arkansas

Arkansas cotton gins may still be a long way from the heyday of the year 2000, when 86 gins across the state processed the fiber of 1.2 million cotton acres. But as both acreage and production increased in 2019 for the fourth consecutive year, growers did at least have one additional facility to help move their products to market. The ... Read More »

• By Carroll Smith, Editor • In the midst of the ongoing global pandemic, farmers get up every day and head to the fields to plant their crops. They don’t have the luxury of waiting for the crisis to pass. Farming, along with the companies that support the profession, is deemed an essential business that provides quality food and fiber ... Read More »

After 32 years of crop consulting, you would think this business would run like a well-oiled machine. To the contrary, running a company with predominantly 18- to 25-year-old employees is much like running a house full of teenagers. Always expect the unexpected! The DonnyBrook! I’m sure many people have no idea what a DonnyBrook is or where it originated. I ... Read More »

• By Mary Hightower • Rice prices continued to grow slowly, while the shadow of COVID-19 continued to loom darkly over the world’s cotton industry, according to a report Monday by agricultural economists with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The report, published online at https://bit.ly/AR-Ag-Eco-Impacts2020, was produced by Scott Stiles, Extension economist; Brad Watkins, professor; Bob Stark, ... Read More »

Kent Fountain, a Surrency, Georgia, ginner was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2020 during the NCC’s 2020 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. He succeeds Mike Tate, a cotton producer from Huntsville, Alabama. A member of the NCC’s 2001-2002 Cotton Leadership Class, Fountain served as an NCC vice president from 2016-2018 and an NCC director in 2011. He has ... Read More »

The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame inducted six individuals whose leadership and service have brought distinction to the state’s largest business sector. The newest class represents timber, beef cattle, philanthropy, research, water management, conservation and reclamation, agricultural aviation, banking, civic leadership and outreach to farmers, a reflection of the broad and meaningful impact agricultural leaders have throughout Arkansas. They include ... Read More »

Cotton Farming magazine, in conjunction with sponsor Syngenta, recently recognized Eddy Cates of Marked Tree, Arkansas, as the 2019 Cotton Consultant of the Year. He is the 39th consultant to receive the honor, which is voted upon by previous award recipients. Growing up, Cates loved the outdoors. While in high school, his FFA teacher, Sam Mullins, not only educated him ... Read More »