Following a delay of almost two months from its traditional opening date, the Little Rock Farmers Market welcomed the public to a smaller version of the popular weekend destination at the Little Rock River Market. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the market will be limited to fresh produce vendors and safety protocols must be followed by visitors.

Dr. Jeyam Subbiah heads the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's Food Science Department and is also lead investigator for the UA Agricultural Experiment Station's portion of a USDA 5-year research project. The collaborative effort involves nine universities studying food safety in low moisture foods such as nuts, dried foods and cereals. In this Agcast Video Extra he explained the need for the $9.8 million project with ArFB's Ken Moore.

Michael Sparks, president of the Arkansas chapter of Farmer Veteran Coalition, owns Honeycomb Ridge Farm near Searcy. He joined us with his son Conner to talk about that organization and their family farming operation, including the bees they raise in an apiary near Scott.

On June 23rd, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service hosted a “virtual field trip” focused on the Jeff and Marsha Marley poultry and beef farm in Elkins, part of the Arkansas Discovery Farm Program.

Farmers and ranchers around the state check in with updates on their crops and businesses and how weather and the pandemic have impacted their summer so far.

Bill Haak, ArFB Dairy Chair, hosted the Dairy Division’s summer commodity meeting at his farm in Gentry, Arkansas. The group discussed current issues affecting Arkansas dairy farmers and toured Haak's facility. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge was a special guest and was honored for her support of the dairy industry.

The United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement went into effect July 1. Matt King, director of National Affairs for Arkansas Farm Bureau's Public Affairs and Governmental Relations department explains why this is important for agriculture and why it's step up from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mark Morgan is a Johnson County peach grower who also raises turkeys and beef cattle with his father, Steve. He took some time to talk to us about this year's crop and how his family's operation, Peach Pickin' Paradise, is dealing with the challenges of operating during a pandemic and continuing to provide the tasty, fresh peaches summer customers have come to expect.

The newly elected State FFA officer team is hard at work preparing for the great things ahead in Arkansas FFA. State President, Brooke Bradford joined Ashlyn Ussery for a conversation about where her FFA journey began and to shine some light on what's in store for members throughout the coming year, despite COVID-19.

Clyde Fenton, UA Extension county agent in Sebastian County, visited farmers at recently opened farmers markets in the west Arkansas River Valley. He took some time to give us a report on those markets that are just getting underway.