Additional Funds Aid Efforts to Remove Feral Hogs from Arkansas |
|
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is pleased to announce that additional funding has been made available to assist with feral hog eradication efforts in Arkansas. Senator John Boozman was instrumental in securing $650,000 in federal funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to implement additional eradication efforts across the state. Additionally, the Buffalo River Conservation Committee (BRCC) allocated $74,960 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services (USDA Wildlife Services) to expand eradication efforts within the Buffalo River watershed.
“We appreciate the efforts of Senator Boozman and the BRCC to provide additional resources that will enable the Department and our partners on the Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force to expand efforts to remove more feral hogs from Arkansas’s croplands, pastures, forests, and wetlands,” said Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture. “
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture will use the federal funds to work with USDA Wildlife Services to implement a statewide feral hog management plan. These efforts will supplement ongoing removal activities, including eradication efforts in 12 Arkansas counties funded through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program.
USDA Wildlife Services will use the funding from the BRCC to purchase additional traps and other equipment to expand trapping efforts within the Buffalo River watershed.
Approximately 30,000 feral hogs have been removed from the state by members of the Feral Hog Eradication Task Force (Task Force) since January 2020. The Task Force was created by the Arkansas legislature in 2017 to create a plan for the eradication of feral hogs in Arkansas and is made up of 21 federal and state agencies and non-government organizations. More information on the Task Force can be found here.
Feral hogs are an invasive species that are especially destructive to agricultural crops, native wildlife, and young domestic livestock. In Arkansas, the latest survey by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that feral swine cause at least $41 million in agricultural damages every year, including $34 million in damages to soybeans, corn, cotton, wheat, hay, pecans, and rice, and $7.3 million in damages to livestock. Landowners experiencing feral hog damage are encouraged to call USDA Wildlife Services at (501) 835-2318 for assistance.
|
|
Arkansas Department of Agriculture Partners for the 2022 Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy |
|
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Forestry Division has partnered with multiple national and state agencies to host the 2022 Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy. The Academy provides necessary training for wildland firefighters. Classes were offered both virtually and in-person and included wildfire management simulations.
This year's academy was hosted at Arkansas Technical University and had 492 attendees from 20 states. For the academy the Forestry Division partnered with the U.S. Forest Service, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Parks Service, and Oklahoma Forestry Services. Learn more about the collaborative effort here.
|
|
Arkansas Farm to School Featured on KATV |
|
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Farm to School and Early Childhood Education Program was recently featured on KATV Channel 7's Good Morning Arkansas promoting the new Harvest of the Season program. Harvest of the Season makes available local and seasonal food posters, materials featuring Arkansas producers, and social media resources to highlight local Arkansas fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, and dairy products.
Program materials are offered at no cost to public and private K-12 schools, early childhood education facilities, and alternative learning environments. Learn more about the program and view the KATV featured segments, here.
|
|
Mock Disaster Event Prepares Southern Forestry Personnel
for Community Recovery Operations
|
|
Urban and community forestry professionals from across the Southeast converged in Jonesboro this week for a unique mock-disaster training event. The training, hosted by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division and the Southern Group of State Foresters, qualified participants to deploy in Urban Forest Strike Teams (UFSTs) following natural disasters nationwide.
UFSTs are comprised of International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborists who respond to areas where community trees have been impacted by a natural disaster. Strike team crews provide tree damage and risk evaluations, as well as resources for obtaining federal assistance. During a real-world training exercise on Thursday, trainees assessed damaged and downed trees in Trumann, where residents continue to recover from tornadoes which devastated the area last winter.
To learn more about UFSTs and view photos from this year’s course, visit the Southern Group of State Foresters’ photo blog and visit the UFST webpage here.
|
|
Arkansas PBS Podcast to Focus on Farm Stress |
|
With funding from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Arkansas PBS is launching The Growing Season, a new monthly agricultural podcast that will follow the stories of six Arkansas farmers throughout the year. Host Ben Dickey will focus on the stressors and struggles that come with each season, and what it truly means to be a farmer today.
Find more information and the series trailer here.
|
|
Arkansas Century Farm Highlight: Dilday Farm |
|
Robert and Ida Blohm were one of seven original families that settled in Stuttgart, Arkansas, with Reverend Adam Buerkle in 1900. One of the earliest rice wells drilled in Stuttgart was drilled on the Blohm Farm in March 1918 and is still functional today. Robert and Ida’s daughter, Emma, passed down the 40 acres her parents originally settled to her nephew, Robert Dilday, in 1984. Robert and his wife still own and operate the land today.
Arkansas is home to more than 42,200 farms, of which 96% are family owned and operated. Since the program began in 2012, 526 farms have been certified. Find a list of previously inducted Arkansas Century Farm families here.
