After experiencing a six-year period of economic expansion, the Arkansas timber and wood products industry is slowing down, signaled by the closing of two mills in south Arkansas. We spoke to some industry experts about the impact of the closings on Ashley and Union County communties and their thoughts on the severity and length of the slowdown.
In honor of National Rice Month and Rice Month in Arkansas, the Arkansas rice industry makes a donation to the Arkansas Foodbank each year. We attended this year's donation ceremony at the Food Bank headquarters in Little Rock and spoke with Rhonda Sanders, CEO of the Food Bank and Dan Hosman, Craighead County rice farmer and chair of the Arkansas Rice Council.
We talked to Leigh Ann Bullington at the Cooperative Extension Service to learn more about the Share Grounds Project, a new, grant-funded approach to creating certified kitchens and distribution centers for use by local farmers at the Woodruff, Cleveland and Searcy county fairgrounds.
USDA Sec. Sonny Perdue was in Arkansas Sept. 4 to participate in a "Town Hall" meeting with agriculture industry leaders and join Gov. Asa Hutchinson for the signing of a Shared Stewardship Agreement dealing with forest practices.
Technology is changing the way farmers irrigate their crops and monitor soil moisture in their fields. Farmers Jacob Appleberry and Jon Carroll say remote soil moisture sensors, which they access with an App on their phones, are helping them conserve water and cut the cost of irrigation.
Corn harvest has begun in Arkansas, so we visited Jacob Appleberry's A & A Farms in Tillar to get some footage of the work. See what's happening and learn more about what it takes to bring in the corn crop each year.
The UA Fruit Research Station near Clarksville held its first hops workshop August 15. Hops are what adds bitterness and aroma to beer. Watch our latest video to see how Extension horticulture specialist Amanda McWhirt and her team are exploring opportunities for farmers to grow hops in Arkansas to feed the growing local craft brewing industry.
To celebrate National Dog Day, we visited Howard County farmer Amanda Whisenhunt, who introduced us to her team of working farm dogs and showed us how they help her with her daily operations.
Ground hasn’t been broken yet for the planned Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center, but Timothy Burcham, the center director, took us on a tour of the site near Jonesboro with ArFB state board member Joe Christian, who serves as secretary/treasurer of the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board.
With large facilities and state-of-the-art technology, large-animal vet clinics can efficiently and effectively provide the services Arkansas cattle ranchers need to raise healthy livestock. With a limited number of large-animal vets offering on-farm visits, ranchers are thinking differently about animal care and hitting the road with their animals to visit these specialized facilities. Learn more from one clinic operator and a cattleman using his services.
