CAFF offers Sept. 16-17 course on crop nutrition for small farms
Session includes soil and foliar sampling and compost development.
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Sept. 3, 2025
Fast facts:
- Instructors include farmers, Division of Agriculture experts
- Registration deadline is Sept. 13
- Register online
Download graphic
(270 words)
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.
The advanced course will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, with lunch included. It will be hosted at the CAFF Farm, 1005 Meade Ave., Fayetteville. The cost to attend is $30. The deadline to register is Sept. 13 and registration is available online.
Instructors will include Ryan Neal, Benton County extension agent, and Colin Massey, Washington County extension agent; Cameron Frangenburg of Cobblestone Farms; Jeremy Baranauskas of Prairie Woods Farm; Matt Bertucci, assistant professor-horticulture for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture; and staff at CAFF.
The Cooperative Extension Services is the outreach arm of the Division of Agriculture.
Topics include:
- Crop nutrition
- Building fertility plans
- Compost development
- Calculating nitrogen credits
- Soil and foliar testing
- Organic amendments
- Cover crops
- Fertigation techniques
- Responsibilities and records
Neal will be covering financial considerations for nitrogen credits from cover cropping and foliar nutrient sampling and analysis.
“At extension, we promote soil sampling as a way to determine what nutrients are in the soil, these are additional tools a farmer can have in their toolbox to determine what is available to the crop and what actually makes it into the plant,” he said.
Massey said his talk will be on soil sampling equipment, how to properly sample and submit for analysis.
“We will also be reviewing soil analysis from several field blocks that we sampled last week and walking through interpreting the results and making management decisions based on those results and recommendations,” Massey said.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
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 three campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity
institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials
in another format, please contact hfriedrich@uark.edu as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
# # #
Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu