News - October 2017

Oct. 31, 2017

Miller County helps seniors protect themselves against fraud

TEXARKANA, Ark. — With just a few pieces of vital information, an identity thief has everything they need to open credit cards in your name, access your bank accounts and ruin your credit.

Oct. 30, 2017

Bradley Co 4-H team claims first ever American Royal Livestock judging title for Arkansas

ALMA, Ark. – Even after a couple of long days and a rainy four hours of interstate driving still ahead of him Friday, Taylor Gwin was a little tired, but stoked. A bit more than 12 hours earlier, the Bradley County 4-H team he coached became the first Arkansas winner of the livestock judging competition at the American Royal Livestock Show in Kansas City.

Oct. 27, 2017

Webinar will focus on legal issues for pesticides

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Agriculture and Food Law Consortium will present a free webinar, “From Farm Fields to the Courthouse: Legal Issues Surrounding Pesticide Use,” on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m. Central.

Oct. 27, 2017

U.S. rice production, consumption and exports projected to decline in coming year

LITTLE ROCK – While global rice production and trade are shifting slightly, the 2017-2018 U.S. rice market will likely see declines in production, consumption, exports and stocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Oct. 27, 2017

Invasive species of stink bug working its way into Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A stinky, invasive species of bug that has found a new home in the U.S., is slowly working its way into Arkansas.

Oct. 27, 2017

Finally: Fall color!

LITTLE ROCK – Finally, it’s fall foliage time. 

Oct. 26, 2017

Where rice fields go, the geese are sure to follow

MONTICELLO, Ark. – The western edge of the Mississippi Delta, which contributes so richly to Arkansas agriculture, is well known as a prime area for hunters, with both wet marshes and flooded rice fields after the fall. But it hasn’t always necessarily been so.

Oct. 25, 2017

Potlatch Deltic merger probably won’t boost change timber sale prices near term

MONTICELLO, Ark. – For the moment, Potlatch Corp.’s merger with Arkansas-based Deltic Timber probably won’t budge prices of wood being sold to the combined company by landowners, said Matthew Pelkki, economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Oct. 23, 2017

Oct. 26 webinar addresses implications of decline in U.S. rice supplies

LITTLE ROCK – The U.S rice crop is expected to be the smallest since 1996-97, according to the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. The “why’s” and implications of that decline will be the topic of the Oct. 26 webinar being offered by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Oct. 20, 2017

Arkansas peanuts proving profitable in 2017

JONESBORO, Ark. – After a year that, for many Arkansas crops, could best be described as “embattled,” the state’s peanut harvest is coming to its final glory. Slowly.

Oct. 20, 2017

Months, years of work pay off for 4-H members at Arkansas State Fair

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas State Fair returned to the state’s capitol city this month, boasting a packed fairway with new rides and vendors. But at its core remains one of the fair’s oldest traditions: the livestock judging competitions that represent the fruition of months — and sometimes years — of hard work by the young members of Arkansas 4-H.

Oct. 19,2017 

Arkansas Extension Service to provide farmers help to comply with new produce safety rules

LITTLE ROCK – The Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, meant to strengthen safeguards in the U.S. food supply, has a new rule for produce growers and the Cooperative Extension Service will be helping Arkansas farmers obtain needed certification.

Oct. 18, 2017

Researcher studies pollinator plots for warm season grass lawns

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The nation’s pollinators are in need of food and housing. Michelle Wisdom is stepping up.

Oct. 17, 2017

Urban homesteading conference coming to North Little Rock

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Whether on the farm or in the city, an interest in agriculture, sustainability and self-reliance is a common thread to many Arkansans. The upcoming Arkansas Urban Homesteading Conference is an opportunity for interested Arkansans to learn even more about gardening, chicken keeping, composting and more within city limits.

Oct. 13, 2017

Arkansas Biosciences Institute to hold fall research symposium Oct. 25

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Biosciences Institute will be holding its fall research symposium Oct. 25 at the just-opened Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences.