If your family has owned and farmed the same land for at least 100 years, you may qualify for recognition as an Arkansas Century Farm. Applications for 2022 inductees are due May 31 and can be found here.
|
|
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is Hiring! |
|
Are you passionate about Arkansas agriculture? With many new and exciting career opportunities, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture is looking for highly motivated individuals to bring their passion for the Arkansas agriculture industry to the workplace.
|
|
2022 Arkansas Grown
Poultry is the largest sector in Arkansas agriculture, which is why the Arkansas Poultry Federation is investing in the industry's future. Last year, the Federation awarded $156,500 in scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year to 24 undergraduate and 20 graduate students in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Read more about the Poultry Federation's Allied Industries Scholarship Program and how they're working to improve the future of the industry in the 2022 edition of Arkansas Grown. You can view the magazine online here, or find a physical copy at various locations around the state.
|
|
Buffalo River Conservation Committee Site Tours |
|
Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture, along with Senator Missy Irvin, and members of other state and federal agencies toured sites within the Buffalo River Watershed that received project funding through the Buffalo River Conservation Committee. |
|
Amy Lyman, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Karen Reynolds, Program Manager-Marketing, are attending the 2022 National Restaurant Association Show to promote Arkansas Grown and Arkansas Made products to vendors across the U.S. |
|
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture donated plastic water bottles to Madelyn Lawson at Crestwood Elementary School in North Little Rock to highlight the importance of staying hydrated. Pictured are Madelyn and Brandi Reynolds, Agriculture Program Manager, Pesticide Section. |
|
At the Arnold Family Farm near Alma, Apiary Inspector Jacob Bates spoke with kindergartners about the importance of bees and their role in our environment. |
|
Toni Brown and Nicole Blanks with the Natural Resources Division hosted an informational booth at the Arkansas Rural Development Summit. |
|
Forestry Division staff members Cody Mallory (left) and Shane Cooper (right) are on fire detail with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in West Texas working as first responders for ongoing wildfires. |
|
New Resources, Trainings, & Opportunities |
|
New Resources from the National Agricultural Law Center
Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference
The Ninth Annual Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference will be held on June 10, 2022, in Memphis, TN with an online option available. Those who register by May 22 are eligible for the online “Bonus Continuing Legal Education (CLE)” sessions which will take place on May 24. The "Bonus CLE" program has been approved by the bars of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee for 2 hours of CLE credit. Missouri has approved this portion of the program for 2.4 hours of CLE credit.
The main conference in June has been approved for 6 total hours of CLE in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee including one hour of ethics. It has been approved for 7.2 total hours of CLE in Missouri, including 1.2 hours of ethics. Find more conference details here.
Upcoming Webinars:
Recent Blog Posts:
|
|
Most Crop Per Drop Irrigation Yield Contest Now Open |
|
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s annual Most Crop Per Drop irrigation yield contest is now open to Arkansas rice, soybean, and corn producers. The contest rewards participating growers who achieve the greatest yield while using the least water.
Cash prizes will be awarded to top winners in the corn and soybean divisions: $6,000 to first-place winners; $3,000 for second place; and $1,000 to the third-place winner. The Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Promotion Board and the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board are providing the prizes.
Rice growers, for the first time, can compete in one of two divisions — Furrow Irrigated Rice or Flood. Winners in each rice category will receive prizes provided by Ricetec:
- First place — Hybrid seed superbag (40 units) valued at $11,000
- Second place — 26 seed units valued at $7,260
- Third places — 14 units valued at $3,740
Read more about the contest and how the Division of Agriculture is working to improve irrigation efficiency in the 2022 edition of Arkansas Grown. Read more about the contest rules and deadlines here.
|
|
2021 Arkansas Forest Fact Sheet Now Available |
|
Each year the Forestry Division’s Forest Inventory and Analysis crew collects data from permanent plots established in the 1950’s and analyzes that data to create annual Arkansas Forest Fact Sheets. These fact sheets include information on the constantly changing forest land in our state, with data on Arkansas’s forest make-up, growth, removal, disturbances, and more!
Find the 2021 Arkansas Forest Fact Sheet here.
Learn more about the work done by Forest Inventory and Analysis crew here.
|
|
Scholarships from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture |
|
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division and the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) are partnering to provide funding for incoming freshman pursuing a forestry degree at UAM’s College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources.
In addition, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture is pleased to provide funding to help deserving students further their education and prepare for potential careers in agriculture, our state’s largest industry. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture Scholarship for Agriculture Majors is available to students majoring in agriculture or an agriculture-related field at certain Arkansas universities.
Find details on both scholarships here.
|
|
White House Announces More Funding for USDA Program
Supporting Domestic Fertilizer
|
|
In March of 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans for a $250 million grant program that will support American fertilizer production to supply American farmers. This week, President Biden announced plans to double the funding for the program to lower costs and boost availability for farmers. This is in response to rising fertilizer costs across the U.S.
The program will support fertilizer production that is independent, made in America, innovative, sustainable, and farmer-focused. Details on the application process will be announced in the summer of 2022, with the first awards expected before the end of 2022. Read more here. Read more about the recent funding boost here.
|
|
NASS to reach out to Arkansas producers on 2022 crops, stocks, and values |
|
During the next several weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will contact nearly 1,700 producers across Arkansas to determine crop acreage and stock levels as of June 1, 2022. In addition, NASS will collect information from farmers and ranchers from randomly selected land area segments across the state.
