News - May 2016

Arkansas Extension Homemakers to honor Betty Oliver and annual meeting 

LITTLE ROCK – Betty Oliver, a woman who devoted her life’s energies to serving others, will be honored by those she inspired at this year’s Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council annual meeting June 7-9.

State heads into wheat harvest as late spring rains continue

LITTLE ROCK — Even as skies routinely darken throughout the state with isolated rainfalls, Arkansas growers are preparing for the annual winter wheat harvest as May gives way to June. 

Breakthrough Solutions conference to focus on what smart communities do to stand out 

LITTLE ROCK — Community and regional leaders and organizers will have the opportunity to learn how to more effectively attract tourists, retirees, families, entrepreneurs and businesses to their areas at the 2016 Breakthrough Solutions conference and pre-conference workshop, July 7-8 in Little Rock. 

Researchers, rice industries exchange information at annual meeting

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new initiative to share scientific knowledge with rice processing industries was announced during the annual Rice Processing Program Industry Alliance Meeting here.

Proper management key for successful recreational ponds

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Arkansas landowners may consider installing a recreational pond on their property a worthwhile investment, according to Scott Jones, small impoundment Extension specialist at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. 

Lessons of summer camp: resilience, camaraderie for children and parents

LITTLE ROCK – No matter the setting or subject matter, summer sleep-away camp offers lessons of self-reliance and confidence for both children -- and parents. 

Arkansas growers hit record acreage in peanuts

LITTLE ROCK — Peanuts continued to grow in popularity with Arkansas farmers in 2016, as early estimates put the state’s planted acreage at about 22,500 acres, a University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture expert said this week. 

Facebook, Instagram contests offer 4-H youths a chance to tell their livestock project stories

LITTLE ROCK – This year, Arkansas youth with a 4-H livestock project might want to pack a camera and some hashtags with their buckets and brushes.

June 16 SW Research/Extension field day puts the focus on agritourism

HOPE, Ark. – Agritourism has its fun and serious sides. Hear about both at the June 16 Horticulture Field Day at the Southwest Research and Extension Center.

Early shedding correlates to better cattle breeding performance

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Genetic adaptation to environment may hold the key to breeding performance in beef cattle, according to research at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. 

Establishing credit practices for young adults can prevent future debt problems

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Young adults’ ability to manage their personal debt might be traceable to the guidance they received – or didn’t receive – from their parents. Parents who teach their children the basics of personal credit can influence their financial behavior when they go into the world on their own. 

Arkansas landowner seeking a foothold for blight-resistant chestnuts

ST. FRANCIS COUNTY, Ark. —A desire to attract deer has led a St. Francis man to try and build an orchard of a hybrid tree whose breeders hope can bring chestnuts, in some form, back to North American shores. 

Growers in northern counties may need to supplement fescue this year

LITTLE ROCK — With the arrival and passing of “middle May,” many hay growers in the northern counties of Arkansas are now facing the difficult decision of when to make the first cut. 

Clean car, clean conscience

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Any water that enters into a storm drain inlet in Northwest Arkansas goes directly to a creek or stream without being treated. When cars are washed on streets and driveways, that dirty water eventually ends up in rivers, streams, creeks, and lakes. Outdoor car washing has the potential to result in high loads of nutrients, dirt, metals, and hydrocarbons entering our waterways. Commercial car washes are plumbed to a treatment plant which keeps these pollutants out of our water. 

In reversal of 2015, rice planting surges ahead of 5-year average, approaches record acreage

LITTLE ROCK — Along with most of the state’s Cooperative Extension Service agricultural agents working in the rice-heavy counties of Arkansas, Herb Ginn won’t forget the 2015 planting season any time soon.

Center for Food Animal Wellbeing to host sixth annual symposium in August

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Trends in housing for sows and layers, heat stress in cattle and antibiotics regulation will be among the topics covered Aug. 4 during the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing’s sixth annual symposium on current issues and advances. The center is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Aug. 3 Turfgrass field day: Earthworms, tennis courts and golf shoes

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The common denominator among Wimbledon, earthworms, the Masters and bees will take center stage on Aug. 3 for the annual Turfgrass Field Day at Fayetteville.

Share the family’s favorite rice recipe and win a prize

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – If the rice dish you prepare for the family meets their approval then it’s probably worth sharing with the rest of the state. Doing so could win a prize and some recognition at the Arkansas Rice Expo.

Arkansas rice bran a source for cancer-fighting peptides

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Rice bran, a byproduct of rice milling abundant in Arkansas that’s used as low-cost animal feed, could become a player in some much higher stakes. Organic substances in rice bran have potent anti-cancer capabilities and can potentially be used in food ingredients both for preventive and treatment purposes against the disease.

To graze or not to graze: legumes need some time to grow

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A word to the wise who want to plant legumes by natural reseeding: refrain from mowing and using it for grazing in the meantime. Let it grow undisturbed.

Arkansas gins follow the cotton in downward trend

JONESBORO, Ark. – Twenty-five years ago along almost any road, on any sunlit Arkansas Delta fall day, you could see white lint wash and swirl across the asphalt, pulled into flight by the wake of the pickup truck that just passed. With Ark-Cotton-Box

Emerson High team wins Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge Award for 2^nd time

EMERSON, Ark. – One of the members of the team that won the Arkansas Soybean Science Challenge at the Southwest Arkansas Regional Science Fair said she was surprised at how little she knew about soybeans before taking part in the challenge. 

Buckner wins Southeast Arkansas Regional and Southwestern Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fairs Soybean Science Challenge Award 

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Evan Buckner, 16, a junior at Pine Bluff High School, won the Southeast Arkansas Regional Challenge and the Southwestern Arkansas State Science and Engineering Fair held at the University of Central Arkansas on April 1-2. Buckner was also the first Soybean Science Challenge winner in the Southeast region in 2015.

Arkansas rice growers in closer to planting completion

LITTLE ROCK – Farmers in the nation’s top rice-growing state worked into the night and through the weekend to overcome rain delays and inch closer to completion of planting.

Arkansas growers working into the night to gain ground in planting

LITTLE ROCK – A combination of dry weather and long days have enabled Arkansas’ row crop growers gain ground in planting season, according to Monday’s report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Cotton and weed experts push for expanded label as EPA extends comment period on dicamba

LITTLE ROCK — Agronomists and researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said last week that they are continuing to push for expanded use of dicamba-based herbicides in cotton and soybean varieties that are genetically engineered to tolerate the modes of action.

June 9 workshop will cover blackberry production

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Mouths water on six continents for fresh Arkansas blackberries. University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture blackberry varieties are grown on every major landmass but one. (It’s a bit too cold on Antarctica where the penguins simply don’t know what they’re missing.)

Bathke to supervise foundation seed at Rice REC

STUTTGART, Ark. – A new assistant director of the Rice Research and Extension Center will be responsible for supervising the Foundation Seed Program administered by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Glenn Bathke began his duties March 28 as the Rice REC awaits the completion later this year of a new facility to house the program

Pastures need nutrients; don’t expect cattle to supply everything 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Despite what people generally seem to think when they drive by a pasture with cattle grazing, the cattle are not fertilizing the grounds. 

Despite heavy rain, Arkansas farmers blasting through planting

LITTLE ROCK – Despite weekly waves of heavy rains, Arkansas farmers pushed across their fields, planting soybeans, rice, cotton and corn ahead of the five-year average pace, according to Monday’s report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service.