Extension launches new poultry podcast

By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has a new monthly podcast that will be of interest to commercial poultry producers and industry professionals in Arkansas.

UNPLUCKED: The first episode of The Fowl Frontier: Poultry Science Unplucked focuses on biosecurity in light of a recent case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) confirmed in Arkansas. (Division of Agriculture art.) 

“The Fowl Frontier: Poultry Science Unplucked” launched Nov. 8 and is available to listeners free of charge on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or the the Division of Agriculture website at  uaex.uada.edu/fowl-frontier.

Podcast host Zac Williams, poultry science extension specialist for the Division of Agriculture, said the podcast will address issues relevant to poultry producers and professionals who work in allied industries.

The first episode — “Biosecurity and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza” — features guest Dustan Clark, extension poultry veterinarian for the Division of Agriculture and associate director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas. With the recent confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Arkansas, these episodes will provide timely information for poultry producers looking to keep their flocks protected.

“While this episode is mainly aimed at small and backyard flock owners, much of the information will be relevant to commercial producers too,” Williams said. 

Poultry is big business

More than 6,500 farms in Arkansas produce some type of poultry. Northwest Arkansas, particularly Washington and Benton counties, produces the most poultry in the state.

Poultry is the leading agricultural industry in Arkansas, which ranks third nationally for broiler production and fourth for turkey production. The poultry industry provides 157,639 jobs and $5.1 billion (50%) of the total agriculture cash receipts in 2021, according to The Poultry Federation.

Easy Listening

Williams joined the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science and Poultry Science Department as an assistant professor in June. In his role, he provides poultry education and outreach through the Cooperative Extension Service, with a focus on connecting with the commercial poultry industry.

Williams, who hosted a similar podcast at the University of Michigan, said podcasts offer a convenient format for farmers and commercial producers to get information relevant to their operations.

“It’s a direct way for us to deliver research-based information to our producers,” William said. “A lot of farmers will listen while they’re on the tractor or driving. They can subscribe and get notifications when there are new episodes.”

Williams also likes the interview-style format and plans to feature guests from the Division of Agriculture and from the poultry and allied industries.

“With this format, I can bring in guests from all over the U.S. or the world to provide knowledge,” he said.

Listeners can also request topics they want to hear about by contacting Williams.

Future outreach

The new podcast is one way Williams hopes to connect with the state’s poultry producers. Workshops and a three-day Broiler Academy are also planned.

Specialized workshops for commercial growers, integrators and employees in allied industries will be offered at the Savoy Farm in Fayetteville. Williams said the workshops will be customized to fit attendees’ needs. To schedule a workshop, contact Williams at 601-527-2871 or zwilliams@uada.edu.

The Broiler Academy is planned for June 3-5, 2024, at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville.

“This will be a Broiler Production 101 type workshop where we’ll provide an overview of broiler production management for anyone who wants to learn more about broiler management,” Williams said. “It will be good for new employees or people who have experience in one area but want to learn more about the industry,” he said.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: aaes.uada.edu. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Small ruminants industry workshop identifies challenges, opportunities

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — Sheep and goats have been part of farming perhaps as long as there have been farms. And while they and similar small ruminant animals are but a sliver of the Arkansas livestock landscape in 2023, they have the long-term potential to grow into an important supporting role.

PUTTING A FINGER ON THE PROBLEM — Attendees rank various industry opportunities and challenges by importance at the Nov. 6 Small Ruminant Industry Leaders Workshop. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

On Monday, Nov. 6, about 50 producers, extension agents and other agriculture industry professionals attended the Small Ruminant Industry Leaders Workshop. The event was organized by Dan Quadros, extension small ruminant specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, and hosted by the Cooperative Extension Service at its Little Rock State Office.

The primary purpose of the workshop was to identify both the challenges and opportunities facing producers in the state.

“My main goal with the workshop was to build a collaborative Arkansas Sheep & Goat Development Plan,” Quadros said. “All that the participants said will be considered. They were representatives of different small ruminant value chain segments and production systems.”

Quadros began the workshop with a review of preliminary data, gathered from surveys conducted earlier this year, aimed at assessing both the demographic makeup of small ruminant producers in Arkansas and the makeup of their respective operations. Among 151 respondents, 60 percent were women, 55 percent were between the ages of 35 and 54 years and 60 percent were considered ”beginning farmers,” with 10 years or less in the industry.

“One thing that is interesting about our industry is the participation of small, family farmers,” Quadros said. “Socially, sheep and goats can be a good alternative in terms of food security, quality of diets and extra income.”

In his survey research, Quadros divided the existing industry into five sectors, including commercial production, hobbyists, 4-H, homesteading and breeding. According to the preliminary data from the study, about 45 percent of the flocks and herds were kept for commercial production. Among all operations, about 80 percent of operations included some production for meat, while about 35 percent was for dairy and about 10 percent was for fiber.

Challenges and opportunities
After Quadros’ presentation, the attendees broke into two groups — one of producers and the other of agents and other professionals. Each group spent about an hour identifying opportunities and challenges related to expanding the small ruminant industry in Arkansas.

Chief among the concerns was the lack of veterinary services and U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified processing facilities throughout Arkansas. While several state-certified processing facilities have come online this year, meat must be processed at a USDA-certified facility to be legally sold across state lines.

Lindi Phillips, a producer in Northwest Arkansas who raises sheep for both meat and wool, said worms and other parasitic infections are as much a concern for fiber producers as they are for meat producers.

“It’s the same challenge,” Phillips said. “If you have high parasite problems, you’re going to have a really low-quality wool clip.” A producer’s “clip” is the total amount of wool produced in a given year.

Phillips is co-founder of Ozark Fibershed, an organization aimed at establishing networks among fiber producers in northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas. She said the nearest wool processing facility to her is three or four hours away, located in southeastern Kansas — a small operation that is typically booked out at least a year.

“Processing is a huge concern for fiber producers, just like it is for meat producers,” Phillips said.

Nicole Nichols, Saline County agriculture agent for the Division of Agriculture, raises small ruminants for meat in Pulaski County. She said that most of her clientele are looking for lamb that is prepared in kosher- or halal-observant facilities, which only adds another challenge in getting the meat to market.

“I have to go to Memphis to get anything processed,” Nichols said. “It’s a hurdle. For the ethnic market, you need something close.”

Nichols said that marketing small ruminants also faces an uphill battle in terms of promotion. Outside religious and specific ethnic communities, goat and lamb are not often on the dinner table.

Despite that, there are already some market opportunities within the United States not being met by American small ruminant producers. Stacey Stone, Nevada County extension staff chair for the Division of Agriculture, noted that a significant portion of both the lamb and goat meat consumed in the United States is imported.

“You’ve got people talking about developing secondary or niche markets, and we’re not even fulfilling the demand that’s already here,” Stone said.

Quadros said that about 30 percent of goat meat is imported from outside the United States. Historically, he said, about 50 percent of lamb is imported, although more than 70 percent was imported in 2022.

“This means we have a lot of room to grow just to supply our national demand,” Quadros said.

Stone said one plausible way to expand the small ruminant industry in Arkansas and elsewhere is to incorporate sheep and goats into mixed-species grazing.

“We have cattle producers that are spending lots of money on chemicals to control weeds,” Stone said. “If they’d use sheep and goats in their rotational grazing, it would control weeds, save on chemical costs and make money.

“In doing that, we could have sheep and goats in numbers that we could actually be a player,” he said. “People like myself with 20 or 30 sheep and goats are not going to have an effect on the market. But when you start getting people with hundreds of ruminants, it can make a difference. That’s probably going to take some of the big cattlemen getting into it.”

Stone said one challenge to popularizing ruminant production right now is the high prices beef cattle are fetching on the market.

“When cattle are bringing in $3 a pound, producers aren’t interested in making any changes,” he said. “It’s during bad times that they start thinking about other ways of doing things.”

