White House Rural Council Hosts Native American Food and Agriculture Roundtable Discussion

Yesterday, the White House Rural Council hosted a Native American Food and Agriculture Roundtable Discussion, bringing together tribal leaders and experts on Native American agricultural economic development with Administration officials from the White House Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Council on Environmental Quality, and federal agency partners including the  Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Treasury, and the Small Business Administration. Click here to read the full story.

Armyworms in Arkansas Wheat

BY SCOTT AKIN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR & EXTENSION ENTOMOLOGIST, ON APRIL 2ND, 2012

We have been receiving calls on armyworms in wheat throughout the state.  The first visible symptom of armyworm feeding is defoliation in the lower portion of the canopy.  It is not uncommon for these lower leaves to be completely consumed before they make their way up the plant.  Because these pests feed primarily at night, armyworms can often be found under debris, at the base of plants or in cracks of soil.  Check these areas to ensure armyworms are still present and in fact the responsible culprit prior to making a treatment decision. Click here to read the full story and see a picture of the armyworm.

Prescribed Grazing System and Watering Facilities Keep Cattle Farm Running through Drought

The Oliphnants have 60 cows, as well as calves, on 200 acres in Benton County. They received assistance from NRCS to install new watering facilities and implement rotational grazing practices, as well as install underground piping, all of which, they say, saved them from having to sell off all their cattle during the drought. Two of the three ponds on their property dried up from the lack of rain, but with NRCS’ help, the brothers were able to continue watering their cattle and pastures.  Click here to read the full story.

Record-High Food Prices Boost Farmers' Bottom Lines

Thanks to high commodity prices and surging productivity, U.S. farmers earned a net income of nearly $98 billion last year — a record, according to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

Those strong earnings are helping boost the demand for farmland. In the past year, even as most Americans struggled with falling home prices, farmers saw spikes in the price of land used for agriculture.  Click here to read the full story.

Farmers Face Tough Choice On Ways To Fight New Strains Of Weeds

Farmers are fighting one of the most irrepressible of the new superweeds. It's called Palmer amaranth, known to the locals here as pigweed.
Palmer amaranth can grow 3 inches a day. A single plant can release close to a million seeds. It's a bully; if you let it grow beside cotton seedlings, the poor cotton doesn't stand a chance. Click here to read the full story.

The 2012 Women in Agriculture Educators National Conference

The 2012 Women in Agriculture Educators National Conference will take place at The Peabody in downtown Memphis, Tennessee.
This biennial conference features 3 keynote presentations, over 40 hours of individual concurrent session presentations, a networking reception which includes a poster session, and a pre-conference seminar. Click here to see full schedule of events and register.

Start2Farm.gov Helps Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Get Started

There are hundreds of programs and resources available.  However, sometimes it’s hard to know where to look.  To overcome this challenge, the United States Department of Agriculture has created www.Start2Farm.gov ,an online database connecting beginning farmers and ranchers with available programs and resources. Click here to read the full story.

New Arkansas Division of Agriculture cotton variety exceeds fiber quality expectations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has released a new cotton variety that exceeds current quality expectations for upland cotton. It is the second variety in the last three years from the Arkansas breeding program that raises the bar for cotton fiber quality.  Click here to read the full story.

How To Get Your Goat

Goat is the most widely eaten red meat in the world, accounting for about 70 percent of global consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the country's goat industry is growing, largely because of increasing ethnic diversity among consumers. Goat is common in the cuisines of Mexico, India, Jamaica, Greece and Asia, among others. Click here to read the full story.

Wheat stripe rust

Stripe Rust Found in Arkansas

Wheat stripe rust has been found in Arkansas. On January 20, 2012, Richard Klerk, County Extension Agent in Cross Co. in northeast Arkansas, found stripe rust in a field of an experimental wheat variety that was planted October 6th. Click here to read full story.