Scattered to numerous thunderstorms will begin moving across the region on Wednesday, with some storms capable of producing hail and strong wind gusts. On Thursday, another round of strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible from late afternoon into the overnight hours when large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes will all be possible.
This selfie above China's balloon was taken over Missouri. Here's how we know that
It's arguably the greatest selfie ever taken. A pilot aboard the Air Force's legendary U-2 spy plane is looking down at China's alleged spy balloon as it hovers somewhere over the United States.
The photo, taken on Feb. 3 and released by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, has reportedly reached legendary status inside the Pentagon.
But where, exactly, was it taken?
Department Of Defense
A U.S. Air Force pilot looked down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental United States February 3, 2023. The pair was flying over Bellflower, Missouri.
Mitchell: We haven’t reached the bottom yet in U.S. cattle inventories
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. — The decline in the cattle inventory in the United States probably hasn’t hit the bottom yet, said James Mitchell, extension livestock economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Mitchell was among the presenters last Friday at the Little Red River Beef Cattle Conference at the Cleburne County Livestock Auction.
Extension ag economist James Mitchell talks markets at the Little Red River Beef cattle conference in Heber Springs, Arkansas, on Feb. 17, 2023. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)
Drought during 2022 prompted many ranchers to liquidate herds, being unable to find hay to feed their cattle.
“Have we found the bottom? No,” Mitchell said. “It will be 2025 until we see any significant expansion on a national level. In terms of any national impact, we’re not done with herd liquidation. All the hay we were hoping to get did not arrive. I don’t think people are quite done selling cows.”
Mitchell noted that beef production has recovered from the pandemic’s precipitous drop in 2020 but is forecast to decline through 2023. With tighter beef production, expect beef prices to be slightly higher, he said.
“The quantity side of this is per-capita beef consumption, which is forecast at 56.3 pounds per person in 2023,” Mitchell said. That number compares with 59.2 pounds per person in 2022 and 58.8 pounds per person in 2021.
“Some are going to quote this as erosion in beef demand. This is not the case. This number is misleading. We should be calling this per-capita availability.”
Per-capita beef consumption is calculated by taking the amount of beef in cold storage, plus production, minus exports, plus exports, divided by the U.S. population.
Consumer spending on beef has not weakened. While not higher-than-$600-a-year in per-capita spending seen in 1980, consumers still spent $449 a year on beef in 2022.
Thinking about the future
Mitchell said ranchers looking to rebuild should do so carefully.
“If you’re going to buy cows — bred heifers — you’re going to need to think about prices you’ll get over the next six to seven years for her to pay for herself,” he said. “We talk about buy low, sell high. If we are buying heifers now, it’s like buying high and hope you’re selling higher.”
Retired livestock market reporter Nicky Pearson and Jerry Holmes, owner of Cleburne County Livestock Auction, conducted a session on market reports and calf grading.
“We’ve all seen the rollercoaster ride,” said Holmes, who has been in the cattle business all his life. He’s the third generation of his family to operate the livestock sales barn.
Pearson said when it comes to the sales ring, ranchers “need to sit in these seats and see what’s happening. See what’s bringing the money. See what you need to do to get the money.”
He said that calves headed to auction that have been castrated and received respiratory vaccinations do much better in terms of sales price.
“Every fall, the mismanaged cattle takes it on the chin,” he said. “The respiratory vaccinations were particularly important later in the year.
“It pays you to do it more in the fall than it does in the spring,” Pearson said. “You need to consider it when you’re marketing in October.”
Commercial Beef Production chart, showing production from 2019 through a Feb. 2023 forecast. (U of A System Division of Agriculture image courtesy James Mitchell)
Van Buren County Extension Staff Chair Danny Griffin noted that the Cooperative Extension Service has GoGreen as a preconditioning program for calves.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
Shipman: Delayed budget could influence development of 2023 Farm Bill
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Uncertainty over President Biden’s budget and whether Congress can achieve true bipartisan agreement are among the challenges facing the 2023 Farm Bill, said Hunt Shipman, principal and director of Cornerstone Government Affairs.
