More information about the Natural Resource Division’s water and wastewater programs can be found here or by contacting Debby Dickson at debra.dickson@agriculture.arkansas.gov or 501-682-0548.

Applications will be accepted through June 15. Students interested in the scholarship can find more information on the UAM website here.

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the 2023 Arkansas Century Farm Program. This program recognizes Arkansas families who have owned and farmed the same land for at least 100 years. Online and printable applications are available here. There is no cost to apply.

Since the program began in 2012, 568 farms have been certified. Find lists of previously inducted Arkansas Century Farm families here.

Contact Beth Moore at 501-539-4027 or beth.moore@agriculture.arkansas.gov with questions. Applications must be received via email or postmarked on or before May 31, 2023, to be eligible for designation as a 2023 inductee. 

March is Farm Safety Month! Last month, Arkansas Farm Bureau offered grain bin safety training to combat grain bin entrapments. Click here to watch Benton Moseley, safety specialist at Mississippi Farm Bureau, highlight the importance of this training and safety on agricultural operations.

March 13 through March 17 was Arkansas Flood Insurance Awareness Week! Flood Insurance Awareness Week creates an important reminder for every Arkansas homeowner to protect their investments through flood insurance.

Flooding can be financially and emotionally devastating, and most homeowners are not protected against the financial costs of flood damage. Just one inch of water in a home can cause $25,000 or more in damages. Visit here for more information on flood insurance.

As part of Flood Insurance Awareness Week, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Division staff hosted a Managing Floodplain Development event in West Little Rock on March 13.

Visit here to learn more about the Poultry Feeding Operations Registration Program.

2023 Arkansas Grown Magazine

A comprehensive, hands-on approach to agricultural education is crucial to the future of the industry. The United States Department of Agriculture AgDiscovery Program offers that benefit to high school students across the country.

Read more about the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's involvement in the AgDiscovery Program in the 2023 edition of Arkansas Grown. You can view the magazine online here, or find a physical copy at various locations around the state! With more than 25 features about Arkansas agriculture, there's something for everyone.

On March 15, the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) met at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. During the meeting, Department staff presented the 2022 Arkansas Groundwater Protection and Management Report, an update on American Rescue Plan Act funding, and discussed the financial assistance decision making process.

The Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs is hosting the "Tree Cycle" exhibit that explores art and science inspired by Arkansas trees. Every Saturday in March, Forestry Division employees will be handing out seedlings to museum visitors. On Saturday, March 11th roughly 700 seedlings were distributed!

Keith Stock, county forester for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Forestry Division, attended the Bearden School STEM Night to talk to students about a career in forestry. Stock explained wildfire equipment and demonstrated a fire shelter.

Billy Clayborne, Forestry Division county ranger, participated in chainsaw training.

Forestry Division staff observed leaf identification at the FFA forestry competition on the Arkansas State University campus in Jonesboro.

Smokey Bear and Forestry Division staff in Miller County visited students in Blevins to discuss fire safety.

Introducing The Feed:

The body of laws, policies, and regulations affecting agriculture is vast and fast-changing, but the National Agricultural Law Center has introduced The Feed, a biweekly newsletter aimed at keeping industry professionals up to date.

Content is written by research attorneys but is designed for non-attorneys as well. Find recent issues of The Feed here.

Upcoming Webinars:

Recent Blog Posts:

Arkansas Bee Day will be held on April 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bemis Honey Bee Farm in Little Rock. If you have an interest in beekeeping, make plans to attend. Admission is free, but don't forget to bring safety gear! Follow Arkansas Bee Day on Facebook or visit here to learn more.

Applications are now open for the AgDiscovery program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). This two-week summer outreach program aims to help students learn about careers in animal science, veterinary medicine, agribusiness, regulatory science, and plant pathology.

