university of arkansas

• By Ryan McGeeney • Despite a year dominated by major weather systems run amuck and a global pandemic, most of Arkansas’ major crops came out ahead in 2020, according to a Jan. 12 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Overall, Arkansas growers harvested about 6.74 million acres of commodity crops in 2020, not including fruits and other specialty ... Read More »

• By Mary Hightower • Arkansas’ cotton crop got off to a slow, cool and wet start, endured a pandemic and the remains of two hurricanes, hinted at record yields and inexplicably ended the season with prices hitting a high note. “By May 18, only 47% of the crop had been planted,” Scott Stiles, extension economist for the University of ... Read More »

• By Bill Robertson • Harvest of the final large-plot county variety test was a long time coming with only one location where we were unable to beat the picker to the field. We strive to release yield information as quickly as possible to allow for unbiased comparisons to assist in the variety selection process for next year. Seed providers ... Read More »

An annual conference offering expert insights into managing weed, insect and disease pests in Arkansas crops is moving online. The Arkansas Crop Protection Conference is scheduled for Dec. 1-2 and will feature 22 presentations geared toward growers, consultants and other industry representatives. For crop consultants, the conference carries six continuing education credits. There’s no cost to attend, and participants must ... Read More »

Dr. Fred Bourland was born and raised on a cotton and soybean farm in northeast Arkansas. He began working in cotton breeding as a graduate student at the University of Arkansas in 1970 and has been actively involved in the discipline since then. During a recent webinar, Bourland shared his 50 years’ perspective on cotton. This synopsis highlights some of ... Read More »

In the 1943 musical Oklahoma!, cowboy Will Parker makes a trip to Kansas City in 1906 and is awed by the progress the city has made. He describes his experience in a song that includes the lyrics, “Everything’s up to date in Kansas City. They gone about as fer as they can go.” In the cover article on page 8, ... Read More »

An Oct. 1 online cotton field day will conclude a series of four online commodity field days by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The Division of Agriculture held its research field days online this year to provide Arkansas growers safe, two-way interaction with division researchers and extension specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our virtual format allows us ... Read More »