Buster Passmore
11-Years Old | Straight-A Student | Grower of Huge Pumpkins
ArFB’s Jenny Higgs recently visited Buster at home in Bono to get his secrets for growing prize-winning giant pumpkins. Buster's Garden has produced gourds big enough to win the UAEX Giant Pumpkin Contest two years in a row, beating the competition by more than 100 pounds each year.
For more pumpkin and gardening tips from Buster, visit his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/groups/BustersGarden.
In 2015, Bill and Donna Jackson moved from their home and careers in the city to a beautiful farm in Lawrence County. In the years since, they’ve turned the Jackson Farm into one of northeast Arkansas’ premier agritourism destinations, a place where families can learn about agriculture while creating fun memories that will last a lifetime.
Cody Hopkins is CEO and a founding farmer of the Grassroots Co-op. It includes small farmers in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky and Oregon, raising free-ranging poultry and grass-fed pork and beef for sale online at grassrootscoop.com.
The Arkansas State Livestock Show Sale of Champions was held Oct. 23. In the face of Covid-19 the concerted effort was approved by the Department of Health and allowed the hard-working young people involved in the show to reap the benefits of their year-long efforts and success. Hear from some of the grand champions about what it meant to them to participate in the auction.
Rick Bransford’s family has been growing cotton and other crops in Lonoke County since the mid-1850s. He has continued that tradition for the past 40 years. He recently took a break from picking his cotton crop to provide an update on how he’s dealt with weather delays and other challenges this year.
Dr. Phil Tappe is retiring at the end of the year following 30 years at the University of Arkansas-Monticello, the past 11 years as Dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ken Moore spoke with him about his accomplishments and the growth of the College during his tenure.
American-made cotton apparel and products are making a comeback thanks to the entrepreneurship of University of Arkansas graduate Michael Waters. The Memphis native established his business, Stately Cotton, several years ago and is using Arkansas grown cotton for his shirts and other fiber products. His goal is to provide jobs for American textile workers and domestic use for one of the state's key commodities.
Matt Miles is a cotton, corn, rice and soybean farmer from McGehee in Desha County. He’s even trying his hand on a few acres of peanuts. Like many other farmers in southeast Arkansas he’s had to deal with the effects of repeated tropical weather systems during harvest. He provided this update as he was waiting for conditions to dry enough for him to complete his cotton harvest.
Jason Braziel is a vo-ag instructor at Mountain Pine High School in Garland County. But, he also has a cow-calf and hay operation in the Sunshine community. Like other ranchers, he has been baling hay and tending to his cattle when the weather allows. He provided this update from his farm last week during a recent dry spell.
