Arkansas Farm Bureau Podcast

Arkansas Women in Agriculture recently held its annual conference. We caught up with to group's president, Monica Paskewitz, who explained the reason behind the group's creation, its growth and success and why more of Arkansas's farming and ranching women should get involved.

Clyde Fenton is a program associate working for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in Food Systems and Food Safety. He brings 30 years experience as a fruit and vegetable grower to the job, taking part in the university's efforts to certify produce farmers as part of the requirements that came from the 2011 Food Safety Improvement Act. He took time during a recent workshop with farmers to describe the law and the certification process with Arkansas AgCast.

On Tuesday, March 12, more than 100 Arkansas Farm Bureau member farmers and ranchers visited the Arkansas State Capitol to share their concerns with legislators and to attend the signing of proclamations declaring March 10-16 as Arkansas Agriculture Week and March 12 as Farmers' Day. Hear from some of those who attended in this edition of Arkansas AgCast.

Livestock farmers Cody Hopkins and Andrea Todt are part of a co-op that sells meat directly to consumers online. They utilize blockchain technology that allows customers to know how their meat was raised, what it was fed, who raised it and more. In this edition of Arkansas AgCast, Hopkins describes the value of block chain technology to his operation and for consumers.

A radio PSA for hearing safety during Ag Safety Awareness Month 2019.

A radio PSA for road safety during Ag Safety Awareness Week 2019.

PSA for Heat safety and Hydration during Ag Safety Awareness Week.

Radio PSA announcement for Ag Safety Week 2019.

Around 100 growers and fruit specialists attended a meeting in Little Rock Feb. 16 about forming an Arkansas Blackberry Growers Association. It was also an opportunity for growers to learn about a new blackberry variety and how to effectively market their crops. Listen to our interviews with a horticulture specialist and a blackberry grower.

Arkansas Farm Bureau Chief Economist Travis Justice gives a sneak peek of the soon-to-be-published Arkansas Beef Industry Assessment survey and his perspective of the state's $750 million beef business.

Arkansas cattlemen and dairy farmers have been experiencing the coldest temperatures of the season recently. Faulkner County dairy farmer Matt Simon has weathered many winter cold snaps over the past 20 years and, in this edition of Arkansas Agcast, he says dairy cows need to eat more when they are cold to help stay warm and that actually helps increase their milk production.

Arkansas Farm Bureau Forestry Chair Grant Pace discusses the impact of the wet winter weather on the Arkansas timber industry.

The Arkansas Agriculture Department held its 2019 Local Conversations event at the Hermitage Community Center in Bradley County January 17. Specialty crop farmers joined local school food service and nutrition directors, food distribution representatives and other industry officials to network and source new marketing opportunities for their locally grown products. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Ron Rainey, director of the UA Division of Agriculture’s Marketmaker Program, and Bob Midles, Marketing Director for the Ag Department, discuss the success and importance of Local Conversations events.

A grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture is helping fund cutting-edge biotechnology research on corn at Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Dr. Elizabeth Hood, distinguished professor of agriculture at ASU, joined us to discuss the research team’s work, which could ultimately lead to corn strains that produce proteins important for more environmentally sound industrial applications.

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.