Arkansas Farm Bureau Podcast

Mark and Shay Morgan of Clarksville, chair of Arkansas Farm Bureau's state Young Farmer and Rancher Committee, addressed the 91st Arkansas FFA Convention in Hot Springs April 24. Hear their remarks in this edition of Arkansas AgCast.

The Arkansas FFA held its 91st convention at the Hot Springs Convention Center April 23-25. It was the final event for Brady Gentry as president and leader of the state officer team. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Brady shares how being president has prepared him for the future and how being involved in FFA helps young people become better citizens and adults.

Tom and Shannon Olson have been raising water buffalo on their Turkey Creek ranch near Texarkana for almost 30 years and they recently hosted a tour for students from Genoa Central High School. In this edition of Arkansas AgCast, Ken Moore visited with Tom Olson and Kimberly Leigh, FFA Advisor and Vo-Ag instructor at Genoa Central about this unique breed and what the students learned from the visit.

Karen Rowe, Arkansas County equine enthusiast and biologist with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, visited with our Keith Sutton about the hordes of buffalo gnats wreaking havoc with horses, livestock, poultry and wildlife in the Delta of eastern Arkansas.

Several hours of subfreezing temperatures the morning of April 8 damaged much of Joey Jamison’s peach crop and likely that of other peach and berry growers in Arkansas. It’s too early to know the full extent of losses, but Jamison says that, while much of his crop was lost, he believes save of his young peaches survived. Watch and listen to learn more.

After reaching critically low levels in the 1990s, water table levels in the Sparta Aquifer in south Arkansas are being recharged thanks to a countywide campaign undertaken by the Union County Water Conservation Board, the local Chamber of Commerce and other area organizations. In this edition of Arkansas AgCast, Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Ken Moore sat down with two of the key leaders of the campaign to save the aquifer to discuss their efforts and the results.

Brett Ausley is a young cattleman producing and marketing Wagyu beef on his family ranch in Hot Spring County. He got into Wagyu about five years ago and he’s selling it directly to consumers through social media and to local restaurants. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, this entrepreneurial young rancher shares what led him to pursue this niche, premium market.

Krista Cupp, vice president of The Herald Group in Washington, D.C. was selected to be the keynote speaker during both days of the Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference in North Little Rock, and with good reason. She's been working for years to help close the gap between food producers and consumers. Hear how she thinks women in agriculture can positively change how farmers and farming are viewed by the world.

President Donald Trump has signed orders imposing new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, excluding Canada and Mexico. According to an analysis conducted by economists with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, if other trade partners inflict a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. grain crops it could mean $383 million in overall value-added losses to Arkansas agriculture. Dr. Eric Wailes, distinguished professor of economics for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, discusses the analysis and why agriculture could be a target for retaliation.

Arkansas cotton farmers have been struggling due to heavily subsidized foreign fiber competition and other factors, but new programs are now available to help. In this interview, Arkansas Farm Bureau's Brandy Carroll provides the details on these programs, sign-up dates and more.

Recently, more than 100 private landowners in southern Arkansas attended a multi-county timber marketing workshop in Calhoun County. They learned the basics of tree identification and estimating the value of their timber. Workshop participants Jaret Rushing, staff chair of the Calhoun County Cooperative Extension Service, and Kyle Cunningham, assistant professor of forestry for the UA System Division of Agriculture, explain what landowners need to know to effectively market their timber and get the most value for their trees.

We recently had an opportunity to sit down with State Forester Joe Fox of the Arkansas Forestry Commission to discuss the state of the industry in Arkansas. Fox reflected on the outbreak of wildfires last year, as well as the employment and economic outlook for the timber and wood products industry in 2018.

Grant County Farm Bureau held a "legislative breakfast" last week where issues such as the “right to farm,” dicamba and education were all discussed. In this conversation, Grant County President Peggy Thomas and State Senator Bruce Maloch share their thoughts on the value and importance of Farm Bureau’s grassroots legislative outreach efforts.

The Seed Survivor mobile classroom program is making the rounds at elementary schools across east Arkansas. The latest stop was Woodlawn Elementary in Cleveland County. The interactive program, provided by Nutrien Crop Production Services, teaches students about the life cycle of plants and how food gets from the farm to their table.

Black vultures are a persistent problem for some farmers around the state. The population of these aggressive vultures has increased in recent years and this has led to an increase in property damage and livestock loss. Learn more about this issue and potential solutions in our latest podcast.

Taylor McNeel of Vilonia is set to graduate from Southern Arkansas University this spring, after taking a year off in 2016 to serve as president of the national FFA organization. Taylor attended the Arkansas Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher conference this past weekend and sat down to discuss her past and future and why it's up to millennials like herself to be the “voice” for agriculture now, not just in the future.

At the recent Arkansas Farm Bureau Forestry Division meeting, we sat down with Max Braswell, executive vice president of the Arkansas Forestry Association, to discuss a ranger of issues, from wildfire prevention and the need for more non-commercial landowners to participate in the association's tree farm program to the overall outlook for the industry in 2018. Listen to our interview to learn more.

A forum to bring all members of the Arkansas equine industry together to address priority issues facing horse ownership has been scheduled for later this year. The forum was a primary topic of discussion at the recent Arkansas Farm Bureau equine division meeting. Steve Jones chairs the division and in this conversation says the forum is needed to help unify the equine community in the state. Max Braswell Executive Vice President Arkansas Forestry Association

Listen to our interview with Arkansas Farm Bureau State Board Member Jon Carroll of Moro as he discusses the work of the Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines Task Force recently formed by the state’s rice industry. Task force members are working together to find ways farmers can voluntarily manage this smoke from field burning to reduce concern about the possibility of any associated health and environmental impacts.

Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach was interviewed on KARN Jan. 8 to talk about NAFTA's effect on Arkansas, guest worker programs and more!