We visited Vandiver’s Newcastle Farms near Forrest City, where owner Kevin Vandiver told us how he got his start growing Christmas trees and why he wants his customers to have a special experience that becomes a family tradition.
The kunekune is a small breed of domestic pigs originally from New Zealand. We visited Brenda Eldridge, president of the American Kunekune Pig Society, at her Piney Creek Farm in Calico Rock to learn more about these hairy, rotund pigs that produce well-larded meat.
This week, we hear about the annual Thanksgiving Feast survey, which measures the cost of traditional Thanksgiving meal, and we get a complete update on this year’s cotton harvest from cotton agronomist Bill Robertson. We also hear from Col. Nate Todd, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, about the recent Vets4Ag Summit, and we learn about a recent Young Farmers and Ranchers trip to our nation’s capital to discuss issues critical to farmers and ranchers.
Don't ever downplay the importance of agriculture education in our public school system. As Adolph Vodrazka will tell you, it's absolutely necessary. The influence of this longtime ag education teacher on his students is multi-generational. Watch as the retired 92-year-old Pope County icon tells the farming story through the eyes of an educator.
Farm-to-table is the foodie rage and, in Hot Springs, there's an example of this trend that highlights how mutually beneficial the relationship between local farms and restaurants can be. In a unique relationship, JV Farms Homestead in Bismarck takes waste brewers grains from Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs National Park, feeds their hogs with it, then sells the pork meat back to the brewery where it’s made into sausage for the brewery restaurant.
The week, we talk to Ashley County farmer James Meeks about issues facing specialty crop farmers and we hear from Dustin Cowell of Newton County about conservation and stewardship of land and water in his area. We also learn about a new “Farmer Apprenticeship Program” launching in January through the University of Arkansas.
Find out what's growing in Arkansas, learn the story of an Arkansas rancher doing this on her own, get a great chili recipe for chilly weather and more.
The week, we talk to Jeremy Bemis of Bemis Honey Bee Farm and Supplies and Bemis Tree Farm about his family’s growing business in southern Pulaski County, and we hear from this year’s Arkansas Tree Farmer of the Year. We also talk to Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Jessica Clowser Burkham about new regulations for industrial hemp production just released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Earlier this year, 93-year-old cattle rancher Lloyd Reynolds of Lamar attended his last Johnson County Farm Bureau board meeting. Reynolds had served on the board for most of his adult life. He shared his thoughts about Arkansas Farm Bureau with us, along with stories from his full and fascinating life in agriculture.
Dennis Martin of Hickory Ridge followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, farming row crops on land in Cross, Jackson and Woodruff counties. Now his daughter Jenna, fresh out of college, has decided she’ll continue the family tradition and work full-time on the farm alongside her dad. Watch as they share their story.
