We've got the scoop on building the workforce of the future in Arkansas. Learn about the various efforts to improve professional skills and career training in the state, get a look at Johnny Cash's boyhood home and check out a delicious Taste Arkansas recipe for chocolate cake.
Construction of the Pump Station in Scott, Ark. for the Bayou Meto Water Management District was completed in 2014. Unfortunately the station's pumps have been idle, as work continues to secure additional funding for construction of the canals and infrastructure needed to deliver Arkansas River water to farms and communities in the district. Once federal and state funding is received, officials hope to complete the project and turn the pumps on, delivering surface water to subscribers in 2026.
At the Faulkner County Library in Conway, patrons can check out more than just books. It's the location of the state's first "seed library," where visitors can check out vegetable and flower seeds, grow them out, then save and donate a portion of the seeds back to the library.
Just four years ago cotton prices bottomed out, Arkansas acreage and production dropped and only a handful of cotton gins remained open. But in 2019, prices, acreage and production saw a dramatic increase, bringing a need for more ginning capacity. In southeast Arkansas, the Day family joined others there to build a new gin at Winchester, south of Dumas. The gin began operating in January and provides a new facility to process what is expected to be expanded acreage this year.
This week, we talk to John Lewis, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service, about the long-range weather outlook and we sit down with Cooperative Extension Service entomologists to talk about insect problems farmers could face this year. We also visit with Ralph Pinkerton of Garland County Farm Bureau and Melony Ritter of National Park College to talk about the recent Arkansas Farm Bureau Candidate Forum hosted by the college.
What’s the most unusual farm animal in Arkansas? It might just be the peculiar-looking alpaca. Deborah Shannon of Sweet Clover Alpacas in Conway talks about these South American imports, which she raises for their fleece.
This week, we talk to Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas about legal issues in agriculture and we learn about the importance of agricultural activism from speaker and logging industry veteran Bruce Vincent. We also hear from Ed Swaim, Executive Director of the Bayou-Meto Water Management District.
SalScilla Farms owners Judith and Tim Allen have established a simple mission statement for their 50-acre farm near Mayflower: "Maintain a farm retreat providing a place for faith, friendship, food and fellowship." Watch to learn more.
This week, we talk with members of Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity boards about this week’s Winter Commodity Meeting in Little Rock and we learn what’s going on with the Arkansas Forestry Association.