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X 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 X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Sean Taverna, Ph.D., Joins UAMS as Graduate School Dean

By Nathan Tidwell

LITTLE ROCK — Sean Taverna, Ph.D., is the new dean of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Graduate School.

He succeeds Robert E. McGehee, Jr., Ph.D., who retired after serving as dean since 2004.

A cancer researcher and molecular scientist with a successful track record as a graduate student mentor, leader and recruiter, Taverna joins UAMS from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he was an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences with joint appointments in the departments of Oncology and Medicine. He also served as the director of graduate recruiting in the Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences program and as associate director for the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences Epigenetics Center.

Sean Taverna, Ph.D., Joins UAMS as Graduate School Dean

Image by Johns Hopkins University.

Tyson Foods reports fiscal year loss of $648 million

by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

Tyson Foods on Monday (Nov. 13) reported an income loss in fiscal year 2023 of $648 million, well below the $3.238 billion of net income in fiscal 2022. Annual revenue was also lower at $52.881 billion, dipping 0.75% from the prior year.

For 2024, Tyson Foods said it expects revenue to remain flat in the $52.8 billion range, well below the $57.37 billion analysts had projected. Company executives said they expect better results in chicken and prepared foods with comparable results in pork and continued challenges in the beef segment during fiscal 2024.

“While economic headwinds persist, we are moving in the right direction and managing what we can control,” Tyson Foods President and CEO Donnie King said in prepared remarks. “The decisions we have taken have made us more operationally efficient and aided a second quarter of sequential improvement in adjusted operating income. The strategy and leadership team we have in place will allow us to take advantage of the long-term opportunities in front of us and drive shareholder value.”

Tyson Foods reports fiscal year loss of $648 million

Arkansas lithium field to support ExxonMobil EV battery supply

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

ExxonMobil disclosed Monday (Nov. 13) that its 120,000-acre stake in the Smackover Formation of south Arkansas will stand up a lithium drilling operation to support supplies for electric vehicle batteries as soon as 2027.

The dollar amount of the investment was not released.

In early 2023, ExxonMobil acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres of the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas, considered one of the most prolific lithium resources of its type in North America. Southwest Arkansas has a history as an oil and natural gas producer.

After using conventional oil and gas drilling methods to access lithium-rich saltwater from reservoirs about 10,000 feet underground, ExxonMobil will utilize direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to separate lithium from the saltwater.

Arkansas lithium field to support ExxonMobil EV battery supply

Necropsy offers insights to parasite control in small ruminants

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Parasite control is crucial to the success of small ruminant production says Eva Wray, parasitologist and post-doctoral research associate with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

PARASITES — Barber pole worms, seen in a petri dish at the Division of Agriculture's parasitology lab, were a focus of the Northwest Arkansas Small Ruminants Field Day. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

Internal parasites, especially the blood-eating barber pole worm — Haemonchus contortus — were a point of focus during the Northwest Arkansas Small Ruminants Field Day, Oct. 28, at the Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research and Extension Center. The barber pole worm is a nematode that can cause severe anemia, protein loss and death in small ruminants like goats and sheep. Wray provided a session on these and other parasites common in small ruminants.

“All producers should be doing fecal egg counts to determine treatments,” Wray said. “If possible, everyone raising small ruminants should also be doing rotational grazing and grazing with other species like cattle or equines.”

Warmer, wetter weather creates conditions favorable for internal parasite development on pastures. Barber pole infections lead to economic losses including lowered milk production, poor weight gains, substandard wool quality and sudden death in animals of all production stages, Wray added. In addition to rotational grazing, other tips on parasite control in small ruminants include using biological control like Duddingtonia flagrans, a fungus that physically eats nematode larvae on the pasture before they can become infectious. Wray noted that it was also important to know which medications are still effective on their operation.

Lauren Rogers, teaching associate professor and veterinarian, provided field day participants instructions on how to conduct a necropsy, or animal autopsy. This included demonstrations on how the different stomach components look, what the functions are, where to look for parasites and what they look like.

Despite rainy conditions, 51 of the 71 people who registered turned out for the event.

