Arkansas Farm Bureau Podcast

The University of Arkansas at Monticello has a vibrant and successful Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter that is allowing agriculture majors to learn more about Farm Bureau and develop leadership skills that will serve well them after graduation. Dr. Bob Stark is professor of agriculture economics and faculty advisor to the Collegiate Farm Bureau chapter. They assisted at the Arkansas Farm Bureau booth at the State Fair and in this conversation Dr. Stark says participating in Collegiate Farm Bureau is an invaluable experience for his students. He also discusses their research in and the popularity of heirloom tomatoes.

The Arkansas State Fair Livestock Show ends with the annual Junior Livestock Auction or "Premium Sale." Thousands of young people and their families have taken up residence at the fairgrounds in Little Rock for a week or more to show their animals in hopes of winning a ribbon and possibly earning the opportunity to participate in the sale. In this conversation, Sherman Lites, State Fair Livestock Administrator, says preparing to have their animals judged at the Fair is an important learning experience for Arkansas youth.

The first Veterans 4 Ag Summit will be held Friday, Oct. 6 on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Arkansas is home to more than 200,000 military veterans, many of whom may be finding it hard to re-enter civilian life and begin a new career. In this conversation, Jason Smedley, assistant director of local affairs and rural development for Arkansas Farm Bureau and a veteran himself, discusses the focus of the summit and how it can connect veterans with farmers and ranchers and others who can answer their questions about starting their own farming operation.

The mission of the Delta School in Wilson, Arkansas is to nourish every child’s strengths so each child is able to form healthy relationships, discover meaningful work, and make unique contributions to the world. The school’s state-of-the-art garden classroom allows all levels of learners to participate in the school garden initiative. It teaches students essential life skills and supports academic learning through hands-on classes in an organic garden. In this conversation, Kerry Sullivan, Director of the Lower School and Technology and Taylor Starkey, an instructor at the school who grew up in the Arkansas Delta, discuss how what the students learn in the garden classroom is integrated into other disciplines to teach them how to care for the environment, grow vegetables and plants and then use these skills to prepare them for life.

Agricultural losses inflicted by Hurricane Harvey are extensive. Gene Hall, director of the communications division of Texas Farm Bureau discusses the agricultural impacts of perhaps the most destructive storm in the state’s history.

The Grand Prairie and Bayou Meto surface water irrigation projects are on hold, waiting for additional funding in order to deliver water from the White and Arkansas rivers to farmers. In this conversation, two project leaders – Dennis Carman and Tom Fortner – discuss the challenges with the projects and how they're hoping a public-private partnership will provide needed funding to complete them.

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture weed scientists Jason Norsworthy, Tom Barber and Bob Scott have conducted field trials to determine the volatility of dicamba-based products Eugenia and XtendiMax on soybeans. Damage from dicamba drift to soybeans and other crops has been extensive in northeast Arkansas and the researchers conducted a field tour to present their findings at the Research and Extension Center in Keiser. In this conversation Norsworthy discusses the results of his trial and why drift has become such a serious issue in Mississippi and Crittenden counties.

Governor Asa Hutchinson proclaimed August 6-12 Farmers Market Week in Arkansas. More than 100 farmers markets in almost every county play an important economic role in local and regional food systems and have become weekly destinations for consumers and families throughout the spring and summer. In this conversation, Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward discusses the important role farmers markets play in local communities.

Former Congressman Charlie Stenholm of Texas, an advocate for agriculture and member of the House Agriculture Committee throughout his term, was the keynote speaker at the annual Arkansas Rice Expo in Stuttgart. Prior to his remarks Stenholm took to time to discuss the 2018 Farm Bill and what needs to be done in order for Congress to pass a new law that addresses the needs of all commodities and farmers and ranchers in the U.S.

Arkansas Farm Bureau has launched the Farm Bureau Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) fundraising arm of the organization to fund education efforts, research, litigation and disaster relief. The first organization to receive support from the Foundation was the Arkansas chapter of the Red Cross. In this conversation, Chuck Tucker of Arkansas Farm Bureau and Lori McFarlane of the Red Cross discuss why the Foundation was created and how it can help charitable organizations like the Red Cross in their time of need.

Satellite imagery and unmanned aerial systems are transforming the way farmers and ranchers are scouting their fields for disease and improving crop yield. Terry Spurlock, a plant pathologist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, discussed this topic at Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Officers and Leaders Conference in Hot Springs. In this podcast, he talks about how this technology will help producers save time and money and improve their operations.

South Dakota ranchers Troy and Stacy Hadrick were keynote speakers at the Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Officers & Leaders conference in Hot Springs. The couple travels the U.S. and the globe speaking to farmers and ranchers about "telling the farming story." Hear about their mission and why they are so passionate about it.

Hear about the current hot-button legal issues in agriculture from Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agriculture Law Center based at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Pittman discuses the upcoming Farm Bill, commodity checkoff programs, herbicide use and more.

Arkansas Farm Bureau was the host state for Farm Bureau’s National Commodity Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center in Rogers. American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall spoke at the event and we had an opportunity to talk with him about the challenges facing agriculture in the second half of the year, such as helping develop a new Farm Bill that includes an adequate safety net for all agricultural producers.

For more than 30 years University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture health educators have been working through schools and local communities to encourage children and families about the importance of maintaining a healthy diet. In this conversation, Rosemary Rodibaugh, a professor of nutrition with the UA Division of Agriculture, explains the programs Family and Consumer Science agents are using to reach the public in their counties.

The results of the American Farm Bureau’s annual survey on what it costs to prepare the traditional 4th of July barbecue dinner with "all the fixins" has been released, so we talked to Dr. John Newton, AFBF director of market intelligence about the survey findings and why U.S. food prices remain so affordable.

A group of 55 teenagers from around the state recently participated in a three-day Arkansas 4-H Veterinary Science Camp at the University of Arkansas. They took part in a variety of hands-on sessions with veterinarians including honeybees, horses and cattle. Veterinarian Lloyd Keck of West Fork participated in the camp and shared his thoughts on the value of the camp and need for more large animal veterinarians.

Steve Morgan, his son Mark and their families own and operate Peach Pickin’ Paradise near Clarksville, Ark. They attended Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Specialty Crops Summer Division Meeting June 14. In this conversation they discuss issues facing the fruit and vegetable industry in the state, the quality of their crop this year and when their U-Pick operation will open to the public.

The Federal Risk Management Agency distributed updated "practical to replant" guidance in response to questions from farmers whose crops were destroyed by recent flooding, particularly rice farmers. In our latest podcast, Brandy Carroll, ArFB assistant director of commodity activities and market information, explains what this guidance could mean for Arkansas farmers.

An interview with Vernon Caviness, an agriculture aviator/cropduster pilot for Bell Ag Service in Des Arc, and photos of Caviness and other aviators in action. Caviness discusses how the recent river flooding affected business, the challenges flight services face and more.