Statement from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Jan. 28, 2022
LITTLE ROCK — We are pleased that the Arkansas Legislative Council today approved our request for $6 million from the Restricted Reserve Fund to support two projects that are very important to us. Five million of this amount will go toward our Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center in Poinsett County, while $1 million will go to the Division of Agriculture’s Endowment for Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Research.
We want to thank Gov. Hutchinson for making the request and Sen. Ron Caldwell for making the motion that the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee adopt the request. We are grateful for the support of our rice farmers and our colleagues in the agriculture industry and especially to the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board, Agricultural Council of Arkansas, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, Arkansas Rice Federation and Riceland Foods.
None of this would’ve been possible without the support of the people of Arkansas.
Where the funds will go
The $5 million will go into an endowment from which monies will be drawn to operate the NE Rice Research and Extension Center. It matches the $5 million that the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board has already committed for center operations.
The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board has made other investments in this center: $4 million for purchase of the land and for irrigation improvements; $1.4 million to build a shop and storage facility and $10 million for construction of the new research and education facility. The board has also pledged an additional $4 million for the research and education facility.
The Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board has also committed $400,000 to help with personnel costs. In addition, we have other donations and gifts, including $2 million from Greenway Equipment.
The $1 million endowment will support work being conducted by Prof. Doug Osborne at the University of Arkansas at Monticello for the Division of Agriculture. It’s research that will benefit waterfowl along the Mississippi Flyway, including efforts to restore bottomland hardwoods and return thriving waterfowl and other wildlife populations to those areas.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu