Arkansas Century Farm Program Honors 46 Farms from 30 Counties
Governor Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward inducted 46 Arkansas farms into the Arkansas Century Farm Program at the State Capitol on Monday, October 28th.
The Arkansas Century Farm Program recognizes Arkansas’s rich agricultural heritage and honors families who have owned and farmed the same land for at least 100 years.
Successful applicants receive a personalized certificate and metal sign identifying their historical farm. Including the 2019 inductees, 464 farms have been certified since 2012.
Thanks to all who came out to support farmers and the Arkansas Century Farms Program!
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Veterans 4 Ag Summit
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, and Arkansas Farm Bureau are jointly organizing the Veterans 4 Ag Summit.
The summit will be held on November 14th from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Doc Bryan Student Service Center on the Arkansas Tech campus. Register for the event
here.
Various agriculture and veteran’s organizations will be on hand to provide attendees with networking opportunities and the chance to speak one-on-one with industry partners.
The event will offer panel discussions and speakers that will help prepare military veterans for potential careers in the agriculture field, while educating them about employment opportunities that surround the agriculture industry. The combined impact from Arkansas agriculture is more than $21 billion annually, with roughly 1 in 6 jobs in the state connected to agriculture.
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More than $1.5 Million Provided to Arkansas Fairs in 2019 to Support Agriculture
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture provided $1,520,798 in funding to Arkansas fairs in 2019. This funding includes $669,000 in premium funds and $792,000 in construction funds to county and district fairs, the Four States Fair, and the Arkansas State Fair.
“We are proud to support fairs and youth programs in Arkansas that provide opportunities to showcase Arkansas’s largest industry that contributes $21 billion annually to the state’s economy,” said Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward. “These funds help encourage our youth, the future of the agriculture industry, to be more involved and continue the success of the industry.”
In 2019, more than 57,000 exhibitors, including youth participating as junior exhibitors, participated in Arkansas fairs. The funding provided to the State 4-H Association, Arkansas FFA Association, the Arkansas High School Rodeo Association, and to Miss Arkansas Rodeo helps to reimburse the expenses incurred by student members representing the state at national conferences and events outside of Arkansas.
The statewide fair premium funds are paid annually to help cover costs of fair operations and general maintenance. Construction funding is paid to counties every other year to cover routine maintenance and/or improvements to fair facilities. Full press release can be found
here.
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It's Arkansas Soybean Month!
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Arkansas Farm to School Month
Governor Asa Hutchinson
proclaimed October as
Arkansas Farm to School
Month during a celebration at the Capitol on October 15. The winners of the School Garden Contest, sponsored by
Farm Credit of Western Arkansas
,
Farm Credit Midsouth
, and
AgHeritage Farm Credit Services
, were announced and presented with their award. Winners included:
- Pike View Early Childhood Center, Best Overall Garden, $1,000 award
- Marshall School, Best Community Collaboration Garden, $500 award
- Forest Park Elementary School, Best Environmental Education Garden, $500 award
- Sheridan Intermediate School, Best Nutrition Education Garden, $500 award
- Springdale High School, Best School Garden Start-Up Proposal, $500 award
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State Plant Board Issues Fines for Violations of
Dicamba Laws
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Plant Board met on October 23 and fined a Missouri farmer $105,000 for nine violations of Arkansas laws and regulations regarding the use of dicamba in 2018.
The Plant Board found that the farmer had committed four egregious violations by allowing dicamba drift and using dicamba after April 16, the cutoff date for dicamba in effect in 2018.
More information can be found
here.
Public Hearing on Dicamba Proposal: December 11, 9:30 a.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel in West Little Rock
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9th Annual Cornbread Festival
Arkansans headed to SoMa on October 26
th
to experience the
award-winning Cornbread Festival. A booth staffed by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture,
along with booths featuring local brews and food from area restaurants, were featured in the South Main community. Governor Asa Hutchinson also made a stop at the festival. Congratulations to Janet Henderson, the winner of the Cornbread Festival basket from the Arkansas Grown program!
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Farmers Interested in Livestock Workshop
A Beginning Farmer Livestock Workshop, sponsored by the National Center for Appropriate Technology
Southeast
, was held October 4th on the
Wholly Cow Farm
s
in Judsonia. It
covered a wide range of subjects for those who are new to the field. Tours of Wholly Cow Farms and
3D Farms of Judsonia LLC
provided information on several programs and practices that are used on the farms.
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Homegrown by Heroes Member Hosts
Arkansas Young Professionals
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Damon Helton, a Farm Credit member and owner of Olde Crow General Store, hosted the Farm Credit of Western Arkansas Young Professionals Group (YP). Damon shared his story as a veteran and first-generation farmer and his experience using Farm Credit of Western Arkansas's military loan program. He also gave YP members the chance to tour his operation at
The Farm at Barefoot Bend
.
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Downtown on the Farm
The Department hosted a booth at the first “Downtown on the Farm” festival hosted by the Arkansas Rice Federation on October 27. The event provided an up-close agricultural experience in the heart of Little Rock and featured live music, food trucks, pumpkin painting, a petting zoo, and pony rides. Attendees had the chance to climb on tractors, pet an alpaca, and see what local farmers had to offer.
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Invasive Species Outreach at DNW Outdoors
Amy Michael and Bobbie Torrence of Regulatory Services braved the rain to host an outreach booth at the DNW Outdoors Store in Jonesboro during their fall sale on Saturday, October 26. Hunters and outdoorsmen are very valuable scouts in the early detection of invasive species. For example, a Pennsylvania hunter was the first to find Spotted Lanternfly, a severe agricultural and nuisance pest, in the US in 2014. Amy and Bobbie spoke with over 100 shoppers about different invasive species of concern, how to recognize and report them, and actions they can take to prevent the movement of invasive species.
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Join us for the Arkansas Turkey Week Proclamation by Governor Hutchinson November 26 at
10 a.m. on the steps of the Capitol!
In 2018, Arkansas ranked in the top five nationally for commercial turkeys, raising 31.5 million turkeys.
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Arkansas Grown Magazine
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture exists to serve and promote Arkansas agriculture, our state’s largest industry. Our goal with each edition of Arkansas Grown is to provide you an overview of the breadth and diversity of Arkansas agriculture and the families that make the industry possible.
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*From The National Agricultural Law Center
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Arkansas Ag Fact: Arkansas Turkey Production
- Arkansas produces over 11% of all turkeys in the US.
- The 2017 census showed 470 farms produced turkeys in the state.
- Top turkey producing counties are Carroll, Madison, and Boone county.
- Arkansas turkey production adds $4.6 billion in value to the economy annually.
- Cargill and Butterball, two of the largest turkey companies in the United States, have facilities in Jonesboro, Springdale, Huntsville, and Ozark.
Source: USDA Census
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