university of arkansas

• By Ryan McGeeney • As world markets slowly unfurl from the global knot of the COVID-19 pandemic, futures markets for both soybean and corn responded in a powerfully positive manner March 31 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual Prospective Plantings Report. The report, conducted by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, reflects producers’ intended acreage for crops across ... Read More »

When Fred Bourland left the family cotton farm in Mississippi County for the University of Arkansas, clear across the state in Fayetteville, he had anything but farming on his mind. “I grew up around cotton,” Bourland said. “When I went to college, I was planning to get as far away from cotton as I could.” But sometimes you just can’t ... Read More »

Improving soil health is in the best interest of Arkansas cotton farmers, but producers use different strategies for doing so. Bill Robertson, Extension cotton agronomist, and Matt Fryer, Extension soil instructor, both with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will moderate an online roundtable discussion with three Arkansas cotton producers about their experiences and methods for managing soil ... Read More »

New editions of the most widely used publications from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are now available and offer the latest research-based recommendations for managing insects, weeds and diseases in row crop agriculture, as well as in fruit, vegetable and garden production. The 2021 publications include: • MP44 — Recommended Chemicals for Weed and Brush Control. • ... Read More »

• 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 »