"Simply put, I was most impressed by the level of enthusiasm that the producers displayed to the necropsy,” Rogers said. "They were not at all put off by the less-than-ideal weather conditions, which really speaks to their level of commitment."

Dan Quadros, assistant professor and small ruminant extension specialist said the necropsy provided university-level education to small ruminant producers that is applicable to their daily lives.

“They see the animals every day from the outside, and this may have been the first time they saw the animal from the inside,” Quadros said.

Will and Waltina Hanna of Hanna Family Ranch LLC in Bentonville expressed their appreciation for the necropsy demonstration by Rogers.

“We learned so much during that demonstration that we will definitely use in the future,” Waltina Hanna said. “It is one thing to talk about what to look for when you examine your dead animal, but actually being able to see it done was worth so much.”

Will Hanna said if they can more accurately determine why one of their animals died, they can try to prevent it from happening to others in their flock. The necropsy demonstration was an “unexpected highlight of the morning,” the Hannas said.

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. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Chris Jones, former Democratic candidate for governor, optimistic about Democrats in Arkansas

KUAR | By Ronak Patel

In an interview with Talk Business & Politics, Chris Jones, former Arkansas gubernatorial candidate for the Democrats, shared his optimism about the 2024 election.

About 60 candidates have filed to run for the seats in the state legislature. Jones said the increase in the amount of candidates running for Democrat is a reflection of the frustration with the Republican-controlled legislature.

“That speaks to the energy that folks are stepping up and saying we deserve better than an education bill in LEARNS that is closing schools in places like Umpire. We deserve better than no accountability,” Jones said.

Chris Jones, former Democratic candidate for governor, optimistic about Democrats in Arkansas

Talk Business & Politics

Chris Jones, former Democratic candidate for Arkansas governor, is working on helping getting more Democrats elected to office in Arkansas. He said he is optimistic for the party.

UAMS, AR Health Ventures Partner to Strengthen Diabetes Self-Management Education in Arkansas

By David Wise

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Office of Community Health & Research and AR Health Ventures are partnering with other institutions in the state to help rural, diabetic Arkansans better understand and manage their diabetes.

Funded by the U.S Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the program — named Reaching Every Arkansan by Connecting Health (REACH) Resources to Reduce Diabetes Disparities — will improve access to diabetes self-management education and support for rural and underserved populations in 61 high-need counties in Arkansas. The REACH program will allow partners to support rural pharmacies in the development of such diabetes self-management programs and train community health workers to support diabetes patients.

The UAMS Office of Community Health & Research, AR Health Ventures, the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association and the Arkansas Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network support the program.

UAMS, AR Health Ventures Partner to Strengthen Diabetes Self-Management Education in Arkansas

Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Presidential strategy, Trump and abortion

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson officially filed paperwork to run for U.S. President in his home state Friday (Nov. 10).

He shared his thoughts on his long shot candidacy, GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump, and the issue of abortion, which played out in several state elections on Tuesday on this week’s edition of Capitol View and Talk Business & Politics.

Hutchinson said he’s asked regularly why he remains in the race for the Republican nomination for President despite his low polling numbers and inability to qualify for some debates.

Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Presidential strategy, Trump and abortion

Arkansas AG calls for removal of foreign student visa holders supporting terrorist groups

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas’ attorney general led a coalition calling on federal officials to remove student visa holders who support terror activity from groups like Hamas.

Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday sent a letter on behalf of 20 state attorneys general to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas asking them to “vigorously renew vetting of foreign student visa holders” and remove anyone who has endorsed terrorist activity or provided “material support to foreign terrorist organizations.”

“Antisemitism and anti-Israel activity are unwelcome in Arkansas,” Griffin said in a statement. “Threats of violence against Jews are anathema to our American values and all who respect human dignity.”

Arkansas AG calls for removal of foreign student visa holders supporting terrorist groups

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, left, gestures during a news conference at the Arkansas Capitol.

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

As we gather around our tables this Thanksgiving, we encourage Arkansans to take a moment to acknowledge the unsung heroes of this holiday season—our farmers.

Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude for the blessings in our lives, and the hardworking men and women who toil in the fields, day in and day out, deserve a special place in our hearts this season. Arkansas farmers are the ones responsible for growing the crops and raising the livestock that grace many of our tables.

In fact, Arkansas ranks 3rd in the nation in turkeys raised. But that’s not the only popular Thanksgiving dish that may have started its journey on an Arkansas farm.

Arkansas is the 4th largest producer of sweet potatoes and our state ranks 6th in the nation in the acreage of pecans.

In the last year, Arkansas farmers harvested more than 695,000 acres of corn.

Arkansas currently ranks 11th in the nation in soybean production. Soybean oil is used to make hundreds of foods, including mayonnaise, peanut butter, and ranch dressing.

From casseroles to rice pudding, another Arkansas crop makes its way to the Thanksgiving table every year. Arkansas ranks first among rice-producing states, accounting for more than 50 percent of U.S. rice production.

Agriculture is Arkansas’s largest industry, adding around $16 billion to our state’s economy every year. There are 49,346 farms statewide and 97 percent of Arkansas’ farms are family-owned.

So, as you savor each bite of your Thanksgiving meal, remember to give thanks to the individuals who make this feast possible. Let's make this holiday a true celebration of gratitude, not only for the food on our plates but for the hands that nurture the land.

You can help show your appreciation to our Arkansas farmers and food service workers by looking for the “Arkansas Grown” label at your local supermarket.

Fort Smith to have a team in a new baseball league set to begin play in May 2024

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

The newly formed Mid America League has selected Fort Smith as one of six team locations expected to play ball in May 2024. A Fort Smith team owner or owner group has not yet been named, and Greg Kigar said public input will help select a team name.

Lawrence, Kan.-based National Sports Services and Ventura Sports Group created the Mid America League, which the two groups say is “a new premium baseball development league.”

League teams will initially be from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Teams will play a 68-game schedule beginning May 23 and ending in early August. The league will conduct playoffs to determine champion. According to Mid America, the team selection is from regions with at least 100,000 population “with a solid business base, and will initially play in a combination of municipal and university facilities.”

Fort Smith to have a team in a new baseball league set to begin play in May 2024

Bentonville welcomes notable speakers, including Boris Johnson and Matthew McConaughey, to kick off Heartland Summit

by Paul Gatling (pgatling@nwabj.com)

Boris Johnson may not be the person who comes to mind when discussing the American Heartland.

But the former London mayor (2008-2016) and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2019-2022) did make an appearance in downtown Bentonville on Wednesday (Nov. 8) at the opening session of the Heartland Summit.

Approximately 350 policymakers, investors, business and thought leaders and entrepreneurs from across the country are in Bentonville for the two-day, invitation-only gathering. It is the signature annual event of Heartland Forward, a nonpartisan “think-and-do” tank in Bentonville.

Bentonville welcomes notable speakers, including Boris Johnson and Matthew McConaughey, to kick off Heartland Summit

Steuart Walton, left, and Boris Johnson discussed several topics during Wednesday's Heartland Summit in downtown Bentonville.

$50 million AG grant funding Arkansas Children’s opioid research center

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

A $50 million grant using national opioid settlement funds by Attorney General Tim Griffin will allow Arkansas Children’s Hospital to build the $70 million National Center for Opioid Research & Clinical Effectiveness (NCOR) on the hospital’s campus in Little Rock.

Griffin along with Children’s CEO Marcy Doderer announced the center and the grant at an event in front of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute Thursday (Nov. 9). The Institute will add an initial investment of more than $20 million. Scientists will work closely with the Institute and Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center.

Construction on the 45,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin in late 2024. Griffin emphasized that NCOR will have its own building and research mission.

$50 million AG grant funding Arkansas Children’s opioid research center

Arkansas Children's

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin presents a check to Arkansas Children's CEO Marcy Doderer at an event Thursday at the hospital's main campus in Little Rock.