Shipman expects that the good working relationship between Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow and ranking member Sen. John Boozman will help development of the Farm Bill.
The current Farm Bill expires Sept. 30.
“Every Farm Bill is important, and this one is no exception, but it faces unique headwinds in Congress,” Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center, said. “The outcome will define what the farm safety net will look like in the coming years, which impacts farming operations, lenders, and others throughout the ag industry.”
The Farm Bill was among a spectrum of topics Shipman addressed in “Looking Ahead: Impact of the 2022 Elections on Ag Law and Policy,” a webinar hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center in January.
The president isn’t expected to submit his budget to Congress until March 9. By statute, the budget is due the first Monday in February.
Shipman said the delay “may also influence the timing of the ‘23 Farm Bill being able to truly get underway.”
In an email after the webinar, Shipman said “the desire by some in Congress to cut spending will require some negotiation among the House, Senate and White House to reach an overall spending agreement that likely includes a debt ceiling increase. That agreement will be necessary for the ag committees know exactly what they've got to work with.”
Oversight
In addition to timing, budget oversight will be a major issue for Congress, and Shipman cited rural broadband efforts as an example.
“As we think about other areas that have been of interest in past Farm Bills — rural development, broadband — continues to be a focus,” he said. “If you look at some of the analyses that have been done, there are 133 broadband programs administered by federal agencies … that have spent well over $115 billion to ostensibly expand broadband access in the country.”
Shipman said there’s talk about additional broadband support in the next Farm Bill and expects “close scrutiny as to whether or not the dollars that have been already allocated for that have been spent wisely and in the most efficient manner possible.”
Additionally, “I don't think it's going to get easier to write a Farm Bill in 2024 with an election year looming over us,” he said. “But we've done it in the past, and we may do it again this time.”
Working together
Two factors that may encourage moving the Farm Bill forward are the members of the congressional agriculture committees and the impending retirement of Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
“We’ve got the same four leaders of the agriculture committee that we had in the last Congress just changing roles on the House side, with G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania taking over as chair, and Sen. Stabenow remains chair of the Agriculture Committee in the Senate, and then the ranking member, it’s Sen. (John) Boozman from Arkansas,” Shipman said.
“After much of the negotiation that happened in the last Congress, I think for them to work together, they now know each other well and hopefully will be able to move forward for a Farm Bill,” he said. “Whether or not there can be true bipartisan agreement on that … we have the foundation for that between Sen. Stabenow and Sen. Boozman.”
Shipman also said that Stabenow announced that she won’t seek re-election in 2024.
“This will be her last Farm Bill,” he said. “I think that’s important to note because she has certainly made her mark on previous Farm Bills and I think she will definitely want to leave with an impactful role on the Ag Committee.”
Shipman also fielded questions about nutrition and insurance programs, as well as industrial hemp.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
Arkansas governor’s education package advances to Senate
KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate, Hunter Field / Arkansas Advocate
The Senate Education Committee after more than five hours of testimony Wednesday approved Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sweeping education plan over bipartisan calls for amendments.
Dozens of teachers, students, parents and administrator groups testified at the occasionally tense hearing.
Senate Bill 294, also called the LEARNS Act, is the culmination of Sanders’ chief priority to make wide-ranging changes to the state’s education system. The legislation covers teacher pay, school safety, career readiness, literacy, “indoctrination” and a variety of other topics.
John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate
Sen. Breanne Davis, lead sponsor of Senate Bill 294, which would enact the governor’s education program, looks at Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, right, as he answers questions about the bill during a meeting of the Senate Education Committee Wednesday morning in Little Rock.
Beef cattle inventories drop to lowest levels in more than half century
by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)
Beef cattle inventories across the United States are at their lowest level in more than six decades, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Rising demand will mean long-term price hikes for consumers.
In its biannual cattle report, USDA reported a total of 89.3 million head as of Jan. 1, about 3% lower than the total reported a year ago, and the lowest since 2015. Beef cattle, bred specifically for slaughter and meat sales, declined 3.6%, to 28.9 million head, the lowest total recorded by the agency since 1962.