Producers can respond to the June Agricultural Survey online here, by phone, or through mail. They will be asked to provide information on planted and harvested acreage, including acreage for biotech crops and grain stocks. For the June Area Survey, agency representatives will interview farm and ranch operators in randomly selected segments over the phone. Producers will be asked to provide information on crop acreage, grain stocks, livestock inventory, land values, and value of sales.
NASS will analyze the survey information and publish the results in a series of USDA reports, including the annual Acreage and quarterly Grain Stocks reports June 30, 2022. Survey data also contribute to NASS’s monthly and annual Crop Production reports, the annual Small Grains Summary, annual Farms and Land in Farms and Land Values reports, various livestock reports, including Cattle, Sheep and Goats, and Hogs and Pigs, and USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
These and all NASS reports are available at nass.usda.gov/Publications/. For more information, call the NASS Delta Regional Field Office at (800) 327-2970.
|
|
USDA Farm Service Agency 2022 Virtual Outreach Meetings |
|
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA) has finalized their virtual outreach meetings for 2022. These virtual trainings serve as a way for USDA-FSA to get vital program information, such as deadlines, eligibility requirements, and more into the hands of producers.
Thursday, May 26, 10:00 - 11:00 A.M. – Youth Loan Program
Special Speaker – Wes Ward, Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture, will provide an update from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. Virtual meeting here. For audio only call 202-650-0123 and enter code: 307 597 909#.
Thursday, June 23, 10:00 - 11:00 A.M. – COC Election Overview
Special Speaker - Doris Washington, State Executive Director – Farm Service Agency. Committee members are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA. Learn more about how you can participate. Virtual meeting here . For audio only call 202-650-0123 and enter code 783 560 535#.
Thursday, August 25, 10:00 - 11:00 A.M. – Conservation Reserve Program
Special Speaker: Shane Booth, District Forester, Arkansas Department of Agriculture's Forestry Division. Find out how these programs work to address a large number of farming and ranching related conservation issues. Virtual meeting here. For audio only call 202-650-0123 and enter code 980 012 680#.
Thursday, September 29, 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. – Beginning Farmer and Heir Property Education
Special Speaker: Rusty Rumley, Senior Staff Attorney, U of A Division of Agriculture. Learn how to obtain a farm number and Heir Property documentation needed. Virtual meeting here. For audio only call 202-650-0123 and enter code 740 167 816#.
|
|
NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant Proposals
|
|
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced approximately $300,000 in funding available through the state Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies within Arkansas.
State, tribal, and local governmental entities, non-governmental organizations, and individuals may apply. Project proposals must be submitted by June 8, 2022 and should demonstrate the use of innovative technologies or approaches to address a natural resource concern. Project results are expected to improve and create conservation technologies, management systems and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems).
Selected applicants may receive grants up to 50 percent of the total project cost. Individual grant awards may not exceed $75,000 in FY 2022. Applicants must provide non-federal matching funds for at least 50 percent of the project cost. Of the non-federal matching funds, a minimum of 25 percent must be from cash contributions; the remaining 25 percent may come from in-kind contribution.
Find more information and application details here.
|
|
Arkansas Department of Agriculture's
Annual Report
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report provides information about the Department and how it served Arkansas agriculture, our state's largest industry, from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Click here to view the 2021 Annual Report. |
|
Weekly Market Summary
Each Friday, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture publishes a comprehensive Weekly Market Summary, which includes the Arkansas Weekly Livestock Auction Summary and Related Individual Market Sale Summaries, National Weekly Rice Summary, Memphis Weekly Feed Report, Weekly Rice, Grain, Cotton, and Feed Futures Trends, Weekly Livestock and Milk Futures Trends, Bid Prices to Farmers, Arkansas Daily Grain Report, Heading Links for Historical Data, and news.
|
|
Follow us on social media!
For the latest in Arkansas agriculture, be sure to follow us on social media! Links to our social media pages can be found here.
|
|
Arkansas AG Facts: Arkansas Beef Month |
|
- Arkansas has 925,000 head of beef cows and 1,770,000 head of cattle and calves.
- There are 25,372 farms with cattle and calves and 23,036 farms with beef cows in the state of Arkansas.
- Arkansas has cattle production in each of the state's 75 counties.
- The state of Arkansas ranks 11th in the nation in the production of beef cows and 17th in the nation in the production of cattle and calves.
- Cattle and calves consistently rank among Arkansas's top five agricultural commodities in cash receipts, valued at more than $452 million.
- Arkansas exports beef and beef products totaling more than $55.2 million to trade partners around the world.
- Beef is a good source of high-quality protein and other essential nutrients including iron and zinc.
|
|
Upcoming Agriculture Events |
|
Opt-in to receive email notifications (board meeting notices, newsletters, etc.)
from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
