In 2015, Bill and Donna Jackson moved from their home and careers in the city to a beautiful farm in Lawrence County. In the years since, they’ve turned the Jackson Farm into one of northeast Arkansas’ premier agritourism destinations, a place where families can learn about agriculture while creating fun memories that will last a lifetime.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau announced today a commitment of $300,000 to the FFA and 4-H over the next five years to support the development of new facilities and the growth of these youth leadership programs. Each organization will receive a total of $150,000.
Cody Hopkins is CEO and a founding farmer of the Grassroots Co-op. It includes small farmers in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky and Oregon, raising free-ranging poultry and grass-fed pork and beef for sale online at grassrootscoop.com.
The Arkansas State Livestock Show Sale of Champions was held Oct. 23. In the face of Covid-19 the concerted effort was approved by the Department of Health and allowed the hard-working young people involved in the show to reap the benefits of their year-long efforts and success. Hear from some of the grand champions about what it meant to them to participate in the auction.
In this issue, we look at the challenges facing Arkansas agritourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, learn why the Issue 1 ballot measure for road funding is so important to rural communities and learn about the fall beauty of the Winona Scenic Drive.
Rick Bransford’s family has been growing cotton and other crops in Lonoke County since the mid-1850s. He has continued that tradition for the past 40 years. He recently took a break from picking his cotton crop to provide an update on how he’s dealt with weather delays and other challenges this year.
This week, we visit the state livestock show in Little Rock and we learn about the production and use of mass timber in Arkansas. We also talk to about the farming life with Steve Morgan of Johnson County and growing organic with Shawn Peebles of Augusta.
Dr. Phil Tappe is retiring at the end of the year following 30 years at the University of Arkansas-Monticello, the past 11 years as Dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ken Moore spoke with him about his accomplishments and the growth of the College during his tenure.
