dogwood (Cornus florida), but there are almost 60 kinds of dogwoods and, as it turns out, the dogwood everyone knows is the outlier. Most dogwoods, in fact, lack the beautiful white bracts that make it such a showy tree in the spring and have more modest floral displays. We have four of these shrubby dogwoods native to Arkansas.

Gus Lorenz: ‘bug guy’ named distinguished professor

GREENBRIER, Ark. – It’s not uncommon for Gus Lorenz to receive 70 calls a day from clientele seeking his counsel about insect pest management in their farms. The extension entomologist and professor for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture now has a new title: distinguished professor. 

‘Biggest Loser’ finalist to lead 4-H bike ride in River Valley

FORT SMITH, Ark. – Joe Ostaszewski, a finalist on “The Biggest Loser,” says the show saved his life. Now he’s teaming up with the National 4-H Council for a cross-country bike ride to save kids from the dangers of childhood obesity.

Glimpse into global demands; future of livestock

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Thousands of livestock scientists got a glimpse of the future at the Joint Annual Meeting of the American Society of Animal Science, the American Dairy Science Association and the Canadian Society of Animal Science in Kansas City.

Plant of the Week - Pink Rain Lily, Pink Fairy Lily

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Pass-along plants are an important tradition in gardening. About five years ago I was given an odds and ends assortment of bulbs by John C. Gilbreath, an enthusiastic gardener relocating from the Houston area to Northwest Arkansas. He passed away during the winter and this year many of those same bulbs made their first really good show in their new home. One was a rain lily new to me called Habranthus robustus.

Center for Food Animal Wellbeing hosts fourth annual symposium; Grandin, Mench among featured speakers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Center for Food Animal Wellbeing, a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, hosted its fourth annual symposium Aug. 7 on advances and current issues in food animal wellbeing. Featured speakers included Temple Grandin, a Colorado State University animal science professor and a designer of livestock handling facilities, who addressed animal behavior and welfare. 

Spotted wing drosophila: fruit-damaging flies on the rise 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Fruit-damaging flies are on the increase in at least 18 Arkansas counties and implementing a weekly insecticide spray program can be the answer, said Donn Johnson, professor and fruit and nut research and extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. 

Unresponsive scours to deworming or antibiotic treatment may be coccidiosis

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Quite a few sheep and goat producers may have lambs and kids with dark scours which are unresponsive to standard antibiotic treatment or deworming, says Dr. David Fernandez, Cooperative Extension Program livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The problem is most likely coccidiosis, he says.

Plant of the Week - Hops, Golden Hops

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Yellow leaved plants intrigue me because – if the shade is just right – they become beacons in the garden, casting their bright cheery color and supporting all the surrounding plants. But if the shade is off just a bit, the plants look like some anemic blob suffering from some ill-defined nutritional problem. Golden hop (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’) is one of the vines that got the golden color thing just right.

Experienced cooks won the 2014 Rice Recipe Contest

STUTTGART, Ark. – A love of Mexican food and her family’s habit taking nearly every meal at home helped fuel a recipe that satisfied both of those needs and a victory in the 2014 Arkansas Rice Expo recipe contest.

National Farmers Market Week: celebration of trust, community, economy, health

LITTLE ROCK – In the past six years, there has been a 76 percent increase in farmers markets nationwide, and with Arkansas’ farmers markets nearly doubling in the last decade, the state is ranked among the top 10 for the biggest increase in the number of farmers markets, according to USDA.

Verma honored with academic leadership award

MONTREAL -- Lalit Verma, head of Biological and Agricultural Engineering for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has been honored by American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for his leadership.

4-H state horse show draws 902 entries, highest in 5 years

SEARCY, Ark. – More than 100 youths from 26 counties added up to 902 entries, making the 2014 Arkansas 4-H H State Horse Show the largest in the last five years.

Turfgrass field day planned for Aug. 6

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Field day activities for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture turfgrass program will include tours reviewing current research on golf course maintenance, sports turf, lawn care and landscaping. The field day will be held Wednesday, Aug. 6, at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center east of Highway 112 on Cassatt Street in Fayetteville.

Kites, balloon collect aerial data for soybean drought tolerance research

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A kite’s no toy to Larry Purcell. Following in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, Purcell flies kites in the name of science.

Animals get hot, too; need relief from heat

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Hot weather affects animals, too. “I am always amazed by the number of people who ask ‘Do animals really need shade?’” says Dr. David Fernandez, Cooperative Extension Program livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Plant of the Week - Flowering Onion

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – While I try to live a life centered on moderation, I admire people who are passionate and obsessed about things that interest them. One such individual is Mark McDonough, a gardener who has a passion for ornamental onion. One of his onions, Allium ‘Millenium’, is now in bloom in the rock garden and shows the results a long and unwavering commitment can have on the garden world.

Rice Expo celebrates food, farming and families  

STUTTGART, Ark. – For the first time, Arkansas’ rice production will represent more than half the nation’s output of the grain, attendees at the fourth Arkansas Rice Expo heard Friday.  

New varieties release highlights annual Rice Expo

STUTTGART, Ark. – The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture on released two new long grain rice varieties, and showcased a medium grain that could be grown for the breakfast aisle as early as next year – all part of the fourth annual Arkansas Rice Expo.