This week, we go in-depth on some critical issues facing agriculture in the wake of Covid-19. We talk with David Newman, president of the National Pork Board and Arkansas State University animal science professor, about troubles facing the pork industry, and we hear from the University of Arkansas National Ag Law Center Director Harrison Pittman about the President’s recent executive order designed to keep meat packing plants operating. We also hear from Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Travis Justice about the ongoing supply chain and processing issues hitting livestock and poultry growers.
County winners for the 73rd annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year Program have been selected. The county winners will be visited by a set of judges to determine eight district winners, who will be announced June 16. The state winner will be announced Dec. 6 at the Farm Family of the Year luncheon in North Little Rock.
Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, we've been reaching out to experts to tell us more about how different segments of agriculture have been dealing with challenges caused by the crisis. Recently, we spoke to a state legislator, an FFA advisor and educator, a professor and expert on specialty crops and the executive vice president of the Arkansas Cattlemen's Association. We also received an update on the recently completed legislative fiscal session from ArFB's Jeff Pitchford.
This week, we talk to our own Jason Smedley about levee restoration priorities and coordination of levee management in Arkansas. We also talk with Rusty Rumley of the National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville about issues related to the COVID-19 outbreak and we hear from State Representative Jeff Wardlaw about challenges facing produce growers and this year’s Arkansas tomato crop.
Arkansas Farm Bureau’s Women’s Leadership Committee and the Farm Bureau Foundation have donated $50,000 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas to help offset projected shortfalls as a result of COVID-19. The ArFB Women’s Leadership Committee has a lengthy history of support for the Ronald McDonald House, which provides a “home-away-from-home” for more than 38,000 families sent to Little Rock for life-saving medical care for their child.
Amanda McWhirt, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Extension fruit and vegetable specialist and professor, talks about damages to specialty crops from weather and other challenges facing growers.
This week, we talk to Jara Settles of the Livestock Marketing Association in Kansas City about the importance of livestock auctions and we hear from Julia Fryer of the Cooperative Extension Service about produce safety. We also learn about a new website for local businesses and nonprofits called UpliftArkansas.
The spring planting season continues, despite challenges caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, storms and extreme cold snaps. Arkansas farmers and ranchers and agriculture industry leaders continue their work to provide us with reports and updates from their fields, workshops and offices. Here's a selection of recent videos.
