university of 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 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 »

For the second straight year, Arkansas’ “ginning season” may go into extra innings. Despite the wet weather delays, growers had good reason to be optimistic about their 2019 crop, said Bill Robertson, Extension cotton agronomist, and Scott Stiles, Extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The optimism is palpable, taking the form of a bale backlog ... Read More »

Arkansas cotton growers may remember 2019 as one of their better years, despite a downward revision of expected yields, said Bill Robertson, extension cotton agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. In October, the National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast Arkansas’ average yield at 1157 pounds per acre, but in November revised that downward to 1,102 pounds per ... Read More »

After a mild weekend of sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s, much of Arkansas found itself dealing with widespread rains and falling mercury throughout Monday. Tuesday, Nov. 12, the state awoke to a morning that declared itself as “winter” in no uncertain terms. The National Weather Service described Little Rock’s post-sunrise temperature as “22, feels like 9” degrees ... Read More »

When relentless spring rains pushed the planting window wide open, entomologists predicted problems for Arkansas row-crops. That has certainly proven true for the state’s late-planted cotton, soybeans and rice, said Gus Lorenz, Extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Cotton Most of the state’s cotton is now past five nodes above white flower, plus 250 heat ... Read More »

Growers Tap Cover Crops And No-Till To Aid Soil Health, Cut Input Costs • By Vicky Boyd, Managing Editor • Pigweed was getting the better of Adam Chappell in 2010 when he decided he had to rein in weed control costs if he and his brother were to stay in farming. He turned to cover crops combined with no-till farming. ... Read More »