News - September 2020

New executive director takes reins of Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors: Post moves to Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors has appointed Gary Thompson as executive director. Thompson assumed his new post Aug. 24 and is posted at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in Fayetteville.

2020 Arkansas Agricultural Profile highlights ag industry’s contributions

LITTLE ROCK — It may be common knowledge that agriculture is among the strongest pillars of Arkansas’ economy, but the “how’s” and “why’s” can sometimes be a mystery, even to life-long residents. The Arkansas Agricultural Profile, published by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, offers an explanation of the many facets of agriculture in the state. The 2020 edition is now available for download at no cost.

Arkansas farmers, ranchers receive $138.5 million in first round of federal coronavirus assistance

JONESBORO, Ark. – Arkansas farmers and ranchers have received more than $138.5 million under the first round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance program, or CFAP.

Beta further slows Arkansas harvest

LITTLE ROCK — In the month that followed the high winds and rain that Tropical Storm Laura swept into Arkansas just as the corn and rice harvest were set to commence, the state’s growers have seen stop-and-start progress at best. Now, as a week of steady rain continues to bog fields, rice and soybean growers are likely to fall further behind on their respective harvest schedules.

Realistic expectations, patience keys to silvopasture success

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas is a state blessed with a wide spectrum of agricultural potential, from the forests of the Ozarks and Ouachitas to the fertile rice fields of the Delta, and the vast pasturelands in between. For some landowners, the possibility of using their land for an increasingly broad array of agricultural uses is a temptation worth considering.

Design to house Center for Arkansas Farms and Food wins national architectural award

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An architectural design to house the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food by the University of Arkansas Community Design Center received top honor in The PLAN Awards 2020. The international design awards program is sponsored by The Plan magazine.

Warm-season grasses ready for autumn care

LITTLE ROCK — By their very nature, native grasses are suited to survive year-to-year in their native environs. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few things the calendar-minded pasture manager can’t do to help maximize a land’s potential.

USDA to provide second round of coronavirus aid to farmers, ranchers

JONESBORO, Ark. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making available another $14 billion to eligible farmers and ranchers under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, and for the first time, rice, peanuts and soft red winter wheat are included.

Division of Agriculture to hold online cotton field day Oct. 1

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — An Oct. 1 online cotton field day will conclude a series of four online commodity field days by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Cooperative Extension Service offers 2020 Arkansas Ballot Issue Voter Guide

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansans planning to exercise their voting rights during the upcoming November elections now have an invaluable education tool at their disposal: an online guide to Arkansas’ statewide ballot issues.

Autumn Walk Across Arkansas begins Sept. 21

LITTLE ROCK — If the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted your fitness routine, Walk Across Arkansas could be just the thing to get you back on track.

Sept. 29 webinar to discuss cattle marketing for fall

LITTLE ROCK — An upcoming webinar from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will cover factors that affect bid price, calf management, and supplemental feeding for preconditioned marketing and more.

USDA grant funds Division of Agriculture research on COVID-19 control in foodservice establishments

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas food scientist Kristen Gibson is leading a multi-institutional research effort to ensure that dine-in restaurant customers will not be exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Who has the right to repair farming equipment? Webinar addresses Right to Repair statutes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ross Pifer, Director of the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law,  will discuss Right to Repair statutes in a free webinar hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center on September 16 at noon EDT/11 a.m. CDT.

USDA forecasts 23 percent rise in 2020 net farm income, due largely to government payments

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Net farm income for U.S. producers in 2020 is forecast to rise 23 percent over 2019 figures, growing to about $102.7 billion, according to a report this week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

China makes series of high-volume purchases of U.S. soybeans; sales up 20 percent over last year

LITTLE ROCK — In a year that has otherwise been a tough slog for soybean producers and other farmers in the United States, a silver lining emerged this week: China, the world’s largest importer of soybeans and many other commodities, booked purchases of about 644,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans for delivery in the 2020-2021 marketing year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Post-COVID income, spending inch upward; both still lag below pre-pandemic levels

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  — Personal income and spending have grown for three consecutive months; however, wages, salaries and rental incomes still lag below pre-COVID-19 levels, according to the latest Bureau of Economic Analysis “Personal Income and Outlays” report.

Virtual tour offers up-close look at surge irrigation

CHERRY VALLEY, Ark. — Mike Wood uses technology on his Cross County soybean and rice farm in Cherry Valley, Arkansas, to protect and improve water quality and help reduce water use. Computerized irrigation management, the use of soil moisture sensors and surge valve irrigation are just a few of the tools in use as part of his participation in the Arkansas Discovery Farms program.

Now is the time to fertilize fescue

LITTLE ROCK — While the time to fertilize warm-season grasses may be past, Arkansas ranchers and pasture managers now find themselves in the sweet spot for fertilizing fescue.

Division of Agriculture holds online soybean field day Sept. 17

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will present the latest in Arkansas soybean research during an online soybean field day Sept. 17. It will be the third of four commodity events held online to provide Arkansas growers safe, two-way interaction with division researchers and extension specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fairy rings: Curious product of mushrooms decomposing clippings, debris

HOPE, Ark. — Clusters of mushrooms popping up after lots of rain isn’t a surprise, but some Arkansans are currently seeing a particularly charming fungal array commonly known as fairy rings.

With Laura past, Arkansas growers still bogged by week of rain

LITTLE ROCK — Although Arkansas growers by and large escaped the worst of Tropical Storm Laura’s destruction, the days of rain that followed have halted the burgeoning 2020 harvest in its tracks.

Facing Farm Financial Stress: Bulletin series shows life cycle of a farm bankruptcy

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Unforgiving weather patterns, trade disputes and low commodity prices have become the perfect storm for financial distress in the agricultural community, with family farm bankruptcies rising 23 percent for the 12 months from March 2019 to March 2020, compared with the previous 12 months.

National Ag Law Center welcomes two new staff attorneys

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – To further their mission and better serve their stakeholders, the National Agricultural Law Center has hired two new staff attorneys, Micah Brown and Sarah Catherine Copper.