Arkansas Farm Bureau Podcast

Taylor Wiseman of Fayetteville, a graduate assistant majoring in agriculture economics at the University of Arkansas, won the Young Farmers & Ranchers Discussion Meet at this year's Arkansas Farm Bureau Officers & Leaders Conference. Hear what she had to say after the competition.

Conway County pecan grower Robert "Crash" Carruthers talks about the impact of the ongoing trade and tariff war with China on pecans, how weather affects pecan nut development, the increasing acreage of pecan groves in Conway County, and more.

The August Congressional recess has begun and First District Congressman Rick Crawford kicked off his annual farm tour by participating in a roundtable discussion of issues affecting the 2019 farm economy with farmers and ranchers in Lonoke. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Crawford shares his thoughts on the tariff war with China, how African Swine Fever in China is impacting the need for U.S. soybeans and why Arkansas farmers may need to “diversify their ag portfolio."

We spoke to Matt HIll, fire chief for Dierks in Howard County, about flooding from Tropical Storm Barry in the southwest part of the state. HIll said the area received more than 17 inches of rain and he described the impact on local rachers and farmers and the timber business in the county.

In 2018, the University of Arkansas at Monticello upgraded its forestry and agriculture programs by combining them and creating the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. And more changes are on the horizon. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Dr. Phil Tappe, dean of the college and director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center explains how UAM has become the only university in the state with an accredited forestry program and why it is working hard to become the destination for students seeking to enter the timber and forest resources industry.

By Memorial Day weekend, only half of Arkansas’ cotton acreage for 2019 had been planted, but as cotton extension agronomist Bill Robertson tells us, figures obtained by the Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Program show planted cotton acres now exceed 580,000. That means this is the fourth year of increased cotton acreage and the highest planted acreage since 2012. Learn more in this edition of Arkansas AgCast.

Damage to property caused by wild or feral hogs in Arkansas is getting worse. Efforts to trap and kill the destructive swine the past 10 years has had modest success, but they continue to reproduce and move across the state. Fourth District Congressman Bruce Westerman led a roundtable discussion July 1 in Ashley County involving representatives of state agencies and Arkansas Farm Bureau to receive a briefing on the problem and how $75 million USDA is offering to fund pilot projects included in the 2018 Farm Bureau may be utilized to enhance the eradication and control efforts in Arkansas and other states. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Caleb Plyler, chair of Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Feral Hog Committee and Mike Sullivan, State Conservationist with NRCS, discuss the severity of the problem and how the pilot eradication and control projects will be implemented in Arkansas.

Listen as Joe Fox, Arkansas’ State Forester, and Seward Hamilton, a training specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, talk about The annual Wildands Fire Academy to train wildlands firefighters. The Arkansas Forestry Commission and U.S. Forest Service team up each year with other state and federal agencies to host a multi-state wildlands fire academy to provide continuing education and training to wildlands firefighters.

Leslee Tell teaches Advanced Nutrition & Dietetics at the Conway Area Career Center in Conway High School. She spoke to us about attending the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s "On The Farm STEM Experience" in May and how it taught her labout beef production and provided ideas to share with her students.

Jessica Hamilton and her husband, Cory, farm in the Paris Bottoms of the Arkansas River in Logan County. Tragically, the couple lost their entire crop of wheat, corn and soybeans when a federal levee along the river was breached. Rushing water from the breach overtopped a secondary levee, ensuring the destruction of all crops, forcing livestock out and damaging ag buildings. Hear their story in our latest AgCast.

Rancher John Wahrmund of Wahrmund Farms near Point Remove went through some difficulties preparing for flooding from the Arkansas River that's now here. Good friends, family and ranch cowboys helped him through it all. Listen as he tells the story of racing the flood waters to move his cattle to safer and higher ground.

Arkansas row-crop farmer Robert Stobaugh, who farms between Morrilton and Atkins, talks about what is likely to be historic flooding along the Arkansas River and the problems it will cause for farmers.

Heavy rain in Oklahoma this past week is entering the Arkansas River basin and will result in another historic flooding event, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service. The Corps is warning farmers, ranchers and property owners in the River Valley to take steps now to protect their livestock and property. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Laurie Driver, Public Affairs Specialist for the Corps of Engineers in Little Rock, describes how severe the flooding is expected to be and why and what farmers and property owners should do to prepare for it.

We spoke with Cathy Gifford, a Crawford County Arkansas Farm Bureau Insurance agent, who helped to launch a leadership program for the county that meets rgularly to learn about important industries in the area, including agriculture. We caught up with her during the county agriculture tour.

The 92nd Session of theArkansas General Assembly concluded recently and State Representatives Lane Jean and David Fielding were recognized by the Columbia County Farm Bureau at an appreciation dinner. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, representatives Jean and Fielding discuss some of the legislation that was passed that will benefit agriculture and their rural constituents.

Arkansas Agcast visited with Janeal Yancy, a meat scientist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, who leads the "Moms on the Farm" program. She takes groups of mothers on farm tours to learn firsthand how food is produced and how it gets from farm to table.

A new Arkansas FFA Officer Team has been elected and installed to lead the organization for the next year. Anna Mathis of Valley Springs in Boone County was elected president during the recent annual convention in Hot Springs. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, she shares her feelings about receiving the support of FFA student delegates across the state and her goals for the organization going forward.

Pigweed problems led to the use of cover crops and no-till farming techniques on Adam and Seth Chappell’s family farm near Cotton Plant. Hear about their experimentation with these techniques and the success they've had since beginning.

When it comes to cotton in Arkansas, few people know more than Bill Robertson, cotton extension agronomist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. As spring planting season begins, Robertson spoke to us about last year's season and what farmers need to know to get the most out of their 2019 crop.

A new online pilot program known as CropCheck is being offered in partnership between FieldWatch and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast Victor Ford, Interim Associate Director for Agriculture and Natural Resources with the Division of Agriculture, explains FieldWatch and describes how the CropCheck program could help farmers prevent damage to their neighbor’s crops caused by pesticide application.