In “Cattle Market Notes Weekly,” a newsletter focused on the cattle industry, University of Kentucky’s Kenny Burdine and James Mitchell, extension livestock economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the decline came as no surprise.
Electric utilities, solar companies strike compromise on contentious cost-shifting bill
by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)
The House Insurance and Commerce committee spent as much time debating a controversial issue as Senators did with the governor’s education bill on Wednesday (Feb. 22).
HB1370 by Rep. Lanny Fite, R-Benton, pitted electric utilities against the solar industry in a measure called the “Cost-Shifting Prevention Act of 2023.” Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Beebe, is the Senate co-sponsor.
Cost-shifting in any industry is the concern that one group of payers is underwriting the costs of a group not paying their fair share. In this instance, electric utilities claim that businesses and individuals with solar arrays are being paid for their additional power at an amount too high to cover the utilities’ costs.
Arkansas Senate approves limits on gender-affirming care for minors
KUAR | By Josie Lenora
A bill passed by the Arkansas Senate on Tuesday would open physicians up to litigation if they offer gender-affirming care to children.
Senate Bill 199 would give people who received gender-affirming care as a child, including hormones and puberty blockers, a 15-year window to sue their physician.
Its sponsor, Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, said the law would protect young children from the effects of irreversible surgeries and hormone treatments. However, no gender-affirmation surgeries are performed on minors in the state of Arkansas, and young children are not eligible for gender-affirming medical treatments.
Michael Hibblen/KUAR News
Lawmakers voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would allow transgender patients to sue their doctors.
Bill loosening child labor restrictions approved by Arkansas committee
KUAR | By Daniel Breen
Arkansas lawmakers have advanced a bill which would do away with work permits for minors under the age of 16.
House Bill 1410 would no longer require kids under 16 to provide proof of age, a description of their work schedule or parental consent to the state Department of Labor and Licensing in order to get a job.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rebecca Burkes, R-Lowell, said the goal is to limit government involvement in families’ decisions. In a meeting of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee on Tuesday, she reassured lawmakers the bill wouldn’t supersede any existing child labor regulations.
Arkansas Legislature
Rep. Rebecca Burkes, R-Lowell, is joined by Arkansas Division of Labor Director Ralph Hudson in a meeting of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee on Tuesday.
Congress urged to strengthen price, revenue supports, crop insurance programs at Farm Bill listening session
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
MONTICELLO, Ark. — Farmers urged Congress strengthen price and revenue support programs, take a new look at crop insurance and streamline the way for migrant labor during a Farm Bill listening session held Tuesday at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
Sen. John Boozman responds to a comment from the audience at a Farm Bill listening session Feb. 21, 2023 at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. To Boozman's right are Jim Whitaker, Wes Kirkpatrick and Jason Felton. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)
The listening session, one of two held this week by U.S. Sen. John Boozman, ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, drew a standing-room-only crowd to UAM’s agriculture building. On Monday, Boozman held a hearing at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and said later there would be sessions in all four of Arkansas’ Congressional districts.
The listening sessions are important because “the solutions to the problems seem to come from our producers and the people directly related” to agriculture, Boozman said. “We’re working really hard to hear from them so we can come up with a good process.”
Tuesday’s session featured a panel that represented row crop farmers, the timber industry, insurance, banking and community issues. Sharing the front table with Boozman and the panelists was U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman.
Jim Whitaker, a rice grower from McGehee, said “Americans are realizing that food security is national security” and supporting the rice industry “is a worthy investment.”
“The Farm Bill, specifically Price Loss Coverage, is really our true safety net,” Whitaker said, adding that PLC levels the playing field among highly subsidized global competitors. “U.S. farm families cannot compete in such a distorted market.”
PLC provides payments if a commodity price falls below a reference price set in the Farm Bill. ARC, or Agriculture Risk Coverage, provides payments if crop revenue falls below a guaranteed level. While both can help farmers when the markets don’t run in their favor, they are not crop insurance programs.