Fall is still a good time to collect ticks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – We all know It’s hard to avoid blood-sucking ticks when the weather is warm, but we also encounter them in the fall during hunting, hiking or other outdoor activities.

New web page aims to illustrate proper layouts for cattle working facilities

LITTLE ROCK – Cattle working facilities can be the keystone of both good animal welfare and beef quality assurance. A new web page published by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Cooperative Extension Service aims to help cattle producers make sure the facilities they’re using are up to industry standards.

Jefferson County is teaching how to turn trash to treasure

PINE BLUFF, Ark. — With a little creativity, some tools and what others might refer to as garbage, Jefferson County Extension Staff Chair Lee Anderson can teach you how to make anything from coffee tables to bath racks and how to protect water quality at the same time.

Seven Arkansas growers break 100-bushel mark in soybeans

LITTLE ROCK – Seven Arkansas soybean growers have broken the 100-bushel-per-acre mark this season so far, with others possibly to come.

Forage conference and tour scheduled for Nov. 3

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Growing fall pasture can be an uphill battle in dry years — but the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has the expertise to help producers make the best of any situation.

Division of Agriculture's Center for Human Nutrition, a multi-campus initiative to tackle obesity

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tackling obesity will require the strength of a team and that’s the idea behind the Center for Human Nutrition, a multi-discipline initiative designed to bring together faculty conducting nutrition-related research in northwest Arkansas.

Mighty mites manifest massive manual

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Post doctoral researcher Ray Fisher was dead set against studying mites — for 10 whole minutes.

Grow Your Own Protein program begins harvest season

LITTLE ROCK – Harvest season has started for school and community gardens participating in Grow Your Own Protein, a project that aims to teach about agriculture in Arkansas.  

Division of Ag turfgrass research could mean more winter playing days for golf greens in the transition zone

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Golfers who like to hit the links on warm winter days could see more playing time thanks to turfgrass research done by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Bumpers College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Division of Ag offers screening for non-dicamba soybeans from seed production fields

LONOKE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is offering a service to screen non-dicamba tolerant soybeans being grown for seed production that might have been exposed to dicamba.

As soybean harvest quickens, low water levels on the Mississippi impede transport on major waterway

HELENA, Ark. – As the dry weather that dominated September and the first days of October speeds the Arkansas soybean harvest along, growers’ yields face a bottleneck as grain elevators and barges struggle with low water levels on the Mississippi River.

Arkansas Association of Grape Growers to hold conference

OZARK, Ark. – Wine can have a big impact on the taste of a meal—the right wine can either make or break the flavors of what’s plated. Wine also has a major impact on the Arkansas economy. 

Strawberry documentary selected for Hot Springs Film Festival

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A documentary film about strawberries produced by the University of Arkansas in cooperation in cooperation with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will be screened at the 2017 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival on Oct. 10.

Compassion fatigue: When the world weighs heavily on your heart and mind

LITTLE ROCK – Since Monday, our senses have been saturated by a seemingly endless loop of terrifying images and sounds from the shooting in Las Vegas that took more than 50 lives and injured hundreds.

Webinar to examine agricultural market ahead

LITTLE ROCK – Producers, consultants and others interested in Arkansas agriculture, and the political and market forces that affect it, are invited to participate in a free webinar scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 5.

Learn how U.S. Navy contracts could help grow your business at flank speed

LITTLE ROCK – During the 2016 fiscal year, Arkansas businesses earned $25 million in contracts from the Department of the Navy, and on Oct. 18, the Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center will host a workshop to help other Arkansas businesses do the same.

Arkansas 4-H kicks off National 4-H Week

LITTLE ROCK – With fall weather finally working its way through the Mid South, and the new school year well underway, Arkansas 4-H, along with 4-H organizations across the country, is celebrating its legacy of forging future leaders through learned responsibility, challenges and engagement during National 4-H Week, Oct. 1-7.