Arkansas AgCast

Chris and Judy Isbell of Humnoke are the 2018 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year. The honor was announced today at the annual luncheon honoring county and district Farm Families of the Year. The Isbells are fifth-generation rice farmers and have diversified their operation into growing specialty varieties for the Japanese market. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, they share with the honor means to them and how growing specialty rice has become a successful marketing strategy for them.

Brenda Patton chairs the Benton County Farm Bureau Women's Leadership Committee. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, she discusses how hard her committee worked to earn the Outstanding County Women's Program Award this year.

The ongoing tariff war and dispute with China, a record soybean crop produced by U.S. farmers with limited storage capacity and need for new export markets, and the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement are all issues addressed by Ted McKinney, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at USDA at Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual convention. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast McKinney comments on efforts to resolve the trade war with China and other trade issues facing agriculture as we approach the New Year.

Farm Bureau member and volunteer Dana Stewart made White County proud as she was recognized with the prestigious Stanley E. Reed Leadership Award at the state convention in Hot Springs, Nov. 28. Arkansas Ag Cast visited with her to get her reaction to earning this honor.

In this special edition of Arkansas AgCast, we talk with Terri McManus with the Farm Service Angency about the Dec. 7 deadline for producers who have generic seed cotton base who want to participate in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program for the 2018 crop. For more information about the program and to see if you are eligible, visit bit.ly/SeedCottonBase.

Many in Arkansas know all too well about the devastating impact Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia can have on families. Providing care for loved ones suffering from these conditions is difficult without adequate support or knowledge. That’s why Arkansas Farm Bureau has partnered with the UAMS Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative to provide training for caregivers at the county level. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Sajni Kumpuris and Laura Spradley of the Collaborative discuss Alzheimer’s and dementia in Arkansas and this effort to help family members of those affected. They also explain how county Farm Bureau members can schedule presentations in their communities.

Farmers and ranchers from every county in Arkansas convened in North Little Rock recently and spent two days discussing resolutions that will soon become Arkansas Farm Bureau policy. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, ArFB president Randy Veach explains the importance of this grassroots policy development process and why it will determine the organization’s state and federal legislative blueprint for 2019.

Thanksgiving is upon us. And that means turkeys. According to tradition, turkey was one of the birds of choice for the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving feast shared with the Native Americans. Butterball is the choice of Logan County farmer Brian Weisenfels. Listen as he tells us about raising turkeys and whether the busy holiday season changes anything from a farmer's perspective.

KARN's Kevin Miller interviews Mark Lambert, director, commodity activities and economics, at Arkansas Farm Bureau. The two discussed the economic and weather challenges faced by Arkansas soybean farmers this harvest season.

Derek Haigwood, a fourth-generation row-crop farmer from Newport, serves as a U.S. Soybean Board director and chairman of the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). In this podcast, he discusses how many soybean farmers are facing a devastating hit to their bottom line this year due to low prices, trade issues, weather problems and more, and talks about USSEC efforts to create new markets and keep existing customers.