“With ARC and PLC, you don’t pay a premium,” said Hunter Biram, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Insurance is a risk transfer. For example, when you and I buy car insurance, we’re paying a company to take on the risk, so we don’t incur the full loss of not having a car.
“With crop insurance, a farmer is going to pay a premium to transfer the risk,” Biram said.
Wes Kirkpatrick, a soy, cotton and corn farmer from Desha County, also urged continued support of PLC and ARC.
“Those programs should also be continued, but I also think the reference prices used in those may need to be re-evaluated because of the increases in input costs — drastic increases,” Kirkpatrick said.
Biram said only Congress can change the reference prices.
Conservation programs
Whitaker and Kirkpatrick also sought more support for conservation programs for farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Natural Resources Conservation Service, works with farmers to improve conservation efforts on their working lands through programs such as EQIP, or the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and CSP, the Conservation Stewardship Program.
Because of the expense of implementing conservation efforts on farms, “we believe Congress should prioritize working lands like CSP, EQIP or set-aside programs,” Whitaker said.
Kirkpatrick said not only would he like to see continued funding, but also “we’d really like to see increases.”
Crop insurance
“The crop insurance component of the Farm Bill is where I think most of the work needs to be focused on … so that we have a crop insurance program that works for everybody,” Kirkpatrick said.
The multi-peril insurance plan he purchased provided no help following two floods in 2021. His farm did get help through a replant policy, which was an additional expense. To make things worse, disaster relief payments from those floods were tied to crop insurance settlements, which Kirkpatrick did not get.
“We probably could’ve bought an insurance policy that would have covered us during the flood event, but it likely would’ve been more expensive than what we could afford,” he said.
Kirkpatrick cited an example of the differences between crop insurance prices in the South vs. the Midwest.
“For the same policy, the premium per acre is 5.5 times higher in Desha County than it is in McLean County, Illinois. I think that is where we need to have conversation about some crop insurance,” he said.
“What we do know is that premium rates are calculated based on county-level loss history," Biram said. “Based on this fact, the reason the premium rates are higher in Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta region is because there are more losses in this area relative to the Midwest. The real question is what drives the losses, and can we do anything about it?”
Timber needs new markets
Grant Pace, who represented the timber industry said, “The most important thing is that we need new markets. With 95 percent of our current consumers outside the U.S., I think the new Farm Bill presents a great opportunity for us to fund more research on how our industry can expand current markets.
“We are growing about 23 million more tons a year than we’re harvesting. Without new markets, we’re kind of dead in the water,” Pace said.
Several people said farmers struggled to get labor to their farms and noted that the H2A visa process is becoming more difficult.
“Unfortunately, it is very difficult for our farmers and our loggers to find help,” said Mark Tiner of Union Bank, which works closely with agricultural interests.
“We need immigration reform to make it easier for people who are coming to the country to work,” he said.
Not a one-size-fits all Farm Bill
“Farm Bills aren’t about Republicans and Democrats. It’s all about different regions of the country and different commodities,” Boozman said. “I think the important thing is to make sure that it's not a one-size-fits-all. It just doesn't work that way.
“The good news is that I think Congress really wants to get a Farm Bill. I think they realize how important it is to rural America,” he said.
“The idea that we are dealing with a very, very different situation than we have in the past Farm Bills, with the nature of inflation, these high input rates, which never seem to go down, but commodity prices probably will and so, as a result, it’s just trying to put that all together,” Boozman said.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
Scott recognized for distinguished service to rice research, education
By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — A national body of rice researchers has awarded the Distinguished Service Award to Bob Scott, senior associate vice president – extension for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE — Dr. Bob Scott, Senior Associate Vice President for Extension, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Rice Technical Working Group during the group's biannual conference this week. Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, left, presented the award to Scott after Scott delivered the opening address to the conference on Tuesday morning. (Division of Agriculture photo.)
