News - November 2014

Higher feed prices, demand for protein helping drive up Thanksgiving meal prices

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark -- Higher costs for poultry feed and higher global demand for protein are among the backseat drivers in the rising cost of this year’s Thanksgiving meal. 

Plant of the Week: Viola x williamsii Violets, Johnny Jump Up

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Flower color during the winter is a valuable addition to any garden. In most areas of central and northern Arkansas pansies and their little sister Johnny Jump Ups or Violas (hybrids of Viola x williamsii) are the first choices amongst gardeners. They bloom over a long period and provide tidy low masses of color that keep on giving until overwhelmed by the heat of a muggy summer.

 USDA/1890 National Scholarship Deadline Feb. 1

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – While students are busy applying to colleges and universities, their parents are wondering about financing their children’s aspirations. College expenses paid, summer internships and a good chance for a professional position upon graduation may seem like a dream in today’s economy. However, this can be reality if a student is selected as an U.S. Department of Agriculture/1890 Scholar.

Mississippi Co. Farm Bill workshop rescheduled for Dec. 1

BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. -- Two Mississippi County Farm Bill Workshops have been set for Monday, Dec. 1, with a morning session at Keiser and an afternoon session at the Manila Airport Center. 

Wet weather may promote record cotton, rice yields

LITTLE ROCK  -- As the 2014 rice and cotton harvests draw to a close, a mild summer and fall, coupled with heavy rainfall throughout the state, appear to have delivered surprisingly high yields for both rice and cotton.

Ranchers need to be alert for acorn poisoning in cattle

LITTLE ROCK -- Autumn’s generous acorn crop may be great for deer, but could be deadly for cattle, said Tom Troxel, associate head-Animal Science, for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. 

From too little to too much rain in two years: lots of forage, fewer nutrients

HARRISON, Ark. – 2014 has been a fantastic year for cattle farmers, according to Boone County Extension Agent Mike McClintock, heavy rains throughout the year may augur higher production costs through the winter.

Corn growers across Arkansas investing in on-farm storage

JONESBORO, Ark. -- Corn growers across Arkansas are increasingly taking matters into their own hands, erecting on-farm storage facilities to help them more efficiently market and harvest their product, rather than relying on commercial grain elevators.

Plant of the Week: Quercus texana Nuttall Oak

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- We plant nerds pride ourselves in being able to identify things, but sometimes we get it wrong. Last year, I was called in to teach a woody plant ID class at the University of Arkansas, and in preparation for this, I started prowling around various commercial landscapes looking for specimen plants. 

2015 Arkansas Flower & Garden Show a chance to show how much you ‘dig Arkansas’

LITTLE ROCK  -- As late autumn temperatures begin to cool across Arkansas, it’s the perfect time to begin looking forward to the state’s premier flower and garden show. 

Black Friday need not be bleak if consumers make, follow a shopping plan

LITTLE ROCK – It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Unless you’re flat broke. However, there are ways Arkansans can maintain their budgets, traditions and sanity while shopping for gifts, food and décor.

Ensure holiday happiness, keep your party food safe 

LITTLE ROCK – It’s time to eat, drink and be merry, but a foodborne illness from holiday food could lead to misery.

Winter can mean more problems with predators - Part I

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – As winter nears, farmers and ranchers can expect more trouble with predators, warned David Fernandez, Cooperative Extension Program livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Winter can mean more problems with predators - Part II

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – With colder weather, prey becomes harder to find making small livestock such as lambs and goats prime targets. Controlling predators is not easy, said David Fernandez, Cooperative Extension Program livestock specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. 

Plant of the Week: Carpinus betulus European Hornbeam

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- I never met a tree I didn’t like, but I like some more than others. I favor trees that are tough and are shaped like the trees I drew with crayons as a child. The European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) growing in my now 20-year-old shade garden is one of my favorites because it meets both these criteria.   

SWREC director named Society of American Foresters Fellow

HOPE, Ark. — Vic Ford, director of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Southwest Research and Extension Center, was named a Fellow of the Society of American Foresters. 

Nov. 19 webinar devoted to GMO labeling

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The use of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, and whether food labels should note their presence in products, has become a center of a heated debate among consumers, the food industry and lawmakers. 

Four financial goals  to help Arkansas consumers achieve stability 

LITTLE ROCK – A higher percentage of Arkansans outspent their income in 2012 compared to three years earlier, however, a slightly higher ratio of Arkansans have a “rainy day fund,” compared to 2009, according to a study by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. 

NASS November estimate has Arkansas with three new yield records

LITTLE ROCK – Despite this season’s soggy start, Arkansas farmers could set three statewide average yield records in 2014 in corn, cotton and soybeans, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday. 

Arkansas soybean breeder named CSSA Fellow 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Pengyin Chen, professor of crop, soil and environmental sciences and soybean breeder for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, was elected a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America. 

Tiny bites can add up to BIG Calories

TEXARKANA, Ark.- Those sweet, warm family friendly holiday treats of November and December have a dark side – one will seemingly multiply the daily calorie count, said Carla Hadley, Miller County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Fall/winter the time to lime pastures to correct pH levels

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The correct pH levels are essential to ensuring healthy pastures, and fall and winter are the right seasons to combat soil acidity, said Dirk Philipp, assistant professor for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Hehemann named extension specialist-communications at UAPB 

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Will Hehemann has been named Extension Specialist-Communications for the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

University of Arkansas Team Places Third in National Poultry Judging Contest

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Poultry Judging team took third place overall at the 49th Annual National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest held Nov. 2-4, on the University of Arkansas campus.  

Plant of the Week - Autumn Fern 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- My fascination with hardy ferns stated about 20 years ago amidst a self-induced financial crisis. I’d maxed out my credit cards, and like all red-blooded Americans, refinanced the house, caught up on the bills and found myself with a zero balance credit card in my pocket.

Mackay begins service as Horticulture Department head

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Wayne Mackay has begun duties as head of the Department of Horticulture at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the UA Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Mackay joined the department in October from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, where he was chair of the Environmental Horticulture Department and previously director of the Mid-Florida Research and Extension Center.

Federal agency renews support for Arkansas Water Resources Center 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Water Resources Center passed its three-year evaluation and will be eligible to continue receiving federal funding. The AWRC, a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, received its annual base grant of $92,355 from the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Everything you wanted to know about sustainable strawberries in an e-book

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It could be called “Everything You Wanted to Know about Sustainable Strawberries but Were Afraid to Ask,” but this e-book’s secrets can be now be revealed though a single download. 

Beekeeping course to be offered in Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK – A three-part short course in beekeeping will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 3, 10, and 17 at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service auditorium, 2301 S. University Avenue in Little Rock.  

Nine new Farm Bill workshops scheduled for farmers

LITTLE ROCK – Nine new Farm Bill workshop sessions have been added to the more than one dozen already scheduled across Arkansas, including four sessions devoted to the computer-based Farm Bill decision aid, Robert Coats, professor-economics for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said Thursday. 

New monitoring, outside review mark Big Creek 4^th Quarter report

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture team researching water quality near a Newton County hog farm installed new monitoring equipment near manure holding ponds and had its work reviewed by an outside team of experts, according to its fourth quarterly report.   

Comment period on supplemental produce safety rule open ‘til Dec. 14

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Food and Drug Administration has opened a comment period on a proposed supplemental rule to regulations that affect some 35,000 fruit and vegetable growers nationwide.