Arkansas farmers have been hit hard this year with storms and rain. In Prairie County, Frank Lisko saw a recent hail storm impact his crops. Despite that, he hopes to make the most of his delayed beans and damaged corn crop.

Just outside of Pocahontas in Randolph County you’ll find a unique market in the middle of “Knollwhere.” The Knoll market, open around the clock, is using the honor system to give folks in the Dalton community flexibility to buy local products at their convenience.

Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Ag Youth Leadership Summit is an immersive leadership camp for juniors and seniors in high school and was hosted this year at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. Students learned about in-depth leadership commonly utilized in careers across industry sectors. Students also participated in a service-learning project and explored agricultural careers. The summit wrapped up with a mini-Olympics, where students competed in pool, table tennis, boat making and a lip-sync battle. Hear from Arkansas Ag in the Classroom director, Donette Spann to learn more about the opportunities AYLS provides students. To see event photos, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBtY3t.

This week, USDA announced proposed changes to the poultry tournament system, which includes guarantees for base price and addresses other issues. We’ll have the details and how you can add input to the proposal. Plus, a Sicilian delegation visited the Natural State this week to form a partnership focused on agriculture with the U of A, how farmers continue to struggle with weather challenges and more on this episode of the Arkansas AgCast.

It’s either a groundbreaking idea for enterprising farmers or Jacob Feather is just going nuts. The 32-year-old’s soybeans are surrounded this year by 2,000 pecan trees on his farm in Griffithville.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service along with the Kore University of Enna, Italy, has signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an agriculture partnership between the universities. The MOU, which began with the help of the Little Rock Sister City Commission, allows opportunities for collaborative projects in agriculture research and exchange of agricultural goods.

To recognize teachers who integrate agricultural concepts into their curriculum, Arkansas Farm Bureau awards the Ag in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher of the Year. Stephanie Benton, a teacher at Harrison Middle School in Boone County, was named the 2024 award recipient. Benton’s work in the classroom has helped students to understand various agricultural concepts and put them into perspective.

After a fast start many farmers in Northeast Arkansas were slowed by waterlogged fields in the later part of planting season. Brian Alumbaugh of McCrory navigated the consistent rains better than some but expects it will cause many crops across the delta to be delayed or produce lesser yields.

The use of drones in agriculture is changing the way farmers operate. At Southern Drone Ops in Jonesboro, Jonathan Cottingham is using innovative drone technology to provide farmers with safer, more efficient options for crop dusting and planting on their farms.

As we wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month, Cassie Davis of Prairie Grove sat down with us to share her experiences to help others overcome the challenges they may be facing. Cassie and her husband Scott own Davis Riverview Farms that, up until 2023, was a dairy farm. After nearly a decade of struggling with the dairy and a series of personal hardships, the couple decided it was time to sell the dairy herd. The Davis family continues to run beef cattle and grow hay on their farm.