In his nominating letter, Jeff Edwards, Division of Agriculture department chair for Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, said Scott “has been a strong supporter of the rice industry throughout his career and is highly deserving of this honor.”
Scott has been with the Division of Agriculture for more than two decades. After completing his Ph.D. in weed science at Mississippi State University in 1997 and working in the private sector for five years, Scott worked as an extension weed specialist for the Division of Agriculture from 2002-2018, the final five years of which he also served as director of both the Lonoke Extension Center and the Newport Extension Center. From 2018-2020, Scott served as director of the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart. In 2020, he was named senior associate vice president for agriculture – extension.
Scott received the award during the opening hours of the Rice Technical Working Group’s first meeting in three years — and its first meeting in Arkansas, the nation’s No. 1 rice-producing state — in more than a decade. The meeting brought together more than 300 researchers and rice industry professionals from several states and countries. According to its website, the group meets every other year to share research, plan, exchange information and more.
Scott said the award was unexpected, but welcome.
“I was surprised and honored by this award,” Scott said. “I have been away from RTWG for a couple of years and it was good to see everyone again and receive this honor. When it comes down to it, rice is really a specialty crop, due to its limited acres compared to other crops in the United States, so rice research and extension is a small world. It’s always nice to be honored by your peers.”
The 2023 meeting marks the group’s 39th biennial meeting. Although the group has historically met on even-numbered years, the decision was made in 2020 to postpone the next meeting by three years, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Going forward, the group will now meet on odd-numbered years. The 2025 meeting is scheduled to be held in New Orleans.
Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, presented Scott with the award Tuesday morning. Hardke, who serves as secretary for the Rice Technical Working Group, said he and Scott have worked together since 2012, when Hardke first began work at the Division of Agriculture.
Scott later led the search committee which ultimately hired Hardke for the position of extension rice agronomist.
According to the Rice Technical Working Group’s website, the Distinguished Service Award may be presented to “individuals who have given distinguished long-term service to the rice industry in areas of research, education, international agriculture, administration, and industry rice technology.”
“Bob has worked in the field, in research, and worked in industry with BASF,” Hardke said. “He checks all the boxes.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
UAMS Advances Health Equity with Computer-Guided Study Consent Forms
By David Robinson
LITTLE ROCK — A new software tool developed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will help researchers quickly create consent documents in plain language for their prospective study volunteers.
Called the Informed Consent Navigator, the web-based tool breaks new ground with its ability to guide researchers through the creation of plain-language informed consent forms at an eighth-grade reading level or below. The Journal of Clinical and Translational Science published the Translational Research Institute team’s work in December, drawing immediate interest from several research institutions across the United States.
“This is a big win for health equity and a big achievement for UAMS,” said co-author Mathias Brochhausen, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Informatics.
Pace slows, but homeowner equity still climbing in state
by Paul Gatling (pgatling@nwabj.com)
Arkansas homeowners continue to see their equity climb.
Nearly 38% of all homeowners in the state are equity-rich, according to real estate data provider Attom Data Solutions’ fourth-quarter 2022 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. That’s up slightly from 36.6% in the third quarter of 2022 and up from 28.9% a year ago.
The report also shows that just 5.2% of mortgaged homes in Arkansas, or one in 19, were considered seriously underwater in the fourth quarter of 2022. That’s down from 5.9% a year ago.
https://talkbusiness.net/2023/02/pace-slows-but-homeowner-equity-still-climbing-in-state/
Department of Commerce awards $53 million for high-speed broadband funds
by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)
The Arkansas Department of Commerce announced Wednesday (Feb. 22) that more than $53 million will be awarded to 10 internet service providers in Arkansas to extend high-speed internet in eight underserved counties throughout the state.
This award completes the sixth award phase of the Arkansas Rural Connect broadband infrastructure grant program which is designed to expand the broadband footprint in rural Arkansas communities.
The $53 million investment, combined with $18.8 million in provider matching funds, will result in nearly 5,800 homes and businesses being connected to fast, reliable internet in Ashley, Baxter, Chicot, Clark, Columbia, Hot Spring, Logan, and Lonoke counties.
