Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
First class for wetland, wildfowl certificate program has been selected.
June 25, 2021By Mary HightowerU of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
(1,202 words)
(Newsrooms: With art, httpshttps://flic.kr/s/aHsmW4RN25)
Download Word version of this article
MONTICELLO, Ark. — Brandon Bennett knew from his earliest days what he wanted to do with his life.
Bennett, who grew up in the Independence County community of Charlotte, Arkansas, is among the four students recruited for a unique graduate certificate program being offered through a partnership among the Five Oaks Research and Education Center, the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Much of the learning will take place at the Five Oaks Duck Lodge in Humphrey, Arkansas, owned by George Dunklin, Jr., former Arkansas Game and Fish Commission chairman and member of the Ducks Unlimited board. Another part of the training will take place on the UAM campus. The new class took part in an orientation at Five Oaks in March.
“This is a great example of a public/private partnership and I could not be more thrilled to be involved with UAM and the U of A System Division of Agriculture,” Dunklin said. “This class will forever be the first class of graduates of this program. I am very impressed with each and every one of them and can’t wait to get started.”The students of the 2021-22 inaugural class are:
“These students are so talented,” said Douglas Osborne, associate professor at UA-Monticello
and director of the Five Oaks Ag Research and Education Center, who will lead teaching and research for the class. Osborne’s Ph.D. is in wildlife ecology. “Our field is so competitive and what George is doing to help students is incredible. We’re going to bring these students in and find their strengths and their weaknesses. We want them to become super marketable and pursue careers in wetland and waterfowl management.”
Osborne said that unlike courses that boast dozens of students, the small program with Five Oaks and UAM can provide in-the-field experience unavailable in larger programs.
“If we can get them to the next step in their career, it’s game time!” Osborne said. “We think this program is going to be a game-changer.”
Brandon Bennett
“I knew from the time I started kindergarten that I wanted to work with wildlife,” Bennett said. That desire led him to UA-Monticello and Doug Osborne’s lab, where he volunteered at every opportunity.
“As soon as I heard about this program being developed, I knew it was for me. This program is going to give me the experience I will need to make a smooth transfer into being a waterfowl biologist and land manager,” Bennett said. “To be able to team up with forward thinkers such as Dr. Osborne, Jody Pagan and George Dunklin is an absolute home run in my opinion. In doing this, the students get both research and real-world experience from the best in the business.”
Pagan, a UAM alumnus, is chief biologist at Five Oaks.
Katherine Allen
Allen’s decision to pursue a career in wildlife was more recent.
“I’ve always wanted to work with animals since I was a kid. I just didn’t know what exactly.” She became inspired by the passion she saw in Kevin Ringleman, an associate professor of waterfowl ecology and management at LSU.
During her orientation at Five Oaks, Allen said her “brain started turning” as they toured the grounds and surrounding habitat, wondering what relationship there was between the local vegetation and the migratory ducks.
“I’m more interested in looking at the vegetation they eat on their wintering grounds and how that gets them up north. Are they coming here for that vegetation or is it just the land?” she said. That’s the research “I would want to do at Five Oaks.”
Delanie Warren
Warren came to the program thanks to an e-mail from a family member who is involved with Ducks Unlimited.
“I grew up living in the country and loved everything about the outdoors,” she said. “Through FFA, I was a part of the wildlife judging team, which also helped me push forward with my passions to have a Rangeland Ecology and Management major at Texas A&M University.
While at Texas A&M, Warren was involved with the collegiate Ducks Unlimited chapter as an officer of the chapter for two terms. “As an officer, I began to see my passion grow for wetland and waterfowl conservation and knew it was the career path I wanted to take,” she said.
Warren said she believed the “graduate certificate will provide plenty of knowledge and experience to pursue my goals to work as a private land manager or with Ducks Unlimited.”
Cole Howard
Howard said “my interest in range and land management has stemmed from several aspects of my upbringing. Growing up I worked with cattle on my grandparents’ farm and gained an appreciation for the land.
“The biggest influence, however, was getting into hunting and enjoying the outdoors. I had several great mentors that helped me get into hunting which really gave me an appreciation and passion for wildlife and land conservation,” he said.
Howard said he’s looking forward to what he can draw from the certificate program.
“I believe this program will further hone my academic knowledge as well as teach me the necessary hands-on skills it takes to become an effective land and wildlife manager,” he said. “I know this program and the people involved will springboard me into my dream career in the waterfowl field.”
For the program partners, the potential is enormous.
“This collaboration among Five Oaks, UAM, and the Division of Agriculture provides opportunities for specialized post-graduate education in the management of natural resources and for collaborative research in bottomland hardwood and wetland ecosystems,” said Robert Ficklin, interim dean of UAM’s College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Our new graduate certificate program is unique not only in the state but also in the nation. It is going to be exciting to see how these education and research programs develop over time.”
Pagan took note of “how passionate they were about wetland ecology and waterfowl ecology. I was really impressed with the top four. They all have different sets of expertise.”
Pagan said some students who go into the field may have lots of classroom time in the subject matter, but what’s “lacking is the boots on the ground, dirt-under-the-fingernails experience. Having this big outdoor classroom is a big deal.”
“Hopefully we can feed these kids into positions that will make a difference in the state, federal and private lands and improve habitat,” he said.
Mark Cochran, vice president-agriculture for the University of Arkansas System, said, “This is a one-of-a-kind partnership that brings together the three elements of land grant work, teaching, research and extension. Wildfowl and the wetlands in the Mississippi Flyway are in critical need of the research and learnings that will come out of this program.”
UAM Chancellor Peggy Doss said, “Our College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources is continuing its tradition of recruiting exceptional students into its world class programs. The new graduate certificate in waterfowl management will prepare UAM graduates to make a substantial positive impact on wetland and waterfowl research in our region and the nation.”
About the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center
The College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, a University of Arkansas System Center of Excellence, bring together interdisciplinary expertise through a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
The College and Center are headquartered at the University of Arkansas at Monticello campus, but their programs range statewide with the mission of developing and delivering teaching, research and extension programs that enhance and ensure the sustainability and productivity of forest-based natural resources and agricultural systems. Academic programs are delivered by the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources through the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, research is administered by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and extension and outreach activities are coordinated by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
# # #