Auditor: Investigation into Arkansas governor’s lectern purchase unlikely to end this year

From the Arkansas Advocate:

The investigation into Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ controversial lectern purchase and effort to shield records related to her security detail likely won’t be finished this year, the lead auditor at Arkansas’ nonpartisan agency that investigates government spending said Wednesday.

Sanders’ office drew widespread attention in September for the purchase of a $19,000 lectern and carrying case from a Virginia-based event design and management firm with political ties to Sanders.

Attorney and blogger Matt Campbell of the Blue Hog Report has spent months using the state Freedom of Information Act to report and scrutinize Sanders’ use of state funds and resources. He posted an invoice on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 15 that showed the lectern was purchased in June. (Campbell is now a reporter at the Arkansas Times.)

Auditor: Investigation into Arkansas governor’s lectern purchase unlikely to end this year

Arkansas Legislature

Frank Arey, a staff attorney with Arkansas Legislative Audit, discusses an ongoing audit into Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ controversial lectern purchase and effort to shield records related to her security detail before the Legislative Joint Auditing Executive Committee on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.

UAMS Hosts Breakfast, Donation Drive to Show Appreciation for Veterans

By Chris Carmody

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) on Nov. 6 hosted a Veterans Appreciation Breakfast to honor students and employees for their service in the armed forces.

The event, organized by the Veterans Subcommittee of the UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DDEI), was part of a monthlong celebration of veterans at UAMS and in the community. The effort included a campuswide donation drive to deliver care packages to three facilities that assist veterans in central Arkansas.

The veterans breakfast began with a performance of the national anthem by Anthony Drake, administrative analyst for DDEI, and a presentation of colors by students from the Arkansas Military and First Responder Academy.

UAMS Hosts Breakfast, Donation Drive to Show Appreciation for Veterans

Students from the Arkansas Military and First Responder Academy conduct the presentation of colors at the start of the Veterans Appreciation Breakfast. Image by Evan Lewis

Bad Boy Mowers to add 300 jobs in Batesville

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Bad Boy Mowers will expand its facility in Batesville – again – creating 300 new jobs over the next five years.

“Bad Boy is committed to growing our Batesville roots deeper than ever, while furthering our reputation of quality, value and performance across the USA,” said Bad Boy Mowers CEO Peter Ballantyne. “Through new jobs and state-of-the-art facilities, we are showing our industry and the rest of the country what Arkansas can do.”

As part of the expansion, Bad Boy Mowers will build a new paint facility and shipping center while continuing to add manufacturing equipment. The company will also move its corporate office and truck shop to existing facilities and continue to expand its transportation fleet.

Bad Boy Mowers to add 300 jobs in Batesville

Panelists say changes needed to harness bio-, ag-tech innovations

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas is poised to harness the latest technological innovations to solve problems like food insecurity, but that won’t happen without funding and policy changes, panelists said at the Agri-Food Innovation Summit.

The two-day summit on Nov. 2-3 featured panel discussions and presentations on all aspects of taking research discoveries and developing practical solutions for problems in agriculture and food production.

INNOVATION — The panel on agricultural and food innovation for the 22nd century included Khoa Luu, left, assistant professor of computer science and computer engineering; Brandon McFadden, professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness; Marty Matlock, professor of biological and agricultural engineering; Parker Cole, associate director of technology commercialization for the Division of Agriculture; Walter Burgess, co-CEO of Power Technology, Inc.; and Sylvia Wulf, CEO of Aquabounty Technologies. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

More than 200 registered over the two-day summit, which was co-hosted by the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, the University of Arkansas Division of Economic Development, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, and Catalyst/Research and Technology Transfer at Arkansas State University.

Food security

Sylvia Wulf, CEO of Aquabounty Technologies, said she believed in the potential for the Natural State to be a leader in ag and food innovation. Her company produces genetically modified salmon that are tank-farmed on land.

“We are a poster child for how challenging innovation and entrepreneurialism is,” Wulf said. “It took us 25 years to get regulatory approval for our salmon. There was no pathway. We are the first genetically modified animal that was ever approved for use in this country.