UA Cossatot Soccer Coach Justin Hinman was the guest speaker at De Queen Lions Club
UA Cossatot Chancellor Steve Cole shared information on the latest enrollment numbers, new educational programs, and collegiate sports added recently at UA Cossatot. Lion Cole introduced Justin Hinman, the new head soccer coach for the Colts and Lady Colts. The soccer program will begin this fall of 2023. Hinman discussed recruiting, scheduling, community involvement, and Samaritan Fields for the new season. The first match is scheduled for mid-August.
Storms and gusty winds expected for Arkansas on Wednesday
A system will be moving through the region on Wednesday which could bring a few strong storms to the area but the overall threat appears to be minimal. The greater concern may be the strong winds that will accompany the system outside of any thunderstorm activity.
Delay pruning woody ornamental plants damaged by winter temperatures
By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
LITTLE ROCK — Woody ornamental plants that suffered damage from this winter’s single-digit temperatures and wind chills shouldn’t be pruned until spring growth begins, said Randy Forst, extension consumer horticulture educator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
WINTER DAMAGE — Due to single-digit temperatures and wind chills reaching into the negatives, many woody ornamental plants in Arkansas — such as the gardenia pictured — suffered damage that may be difficult to spot until new growth begins in the spring. Randy Forst, extension consumer horticulture educator and Master Gardener program coordinator, said gardeners should wait to prune these plants until damage is more evident. (Division of Agriculture photo.)
“February is the month that we usually prune our woody ornamentals,” Forst said. “This year we will have to make an exception to that rule. Usually, woody ornamentals have time to gradually acclimate to winter temperatures, but that did not happen this past winter.”
Woody ornamental plants include gardenias, camellias, shade-loving hydrangeas, and witch hazel family members, the loropetalums and distyliums. Forst said the sapwood, or the young wood of the plant, and the cambium, the layer of the plant that produces new bark, suffered the most damage from the winter temperatures.
Beneath the cambium layer are two important parts of the plant’s vascular system — the phloem, which carries food from the leaves to different parts of the plant, and the xylem, which transports water and other minerals from the roots to the leaves.
“If the nutrient and water transport system is damaged, the true damage to the plant may not be evident until new growth begins the following spring,” Forst said.
Symptoms of winter damage injury can appear as tip and branch dieback – or the progressive death of twigs or branches, starting at the tips – bark splitting, sun-scalding, leaf browning or defoliation.
“Winter damage can also be attributed to secondary issues, such as the branches leafing out normally and then suddenly dying for no obvious reason,” Forst said. “After the damaged plants break dormancy in the spring, you will have a better understanding of what needs to be pruned and how low to go.”
To help minimize winter injury in the future, Forst said he suggested selecting native plants, maintaining adequate soil moisture in the root ball area before the ground freezes, and avoiding late summer or early fall fertilization. “This is the wrong time to encourage new growth,” he said.
Forst also suggested matching plants to their site, avoiding planting broadleaf evergreens in open, windy locations. Mulching the plant will also help conserve moisture and help insulate the root ball.
Forst is also coordinator of the Arkansas Master Gardener program. For more information, contact Forst at rforst@uada.edu, or check out Forst’s blog The Arkansas Garden and follow along on Instagram @TheArkansasGarden.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
‘Homesteading with Independence’ conference planned for March 1
By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture
BATESVILLE, Ark. — Homesteading appeals to those who seek self-reliance and self-sufficiency, so what better place to host a homesteading conference than in Independence County?
HOMESTEADING — Independence County will hosts its first homesteading conference on March 1. U of A Division of Agriculture graphic
The Independence County Extension Office will host the first “Homesteading with Independence” conference on March 1, with experts from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture sharing their expertise in bees, backyard poultry, small ruminants, gardening, food preservation and more.
The event will run 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Independence County Library, 267 E. Main St. in Batesville. Registration begins at 9 a.m., and workshops begin at 9:30 a.m. Space is limited to 75 people, and registration is required. The cost is $20 per person and includes lunch.
