Lonoke County is rich with gold — goldfish, that is. Pool Fisheries in Lonoke, founded in 1959, produces around 175 million goldfish each year, about 80 percent of the total U.S. production. Listen as co-owner Ronnie Pool and general manager Rodney Elmore describe how this family business fulfills orders for these popular aquarium and bait fish throughout the year.
We visited with members of the Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative, a group of small-scale family Arkansas farmers raising chickens, turkeys, cattle and pigs. Learn more about their unique operation.
Once again, the final weekend of the Arkansas State Fair brought the annual Junior Livestock Auction and Arkansas Farm Bureau was on hand to support the hard-working youth from around the state who raised the prize-winning animals. Learn more about the event and meet Sydney Standridge, owner of this year's Grand Champion Steer.
A native Arkansan, Dr. Charles Looney spent much of his career working in the cattle reproduction industry outside the state. He recently returned to Arkansas to fill an animal science position at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s Southwest Research and Extension Center. Artificial Insemination, or A.I., has revolutionized cattle breeding, but in this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Dr. Looney says the technology is being under-utilized and he intends to meet with Arkansas cattlemen through a series of workshops and educate them on how to use A.I.
Earl Pepper, who turns 75 later this year, can't recall a time when he wasn't around horses. Raised in Alabama, he now lives near DeQueen, where he tends cattle on horseback. Pepper has a love and respect for horses and, in this edition of Arkansas Agcast, he shares his story and explains why he believes horses are an important part of our culture and heritage.
Earl Pepper of De Queen calls himself a "modern day cowboy." He spends his days working with horses and cattle and he wouldn't have it any other way. Learn more about Earl in our latest video feature.
Meet Nathan and Nicole Hill, swine, poultry and cattle producers near the community of Newhope on the Pike and Howard County line. Nathan left a job as a high school football and baseball coach, while Nicole left a nursing career in Texas to move back home to Arkansas and start their farm. Together, Nicole and Nathan – a member of this year’s President’s Leadership Council – are raising their four children to appreciate the farming way of life.
The Sansom family has been raising and marketing cattle in Little River County for decades. Jennifer is a single mom of two who has her own angus herd and is selling freezer beef straight from her farm, while her father Dale is a field representative for Superior Livestock Auction, a nationwide online cattle marketing firm. Dale’s father Norman has also worked for the company. Learn more about their multi-generational in our new video.