“Then we ran into political challenges. It took us several years to overcome what they put in place to allow us to farm” her company’s salmon, she said.

She said her company’s salmon can help reduce carbon footprint compared to the shipping needed to supply Atlantic salmon.

“If you look at Atlantic salmon, it has more frequent flier miles than anybody else in this room,” she said. “We can solve that carbon footprint by creating an industry here in the U.S.”

Wulf also said that “food security is national security. I think we see that because of what happened with COVID.”

“We import 97 percent of the seafood that we eat in this country. It’s a healthy, healthy protein,” she said. “Yet, we are completely dependent on imports. So, we need to be able to develop an aquaculture segment for our economy.”

The challenge ahead is “how do we optimize the technology to where public-private partnerships and some of the funding opportunities that we are talking about today can come into play,” Wulf said.

‘Mud on their boots’

Marty Matlock, professor of ecological engineering in the biological and agricultural engineering department for the Division of Agriculture and University of Arkansas, talked about his time working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was among the panelists discussing Agricultural Innovation for the 22nd Century.

“We have a $23.3 trillion economy in this country. It’s the largest economy of any nation in the history of this planet,” he said. “We know that venture capital is key to innovation for any sort of technology systems because typically there's just no funding source available other than someone who's willing to take a chance on it. 

“If you have the equity, you go to the bank and you just borrow it — you double mortgage your house,” Matlock said. “But the problem with most innovative companies, especially small businesses, is there is no equity there, so venture capital is your mechanism.

Matlock said that in 2022, the U.S. had $246 billion in venture capital expenditures across every sector.

“That’s about 1.5 percent of our total GPD going to venture capital,” he said. “Of that 1.5 percent, about $12.6 billion of that goes to agriculture. Of that $12.6 billion, $5 billion goes to California. Forty percent of it goes to California. It’s not coming to where the people have mud on their boots and that’s one of our big challenges.”

“How do we innovate when there's no money? Arkansas can do it but it's going to take a lot of innovations in policy to make that happen,” Matlock said. “It's going to take everything from what we're doing here — these conversations, to governmental tax code to incentive programs, to core funding sources — to start this process going. And it's going to take years of investment to make that happen. It could happen here, but it's going take will, the force of will, to push this rock up the hill.”

Wulf agreed.

“I’m passionate about two things,” she said. “I'm passionate about ag tech and biotech and I’m passionate about making sure that Arkansas is an area of focus for investment in ag tech and biotech, because I believe that this state can lead the country in making that a reality. “

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X 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 X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Colorectal Surgeon S. Thomas Kang, M.D., Joins UAMS

By Marty Trieschmann

Thomas Kang, M.D., a fellowship-trained, board-certified surgeon, joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Division of Colorectal Surgery.

Kang treats patients with colon, rectal and anal cancers. He offers colon cancer surveillance with colonoscopies and performs minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic assisted surgery.

Before joining UAMS, Kang completed a colon and rectal surgery fellowship at the University of Alabama Birmingham Medical Center. He completed his residency in general surgery at TriHealth Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, where he was chief resident and resident of the year. At TriHealth, he was a member of the TriHealth Lifting Caregivers, a volunteer group offering peer support to colleagues in the health system.

Colorectal Surgeon S. Thomas Kang, M.D., Joins UAMS

Former State Sen. John Pagan files for Treasurer, U.S. Rep. Womack files for re-election

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

It was a quieter day at the Arkansas state capitol on Day 2 of the candidate filing period as fewer than 30 people submitted paperwork to run for public office.

Former Arkansas State Sen. John Pagan, a Democrat from Little Rock, filed for Treasurer of State, which will be filled by a two-year term due to the death of former Treasurer Mark Lowery. Yesterday, Secretary of State John Thurston filed as a Republican for the post.

Pagan was a law professor at the University of Arkansas Little Rock School of Law in the 1980’s and later served as dean and professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. He represented a portion of Little Rock in the Arkansas State Senate in the early 1990’s.

Former State Sen. John Pagan files for Treasurer, U.S. Rep. Womack files for re-election