News - June 2019

NASS Acreage report out; but Arkansas cotton, soybeans up for a recount

LITTLE ROCK – The strangeness of Arkansas’ rain-soaked planting season sloshed over into Friday’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Acreage report, with the agency saying it would be collecting additional information on the state’s soybeans and cotton.

July 25 field day to feature healthy soils, sustainable cotton  

LITTLE ROCK – Two farmer-mentors, specialists from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Soil Health Institute will be guiding growers on July 25 through demonstrations and discussions of ways to improve soil health on Arkansas cotton farms.

2019 4-H Governor’s Award finalists

LITTLE ROCK – A demanding interview process, followed by lunch with Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his wife Susan, were all in a day’s work for the four 2019 Arkansas 4-H Governors Award finalists

Making the most out of Johnsongrass

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Livestock producers have a love-hate relationship with Johnsongrass, which can be helpful or harmful, depending on the situation, said Dirk Philipp, associate professor-animal science for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.  

Ag and Environmental Law Conference speakers give insights into realities of hemp, down farm economy

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The new realities of hemp and the hard realities of a down farm economy are among the issues speakers brought to the sixth annual Mid-South Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference.

Time to think red: Tomatoes at the Trotter

MONTICELLO, Ark. — Nearly a dozen heirloom tomato varieties will be on the menu at the University of Arkansas at Monticello’s ninth annual Tomatoes at the Trotter event, scheduled for Thursday, June 27.

Hay-making during Arkansas storm season

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Every time warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico meets a cold front over Arkansas, hay producers brace themselves for another delay in hay cutting.

Research into child labor in cocoa industry receives international attention

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An article assessing child labor in the cocoa industry recently published by University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture economists Jeff Luckstead and Lanier Nalley and Francis Tsiboe of Kansas State University has sparked an international conversation.

What has the Arkansas wheat crop done in 2019?

MARIANNA, Ark. — The dip in Arkansas wheat acreage over recent years was not halted in 2019. And if the price for the commodity was off-putting for growers, the latest growing season wasn't much better.

Marcy named 2019 Industry Leader of the Year by The Poultry Federation

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – John Marcy, extension poultry processing specialist and professor at the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, has been named the 2019 Industry Leader of the Year by The Poultry Federation.

Where’s your locus of control? Your success may depend on it

LITTLE ROCK – Whether you see your life as a series of random events or as a result of your work can influence how you build wealth. Laura Hendrix, associate professor for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and a personal finance expert, said this comes down to what’s often referred to as the “locus of control.”

Division of Agriculture offers resources for managing stress during disasters

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Farmers and communities inundated by flooding along the Arkansas River have to cope with more than water damage and ruined or delayed crops. The stress of facing such massive loss may take as big a toll on mental health as it does on property.

New food science head seeks to strengthen collaborations with industry, on campus

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jeyam Subbiah, the new food science department head, comes to Arkansas from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was Kenneth E. Morrison Distinguished Professor of Food Engineering in the departments of food science and technology and biological systems engineering.

Division offers product analysis and process authority certification for canned foods

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A food product analysis and process authority certification service from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture provides product analysis and documentation for new acidified canned food products to meet FDA requirements.

Balis joins Arkansas extension as new health specialist

LITTLE ROCK – The Cooperative Extension Service is making important changes in people’s health and its new health specialist wants to demonstrate the impact it’s making in Arkansas.   

Steer clear of wildlife fleeing floodwaters

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansans are advised to steer clear of flood-displaced wildlife, since those animals are likely to be stressed and more apt to act to protect themselves.

Arkansas crop pest influx complicates difficult growing season

LONOKE, Ark. – Arkansas farmers besieged by floodwaters, rain-filled forecasts and sprouting weeds are seeing another threat crawling toward their valuable crops in the form of numerous, hungry pests.

Seep water from the Mississippi leaves farmers months behind

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — High Mississippi River levels are leaving surrounding fields soaked in water and unable to be worked, leaving farmers months behind and losing money, Robert Goodson, Phillips County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said.

Arkansas flood control efforts include rolled irrigation pipe

McGEHEE, Ark. – Plastic tubing, often used to bring water into farm fields, is now being used to help keep flood water out of homes and roadways. Those who have tried using the pipe – ubiquitous in Arkansas row-crop country during the growing season – have had mixed results.

Egan investigates how plants maintain health by repairing damaged proteins

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Martin Egan, assistant professor of plant pathology at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has been awarded a three-year, $426,000 grant by the National Institutes of Health to investigate proteostasis — research that may have implications for human and plant health.

Floodwaters may create health issues for cattle

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Flooding across the state is creating new potential health issues for cattle. Floods have the potential to expose cattle to organisms from upstream soils, animals swept away by flood water and industrial contaminants, not to mention what can come out of flooded sewers. 

Big jump in Arkansas peanut acreage banking on new buying points within state

JONESBORO, Ark. — Arkansas may soon see its biggest year in peanut production since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began tracking  the crop in the state in 2015, as respond to anticipated new buying points and a shelling facility within the next year.

Rural economic development program now interviewing business owners

LITTLE ROCK – A pilot program focused on economic development in six rural Arkansas counties has moved on to its second phase: interviewing business owners involved in retail, entertainment, accommodations and tourism.

Controlling weeds a challenge during a ‘crazy’ growing season

MARIANNA, Ark. -- A late planting season and a spring of wild weather has Arkansas cropland under multiple threats. Among the biggest concerns is the inevitable arrival of problem weeds and how best to control them as the summer progresses.