“This is our first year to have this conference,” said Julian Carpenter, family and consumer science agent with the Independence County Extension Office, part of the Division of Agriculture. “We have noticed people are becoming interested in learning how to be more self-reliant, and we want to provide the research-based education they may need.”
Experts will offer the following sessions:
Are Bees Right for Me? — Jon Zawislak, extension apiary specialist and assistant professor in urban entomology, Division of Agriculture
Backyard Poultry — Dustan Clark, extension poultry veterinarian and director of John Tyson Center for Excellence in Poultry Science, Division of Agriculture
Small Ruminant Production — Dan Quadros, extension small ruminant specialist, Division of Agriculture
Soil Health — Bill Robertson, retired extension cotton agronomist, now agronomist with CWC Farm
Food Preservation — Julian Carpenter, Independence County extension agent, Division of Agriculture
Growing Your Garden — Michelle Mobley, Independence County extension agent, Division of Agriculture
Choosing Your Enterprise — Carey Robertson, adjunct agriculture instructor, University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville
For more information and to register, contact the Independence County Extension office at 870-793-8840.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
2023 irrigation schools set for Feb. 24, March 3
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Feb. 20, 2023
STUTTGART, Ark. — Two irrigation schools covering surge valves and soil sensor use are scheduled for Feb. 24 and March 3, according to Chris Henry, professor and water management engineer for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
“Last year’s drought is a good reason for farmers to step up their irrigation game,” Henry said. “Using surge valves and soil moisture sensors will help farmers conserve water and be ready to use the water when and where it’s needed most.
IRRIGATION SCHOOLS — Two schools planned to help farmers manage irrigation more efficiently.
The sessions will cover how surge valve functions and how to use them to improve irrigation. Participants also will learn how to properly program and design a computerized hole selection plan using Pipe Planner or surge irrigation. The second half of the school is practical application, where participants will program valves for different conditions.
“The soil moisture school provides an understanding of how the sensors work and how to use them to schedule irrigation,” Henry said.
Registration ends two days before each school. There is no cost to attend, but there is an option to purchase four sensors, a reader and a slide hammer: or just the four sensors. Space will be limited to 20 participants with a minimum of 10 required to hold the school. Walk-ins will be accepted if there is room.
The Feb. 24 session will be held at the Lon Mann Cotton Station, 3121 Highway 1 South in Marianna. To register contact the Lee, Monroe, Phillips or St. Francis county extension offices, or Robert Goodson at 870-995-4505 or Extension Irrigation Program Associate Russ Parker at 870-636-1329.
The March 3 session will be held at the Jackson County Extension Center, 649 Jackson 917, Newport. Contact the Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Poinsett and Woodruff county offices or Parker at 870-636-1329.
The agenda for each school:
9 a.m. — Surge school begins
9:45 a.m. — Hands-on surge controller work
11 a.m. — Soil sensor school begins
Noon — Lunch provided
1 p.m. — Hands-on work with soil moisture sensors
2:30 pm. — Soil sensor installation
3 p.m. — Adjourn
Henry and Parker will be instructors for both sessions.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
Jim Wallis Pledges More Than $100,000 to Elevate UAMS’ Bates Professorship to Endowed Chair
By Andrew Vogler
LITTLE ROCK — Jim Wallis, former president and CEO of ExOK Inc., pledged $102,948 towards the Joseph H. Bates III, M.D., M.S., Chair in Academic Public Health Practice at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Wallis’ gift helped elevate the professorship to a fully endowed chair.
UAMS created the professorship in 2017 to recognize the accomplishments of Joseph H. Bates, M.D., M.S., and his dedication to public health in Arkansas, Wallis’ gift will expand the impact of the Dr. Bates’ significant work and legacy.
The chair’s work stems from the need for physicians to be educated in the discipline of public health to enable them to assume leadership roles in academic public health practice. The chair will support the teaching, research, service and other activities of an academic public health practice leader in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health in furtherance of developing a model of public health practice.
