News - November 2019

Nov. 27, 2019

HOLIDAY: Setting expectations for children at gift-giving time

LITTLE ROCK – Fueled by advertising and friends’ chatter, children’s off-the-chart holiday gift expectations can lead to disappointment, overspending and put a pall over what should be a bright spot in the year. However, there are ways to keep everyone happy.  

HOLIDAY: Serving others can help beat holiday stress

LITTLE ROCK – Buying gifts. Cooking the big family feast. Entertaining visitors. Too often, the season of joy is a season of stress. What’s a frazzled family to do? Brittney Schrick, extension family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said service to others may be the cure.

HOLIDAY: More to the cranberry than a can-shaped jelly

TEXARKANA, Ark. – There’s so much more to cranberries than that can-shaped red jelly seen on many Thanksgiving tables, said Carla Due, Miller County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

HOLIDAY: Fixing less-than-perfect holiday cookies

TEXARKANA, Ark. – Everyone wants to make those “as-seen-on-TV” perfectly beautiful holiday cookies, but sometimes the dough has other ideas. All is not lost, says Carla Due, Miller County Extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Horticulturists expect widespread bark split, bark death in thin-barked woody plants

LITTLE ROCK – Azaleas, crape myrtles, Japanese maples and other thin-barked woody plants may be in for a rough year in 2020.

Thirty-two 4-H’ers head to Atlanta for National 4-H Congress

LITTLE ROCK – Thirty-two Arkansas 4-H state record book winners will be spending their Thanksgiving break in Atlanta at the National 4-H Congress, the premier leadership event for senior 4-H’ers. 

Division of Ag winter production meeting schedule posted

LITTLE ROCK – Hear insights on the markets and production techniques during the 2020 winter production meetings hosted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Lights, Camera, Action: Arkansas 4-Hers learn professional video skills

LITTLE ROCK – New members of the Arkansas 4-H Video Crew participated in an annual rite of passage this week: the Video Crew boot camp. But instead of push-ups and laps, the six teenagers who arrived at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center on Nov. 19 found themselves running cables and setting up cameras in the quest for the perfect shot.

Division of Agriculture mycotoxin research, fundamental to food safety, recently highlighted at agriculture science and technology conference

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As the world’s No. 1 agricultural exporter, the United States is responsible for laying down the first line of defense in the world’s battle for food safety and security. Researchers at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are leading some of the world’s most cutting-edge efforts to counter the most prevalent toxins.

UA Agricultural Systems Technology program uses robot donated by Tyson Foods

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The department of agricultural education, communications and technology in the University of Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences recently received a robotic helping hand from Tyson Foods.

Turfgrass short course to be held Jan. 7-8 in Little Rock

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Turfgrass identification, establishment and pest management are among the topics for the Turfgrass Short Course Jan. 7-8, 2020, at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service State Office in Little Rock.

LeadAR graduates 18th class of leaders

LITTLE ROCK — Twenty-six people from across Arkansas recently graduated from LeadAR, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s leadership program, bringing the total number of graduates to nearly 500 in the past 35 years.

Carson, Munsey honored as outstanding horticulture alumni

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Author and retired extension horticulture specialist Janet Carson and Better Lawns and Gardens’ L. David Munsey III, have been named outstanding Arkansas alumni at the 2019 Horticulture Tailgate and Alumni Breakfast.

AmeriCorps volunteers to cleanup storm damage, make upgrades at Vines Center

LITTLE ROCK – A team of 12 AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members is hard at work at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center, where they are spending six weeks cleaning up storm-damaged areas and making energy efficiency upgrades.

2020 Tri-State Soybean Forum highlights input for keep-or-replant decisions

LITTLE ROCK – Soybean growers who faced weather-ravaged crops in the 2019 season will hear guidance for production and marketing decisions, during the 2020 Tri-State Soybean Forum, Jan. 3 in Dumas, Arkansas.

Sharpley receives international recognition for advancing nutrient management research

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The International Fertilizer Association has named University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture soils and water quality scientist Andrew Sharpley the 2019 Norman Borlaug Award winner.

Nationwide council of agricultural scientists tour Division of Agriculture poultry research

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Poultry scientists at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture focus a lot of their research on animal health and wellbeing, and those efforts were on display for some 70 agricultural scientists from across the nation during a tour Oct. 29.

UA System Division of Agriculture professor recognized for Excellence in Extension

LITTLE ROCK — Mark Peterson, professor of community and economic development, has been named the recipient of this year’s Southern Region Excellence in Extension by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Cooperative Extension, and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

Cotton, rice harvests beat the cold; fruit may suffer

LITTLE ROCK — After a mild weekend of sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s, much of Arkansas found itself dealing with widespread rains and falling mercury throughout Monday. Tuesday, the state awoke to a morning that declared itself as “winter” in no uncertain terms.

Division of Agriculture receives grant to expand ‘Green infrastructure’ into southeast Arkansas

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Green infrastructure — an approach to community development and water management that protects, restores, or mimics the natural water cycle — is coming to southeast Arkansas.

Watershed Stewards participating in ‘Little Rock Day of Community Service’

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansans looking for a way to help contribute to a cleaner environment are invited to participate in an effort to clean up Coleman Creek on Nov. 16 as part of the Little Rock Day of Service.

Fall forage samples showing lower protein; ranchers advised against relying on previous year’s test results

LITTLE ROCK – Lab-tested forage samples are showing lower protein levels and Arkansas livestock producers will need to adjust their herd’s winter rations to compensate, said Shane Gadberry, professor-ruminant nutrition for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

University of Wisconsin college names Ricke a Distinguished Alumnus

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Steven C. Ricke, professor of food science for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has been named a Distinguished Alumnus by the University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Freezing temps threaten last leg of Arkansas peanut harvest

LEACHVILLE, Ark. — Overnight rainfall or a wet day can impair the harvest of any row crop — but the same conditions can bring a peanut harvest to a dead stop, especially when freezing conditions are moving in.

Bobcats are adapting to urban and suburban settings. Here’s what to do if you see one

LITTLE ROCK – As urban and suburban areas expand in Arkansas, the state’s wildlife — including the bobcat — is learning to adapt to new neighbors, said Becky McPeake, extension wildlife specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Arkansas 4-H C.A. Vines Center to offer Thanksgiving holiday meals

LITTLE ROCK – “Holiday Helpings,” the popular holiday meal preparation program that debuted for the 2018 Thanksgiving season, is returning to again help take the stress out of holiday cooking.

Division biological engineer recognized for research in nanotechnology

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Really tiny things are a big deal to Jin-Woo Kim. For his work in nanotechnology, he has been named the 2019 Arkansas Biosciences Institute Established Investigator of the Year.

Ranchers can help grassland birds rebuild populations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Rotational stocking and other management practices may give grassland birds a chance to rebuild their populations, said Dirk Philipp, associate professor-animal science, for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Bumpers College graduate students earn CAST scholarships for science communication

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ten graduate students from the University of Arkansas' Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences have earned scholarships from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.

Division of Agriculture hosts Council for Agricultural Science and Technology

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture this week is playing host to more than 70 representatives of academic, legal, governmental and other institutions at the 2019 Annual Fall Board Meeting of CAST — the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.