Arkansas Farm Bureau Podcast

We talk to Ken McDonald, grandson of recent Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame inductee Russell Roy Reynolds, about his late grandfather's accomplishments and tremendous impact on forestry in Arkansas. Reynolds was the director of the U.S. Forest Service Crossett Experimental Forest for 34 years.

We dive into the importance of the NAAS June Agriculture and Area surveys and we discuss upcoming workshops on fire policy and school gardens, as well as the latest planing update and Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation Week.

We begin this week’s podcast with a bit of breaking news about an Senate Ag Committee hearing in Arkansas. We also cover USDA assistance, temporary changes to the CRP program and how Arkansas cattle ranchers can get a step ahead of drought risk this summer.

On this Arkansas AgCast, we’re discussing an opportunity for growers to win some cash while making history, we’ll also give an update on the broadband work being done across the state, a downbeat report for rice growers and much more.

We have the latest on Farm Bill discussions, USDA programs and planting progress in Arkansas. Plus, a new leader at Arkansas Farm Bureau, County Farm Famillies of the Year and more.

5/5/22 - On this episode we discuss planting delays, broadband expansion, and cattle marketing. Share, like and subscribe!

We talk to Heather Friedrich of the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food about the Center’s multi-faceted program that includes classes, farm school and farm apprenticeships.

Though it isn't in Arkansas yet, Avian Influenza has been detected in nearby states and precautions are being taken to prevent its spread into Arkansas poultry. We talk to Arkansas Farm Bureau's John Bailey and Dr. Dustan Clark, Extension Veterinarian and Associate Poultry Center Director with the University of Arkansas, about the danger and the measures being taken to protect poultry in the state.

For this bonus episode of the Arkansas AgCast, Jana Carroll is fresh off her graduation from the American Farm Bureau's Women's Communications Bootcamp. She joins us to share pointers on how to effectively advocate for the agriculture industry in your own voice.

We talk to Nathan Reed of Marianna, recently elected chairman of American Cotton Producers, the grower segment of the National Cotton Council. Reed talks about the organization, the state of the cotton industry and challenges ahead.

On this episode of the Arkansas AgCast, we talk with staff economist, John McMinn, about farmers markets in the state and where you can go to pick your own fresh berries this Spring. We also cover some of the challenges farmers are facing, from input costs to the conflict in Europe with staff economist, Mark Lambert.

We talk about the impacts of inflation and world events on agriculture with Mississippi County farmer Heath Donner and economist and Arkansas Farm Bureau Senior Vice President Matt King.

Jeff Pitchord gives an overview of the General Assembly’s fiscal session, which kicked off last month and is set to wrap up early next week. Jeff covers the funding decisions that impact the state’s agriculture industry and a special change to vehicle assessments that will affect all Arkansans who assess a vehicle.

We dive into FFA Week with Arkansas FFA officers from around the state and get their thoughts on the importance of FFA, its history and the events of the week.

We introduce two siblings based in Little Rock and Pine Bluff who are promoting urban farming and educational efforts throughout the state. They have a unique story and big plans and they sat down with us to talk about how they got started in the urban farming arena and what they hope to accomplish.

Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Jason Brown was on hand for the 28th annual Arkansas State University Agribusiness Conference in Jonesboro this week, where he spoke to Chelsie Keys, GOP Senate Ag policy director, and journalist Jim Wiesemeyer of Pro Farmer/Farm Journal.

In honor of Farm Bureau Week 2022, Arkansas Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Warren Carter talks about what it means to be a member of Arkansas Farm Bureau and all of the important work membership supports around the state.

There's good news and bad news in a recent FDA decision on popular herbicides Enlist One and Enlist Duo, which are often used for controlling pigweed. Brandy Carroll, Director of Commodity Activities and Market Information with Arkansas Farm Bureau, explains the situation and why it's bad news for some western Arkansas. counties.

We check in with Dr. Bill Robertson, Cotton Extension Agronomist at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, to hear about record cotton yields last year and what could lie ahead in 2022. We also get a farmer’s perspective on last year’s cotton crop from Terry Pollard of Piggott.

We explore efforts by Arkansas farmers and ranchers to market directly to consumers and the challenges and opportunities in this space. To get some perspective on the issue, we talked to Karen Reynolds from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and Logan Duvall, owner of Me & McGee Market in North Little Rock.