Arkansas AgCast

This week, weather takes center stage. We hear from a National Weather Service Senior Forecaster John Lewis, Ag Extension Rice Agronomist Jarrod Hardke and Sevier County livestock and poultry grower Bruce Jackson about how excessive winds and rainfall from Hurricane Laura could impact Arkansas agriculture. We also get some tips and information for Arkansas small meat and poultry processors interested in the state’s new $5 million grant program for expanding processing capacity.

This week, we learn about a potential $5 million grant to help Arkansas meat processors expand. We also talk Catfish Month in Arkansas with Chad Causey of Catfish Farmers of America, and we discuss the recent outbreak of VSV that’s hitting horses in the state.

This week, we learn about a new partnership involving the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and UAMS to help with COVID-19 testing in rural areas and we hear about more funding for rural broadband in the state. We also talk to Sara Gardner, who was recently named to the National 4-H Council’s Young Alumni Advisory Committee.

This week, we talk to the new, interim director of the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart, and we learn about new funding for research on improving management of crop burns. We also hear from University of Arkansas Professor Steven Ricke, who was recently honored for his work on poultry broilers and food safety and we get details on the Double Your Dollar farmers market program in Northwest Arkansas.

This week, we get an update on cotton from Extension Cotton Agronomist Bill Robertson; we learn about the latest research on blackberries, peaches and grapes; and we talk to Scott Bray from the State Plant Board about the mysterious seed packages some people have been receiving in the mail. We also hear from Dr. Nathan Slaton of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station about the cancellation of the popular Arkansas Rice Expo event in Stuttgart.

This week, we learn about a major donation by the Anheuser-Busch Foundation to support the Arkansas Discovery Farms Project and we get the latest on the federal Paycheck Protection Program. We also talk to Altus Mayor Veronica Post about the cancellation of three agriculture-related festivals her community due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, we talk about a new multi-million dollar infrastructure project at the Little Rock Port, learn the importance of written legal documents when leasing farmland, and hear the latest on LeadAR, the two-year leadership development program of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.

This week, we learn what the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak will mean for the 2020 Arkansas State Fair and we talk to a University of Arkansas professor about a recent grant to support technology research that could help the poultry industry. We also learn all about the Arkansas Youth Expo.

This week, we talk about the impact of the pandemic on Arkansas’s 4-H programs, and we get to know Dr. Bob Scott, the new director of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. We also hear from the man whose shoes he will have to fill, Dr. Rick Cartwright, who retired at the end of June. We also talk to horticulture research professor Elena Garcia about her recent retirement.

This week, we talk about Discovery Farms in Arkansas and dive into the issues facing the dairy industry. We also talk about China’s troubling reaction to COVID-19 infections at a Springdale poultry plant and learn about a deadly new virus strain in wild rabbits.