Faulkner County Agriculture Update
January 19, 2024
General Conditions
Weather

Last week I started off the weather section with "What a crazy night of weather!" as storms rolled through Faulkner County. So this week I will continue that theme with "What a crazy week of weather!" We started off with snow early in the week and then some extreme cold temperatures. Many people were stuck at home because they couldn't get out and about, but most Faulkner County producers were busting ice and feeding. It was a miserable few days, but we finally warmed up a little the last few days to melt some of the snow and ice. Now is a good time to check for any water leaks from busted pipes.

It looks like next week we will warm up, but not before another cold weekend and the possibility of some kind of bad weather on Monday. It also looks like rain will dominate the rest of the week, which that may not be a bad thing as low as river levels have been.

Everybody stay warm and safe out there!
Arkansas River
Drought Monitor
Row Crop
River Valley Rice Production Meeting

The next production meeting is the River Valley Rice Meeting which will be held on February 28, 2024 at Yesterday's in Morrilton.
Arkansas Soybean and Corn Cash and Booking Market Reports

The two links below take you to reports by Brian Deaton, Extension Economist with contributions by Jeremy Ross - Soybean Specialist and Jason Kelley - Corn Specialist.
Beef & Forage
2024 River Valley Beef Conference

The 2024 River Valley Beef Conference will be held at the I-40 Sale Barn on February 20, 2024.
KOMA Beef Cattle Conference

On February 12th & 13th the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture will be hosting the KOMA Beef Conference in conjunction with Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Missouri Extensions. This event will center around beef cattle research updates from each extension service and include keynote speaker, Dr. James Mitchell on risk management. There will be two chances to attend this event, February 12th in Mt. Vernon, MO and February 13th in Poteau, OK. We hope to make this a yearly event with the conference coming to Arkansas in 2025. 
Winter Pond Aeration
by: Scott Jones - Extension Pond Specialist, UAPB

Aeration systems provide tremendous benefits to pond water quality, fish production capacity, fish kill prevention, suppression of some aquatic weed species, and even prolonging the life-span of the pond. A frequent topic of discussion with pond owners is whether or not to operate their aerators during winter.

Without diving too far down a potentially very deep rabbit hole, generally it is beneficial to operate aeration systems all year in Arkansas. That said, for Arkansas, winter is usually the season where aeration provides the least benefit. Electricity costs to run grid-powered motors or compressors, wear and tear on parts that need routine service or replacement, and super-cooling of deep water, particularly when using diffused aeration systems, are considerations owners should weigh. Diffused aeration systems are designed to push streams of bubbles from the bottom of the pond to the surface, creating circulation and injecting oxygen throughout. This circulation prevents thermal layers from developing. Water is most dense at about 39°F. Water warmer or cooler than that will rise to, or stay near, the surface. This is why we see layers of cooler water near bottom during summer, and “warmer” water near bottom during hard winters (especially if ice forms at the surface). The warm-water fish stocked in most Arkansas ponds use the slightly warmer bottom layer as refuge during the coldest parts of winter. If a diffuser keeps the pond fully mixed during winter, water can continue cooling below 39°F. While the risk of freezing a pond solid is not realistic, further reduction of temperatures can increase stress on our warm-water fish species, slightly increasing the risk of mortality and fungal infection especially in catfish. Pond owners with diffused aeration systems can move their diffuser pads to shallow water (25-50% of the max depth of the pond), or run only a portion of their shallower pads while deeper pads are turned off, or deactivate the system completely for the winter to mitigate or eliminate super-cooling deep water.

Most aeration systems (diffusers, fountains, surface pumps, paddle wheels, and circulators) will help prevent ponds from developing surface ice, or at least keep a small area near the aerator ice-free. In colder climates where ponds may have weeks to months of ice and snow cover, maintaining openings in the ice is an important management practice to prevent “Winter Kill” from low dissolved oxygen and harmful gas build-up below the ice. Arkansas rarely experiences prolonged, or thick, enough ice-cover to justify ice mitigation practices.

During periods of hard freezing temperatures, fountains and surface aerators should either be run continuously or removed from the pond completely. Operating these aerators occasionally, on timers, or leaving them in the pond deactivated, could allow them to freeze and sustain damage.

While you are moving, adjusting, or removing your aerators for winter, take time to perform scheduled maintenance according to manufacturer recommendations. Filters need regular inspection and replacement, and motors need periodic maintenance to keep them running at full efficiency.

To summarize winter aeration; it is beneficial to Arkansas ponds with some minor adjustments and considerations from your warm-weather setup, but you will not be missing much if you want to save some electricity and wear/tear by deactivating your system until spring.
Disaster Assistance for 2023 Livestock Forage Losses

Producers in Faulkner and Perry Counties were designated a D3 (extreme drought) on the U.S. Drought Monitor on October 24, 2023, making those counties eligible for 2023 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) benefits on mixed grass forage for grazing.

LFP provides compensation if you suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land or fire on federally managed land.

You must complete a CCC-853 (LFP Application) and the required supporting documentation no later than January 31, 2024, for 2023 losses.

Contact the Conway County USDA Service Center at 501-354-2000 ext. 2 to make an appointment or for additional information or visit fsa.usda.gov.

Deborah Bolin
County Executive Director
Conway/Faulkner/Perry and Van Buren County Farm Service Agency
Here is this weeks Cattle Market Notes Weekly
Livestock Market Report

The weekly livestock market report is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website.
Pesticide Applicator Training
There are two PAT trainings scheduled for Faulkner County. All trainings will be held at the Extension Office located at 844 Faulkner Street in Conway.

The dates are:
March 12, 2024 - 6:00 pm
May 14, 2024 - 2:00 pm

To register you can call the office at 501-329-8344 or email my administrative assistant Mindy Beard at rbeard@uada.edu.

The training will cost $20. If you bring a check please make it out to Faulkner County Extension Office.

The online course is still an option also. If you want to use the online options, the link is below.

If you happen to miss ours, I have a flyer below with the dates and places of the ones in Conway and Perry County also.
Upcoming Events
Pesticide Applicator Training - March 12, 2024 at 6:00 pm and May 14, 2024 at 2:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street Conway. To register call 501-329-8344 or email Mindy Beard at rbeard@uada.edu.

KOMA Beef Cattle Conference - February 12, 2024 in Mt. Vernon, Missouri and February 13, 2024 in Poteau, Oklahoma.

River Valley Beef Conference - February 20, 2024 at the Ozark Sale Barn in Ozark Arkansas.

Rice Meeting - February 28, 2024, Yesterday's in Morrilton.
Contact Kevin Lawson, County Extension Agent–Agriculture, Faulkner County | Kevin Lawson