On this episode of Arkansas AgCast, we break down the Trump administration’s proposed USDA budget for fiscal year 2026, which includes significant funding cuts across conservation, nutrition and rural development programs. We also highlight a bipartisan effort led by Rep. Rick Crawford to freeze wages for H-2A guest workers, citing concerns over rising costs for American farmers. Arkansas specialty crop producers should tune in for details on a newly opened grant opportunity. Plus, we have new research from the University of Arkansas showing that large-scale solar projects currently occupy just 0.2% of the state’s farmland, though more installations are on the horizon.

The Ag Youth Leadership Summit is a camp for high school students hosted at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, where students learn more about agriculture in the state, develop leadership skills and discover careers in agriculture available to them after graduation.

Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School teacher Jill Herrin credits agriculture for helping increase science scores by 39 points. Herrin’s hands-on projects, like egg incubation and hydroponics, keyed student improvements. Watch to learn about why she’s the 2025 Ag in the Classroom Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Meet the Hendersons: 2024 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year; Nita Cooper, Women's Leadership Committee Chair; A Day in the Life of a Rural Fireman

An Idaho couple moved to Florida before finding paradise 4 miles south of Missouri in Oak Grove, Ark. Their 3,500-mile faith journey required cerebral calculations and courage but led to full-time work with 1,000 cows on 3,000 rolling acres. Watch the intriguing TB Cattle at Flat Hat Ranch story.

Read the latest issue of the Farm Bureau Press.

Two students have joined Arkansas Farm Bureau as summer interns, gaining hands-on experience while advancing their professional skills. Through the internship program, they will support the organization’s advocacy work for the state’s largest industry, agriculture, and rural communities. The program offers the opportunity to see how Farm Bureau serves as a voice for farmers and ranchers at the local, state and national levels.

Read the latest market report.

After a very wet spring, preliminary estimates from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture indicate nearly $79 million in crop-related flood damage in Arkansas. Of the more than 800,000 acres planted in early April, 31% was reported as flooded. Rice accounted for 46% of those flooded acres. Extension rice agronomist Jarrod Hardke explains we are at a critical point in the planting season as the success of this year’s crop hangs in the balance. For more details on exact numbers visit https://www.uaex.uada.edu/media-resources/news/2025/april/04-15-2025-ark-flood-damage-crops.aspx.

Ten acres of almost-ripe berries were destroyed in 10 minutes Sunday at Dozier’s Sta-N-Step Farm in Northwest Arkansas. Devastated owner Les Dozier looks ahead after losing his blueberries, blackberries and raspberries to hail and high winds.