The Abandoned Pesticide Collection Program was established in 1999 and began in earnest in 2005. Since then, thousands of pounds of unused pesticides have been collected from farmers through special collection events held twice a year. Recently, Lonoke County Fairgrounds hosted one of these events, and farmers dropped off more than 100,000 pounds of unused chemicals. Watch and learn more from Susie Nichols, who oversees the program for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
Construction of the Pump Station in Scott, Ark. for the Bayou Meto Water Management District was completed in 2014. Unfortunately the station's pumps have been idle, as work continues to secure additional funding for construction of the canals and infrastructure needed to deliver Arkansas River water to farms and communities in the district. Once federal and state funding is received, officials hope to complete the project and turn the pumps on, delivering surface water to subscribers in 2026.
At the Faulkner County Library in Conway, patrons can check out more than just books. It's the location of the state's first "seed library," where visitors can check out vegetable and flower seeds, grow them out, then save and donate a portion of the seeds back to the library.
Technology is changing the way farmers irrigate their crops and monitor soil moisture in their fields. Farmers Jacob Appleberry and Jon Carroll say remote soil moisture sensors, which they access with an App on their phones, are helping them conserve water and cut the cost of irrigation.
A variety of industry, education and government experts attended our recent Officers & Leaders conference in Hot Springs. We caught up with a few of these presenters for video interviews, including Farm Service Agency State Executive Director David Curtis and Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Mike Sullivan. Hear what they had to say about disaster recovery, new programs and more.
Listen as Joe Fox, Arkansas’s State Forester, and Seward Hamilton, a training specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, talk about the annual Wildands Fire Academy to train wildlands firefighters. The Arkansas Forestry Commission and U.S. Forest Service team up each year with other state and federal agencies to host this multi-state effort to provide continuing education and training to wildlands firefighters.
We visited Delta Plastics and spoke to owner and chairman Dhu Thompson about the company's recycling technology and how partnerships with farmers play a critical role in the company's success. Watch our latest video to learn more about the unique role this company plays in the agriculture industry.
Rain has created serious problems for many Arkansas farmers, putting many substantially behind on spring planting. Monroe County Farm Bureau President Bo Mason discussed how wet weather has caused delays of a month or more on his 2,500-acre row-crop farm near Brinkley.
Watch a special Earth Day message from A.J. Hood, farm manager of Tillar & Company in Desha County about the use of solar energy. Farmers and ranchers are America’s original environmentalists, and they're producing more livestock, crops, fuel and fiber than ever before while using less water and land, improving biodiversity, and working to conserve more energy, soil and nutrients.
