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We spoke to Dr. Mark Jansen, associate professor and chief medical officer for UAMS, about the critical need for recruiting new doctors and health care professionals to Arkansas’s rural areas and to med student Shady Francis, who provided a testimonial on how participation in the M*A*S*H program helped convince him to pursue a career in health care.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is holding workshops around the state to certify produce farmers and bring them into compliance with the Food Safety and Modernization Act, a law passed by Congress and signed into law in 2011. We spoke to Assistant Professor Amanda Perez, who is leading workshops, and Clyde Fenton, a program associate working for the U of A Division of Agriculture in Food Systems and Food Safety.

Saline County farmer Damon Helton has opened a second version of his popular Olde Crow General Store. The new location on North Main in Benton, which will be called "Crows Station," is part of an effort to revitalize the downtown area and will create a food "hub" for customers, featuring fresh produce, along with his pasture raised beef, pork and poultry and a variety of food truck offerings.

The week of March 10-16 is National Groundwater Awareness Week, an annual observance to highlight the responsible development, management and use of groundwater. Stuttgart row-crop farmers Trent and Terry Dabbs explain why groundwater is important and share some of the measures they and other Arkansas producers have implemented to conserve and protect this critical natural resource.

On Tuesday, March 12, more than 100 Arkansas Farm Bureau member farmers and ranchers visited the Arkansas State Capitol to share their concerns with legislators and to attend the signing of proclamations declaring March 10-16 as Arkansas Agriculture Week and March 12 as Farmers' Day.

The Natural State Preconditioned Calf Program, better know as "GoGreen," was rolled out last year by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. We talked to Dr. Shane Gadberry, professor of animal science with the Division of Agriculture, to hear how the program is working, how ranchers can participate and why it pays off for both cattle buyers and sellers.

Read the latest edition of the Farm Bureau Press!

Solar energy is gaining in popularity. How is it working for Arkansas Farmers? Read the latest issue of Arkansas Ag to find out more about this, as well the ins and outs (and rules) for using waste feed and for the latest updates on ag law and policy.

Livestock farmers Cody Hopkins and Andrea Todt are part of a co-op that sells meat directly to consumers online. They utilize blockchain technology that allows customers to know how their meat was raised, what it was fed, who raised it and more. In this edition of Arkansas AgCast, Hopkins describes the value of block chain technology to his operation and for consumers.