Participants, ages 14-17, live on UAPB’s campus and learn about agricultural science from university professors, practicing veterinarians, and professionals working for the U.S. government. Students chosen for AgDiscovery participate in hands-on labs, workshops, field trips, and other activities. The program is sponsored by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The application deadline is March 31, 2023. Find more information and application instructions here. Read about the 2022 AgDiscovery program in this year's edition of Arkansas Grown here.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service's March Garden Guide is available here. This guide provides information on vegetables and flowers that can be planted this month. This information is for the state of Arkansas as a whole, but for specific questions about planting in your area, reach out to your local county agent. Find your agent here.

Once again, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation (AWF) and Creative Ideas have come together to promote wildlife education through the arts in the annual Wildlife of Arkansas Student Art Contest. For the 2023 contest, students from kindergarten through 12th grade will submit artwork online through a portal on the AWF website, found here. Applications will be accepted through March 31.

The Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services is now accepting applications for the Summer 2023 MyARInternship. This internship offers a wide variety of career fields to experience such as finance, social work, technology, public health, engineering, business, public safety, communications, education, research, cybersecurity, compliance, legal, marketing, environment, administration, real estate services, tourism, and emergency management. Find eligibility requirements and more information here.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Southwest Research and Extension Center will host a workshop on high tunnel production in Hope on March 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Topics will include the EQIP High Tunnel Incentive Program, crop selection and sustaining productivity, a Q&A with horticulture specialists, and much more. There is no cost, but pre-register to reserve a spot. Pre-register online here or by calling the Hempstead County Extension Office at (870) 777-5771.

Do you know of a teacher doing a great job with Ag in the Classroom? You can nominate them for Arkansas Ag in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher of the Year! Nominations are open until April 1. For more information or to download an application click here.

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report provides information about the Department and how it served Arkansas agriculture, our state's largest industry, from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Click here to view the 2022 Annual Report.

There's still time to respond to the Census of Agriculture, a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even small plots of land - whether rural or urban - growing fruit, vegetables, or some food animals count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the Census year. For America's farmers and ranchers, the Census of Agriculture is their voice, their future, and their opportunity. Watch Secretary Wes Ward's message on the ag census here.

Although the deadline has passed, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will continue to accept completed census questionnaires through the spring. For more information, click here.

Find the latest ag census information here.

The Nationwide Farmer, Rancher, and Forest Manager Prospective Customer Survey is now open. This survey reviews your general views and interactions with the following U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies: Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA). The survey is voluntary, anonymous, and takes around ten minutes to complete. Find the survey and more information here.

Farmers and landowners have until March 31 to apply for funding consideration during the 2023 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) classic enrollment period. Producers in portions of Greene, Craighead, Lawrence, and Jackson counties will also have the opportunity to apply for CSP in the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI)-West Craighead project area. CSP offers additional opportunities to expand on existing conservation efforts by offering conservation practices, enhancements, bundles, and other conservation activities.

For additional information about CSP, contact your local USDA Service Center here.

To apply, producers should contact their local USDA Service Center, which can be found here. Additional information can be found here.

The Southern U.S. Trade Association (SUSTA) is a non-profit organization that facilitates trade between small to medium-sized southern U.S. companies and overseas importers. Since 1973, SUSTA has worked with Departments of Agriculture to increase the export of southern U.S. food and agricultural products and enhance the economic well-being of the region.

SUSTA will host a webinar titled Tools for Exporting Success on March 29 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. CST. This webinar provides new-to-export companies a high-level overview of the steps required to successfully export products abroad. Participating companies will learn practical export fundamentals and have a better understanding of the general export process. This webinar is free of charge for SUSTA participants. Register for the webinar here.

SUSTA's Export Readiness Training provides agribusinesses the tools to create a successful international marketing strategy. During training, participants will assess their capacity for exporting, identify key foreign markets and learn practical export fundamentals so they can confidently export their products. Originally scheduled for March, this training was pushed back to May.

There is a $150 participation fee which includes the following modules to be conducted via Zoom (8:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. CST):

The summary is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Market Reports webpage, as well as each Division's webpage and Facebook page, and you may sign-up to receive the summary by email at Subscribe To Notifications And Publications.

For the latest in Arkansas agriculture, be sure to follow us on social media! Links to our social media pages can be found here.