News - September 2025

SIDEBAR: Rice Discovery Program teaches agriculture from field to fork

HARRISBURG, Ark. — At the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center, the Rice Discovery Program provides hands-on agriculture education, taking students from the greenhouse to the kitchen.

Celebrate Arkansas-grown rice during September's National Rice Month

LITTLE ROCK — Though Arkansas is the No. 1 producer of rice in the United States, Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said he often hears from residents who don’t know the crop is being grown in their own backyard.

Basis sinking faster than the Mississippi at Memphis

LITTLE ROCK — As the numbers on the Mississippi River gauge at Memphis, Tennessee, sink, so does soybean basis, but at a faster clip than in previous years, said Hunter Biram, extension economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

SIDEBAR: Beans, basis, bins and barges

JONESBORO, Ark. — Bins and barges play a key role for beans and basis.

Sure, air fryers are versatile, but did you know they were hay-moisture-measuring versatile?

SEARCY, Ark. — A common kitchen appliance has a novel application that can help ranchers ensure the quality of their forage. 

CAFF offers Sept. 16-17 course on crop nutrition for small farms

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Healthy crops start with healthy soil, and a Sept. 16-17 short course hosted by the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food, will offer insights into crop nutrition for small farms.

Arkansas food safety scientists share latest research on viruses, sanitizers, AI

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Human noroviruses are the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide but are difficult to obtain for food safety studies, but Arkansas Center for Food Safety researchers have devised a new method to replicate a common norovirus surrogate, the Tulane virus. 

2025 Rural Profile of Arkansas offers snapshot of a state in motion

LITTLE ROCK — The 2025 Rural Profile of Arkansas is now available online. The biennial report from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture lays out data that illuminate trends in the Natural State’s rural population.

Mencer: Keeping good records a necessity for farms with H-2A labor

UNDATED — For agriculture operations employing foreign labor under the H-2A visa program, keeping good records is paramount, said William Mencer, an ag law attorney and farmer from Lake Village.