On this Deep Dive edition of the Arkansas AgCast, we sit down with Dr. Calvin White Jr., provost and executive vice chancellor at Arkansas State University, on location during the Catalyst event in Jonesboro. We discuss how Arkansas agriculture is evolving, its impact on rural communities and how collaboration can strengthen the industry for all Arkansans.
Dr. White shares insights on the university’s role innovation, rural revitalization and preparing the next generation of ag leaders through initiatives like A-State’s new College of Veterinary Medicine.
Meet the Dilldines! Dalton and Skiver Dilldine, fourth-generation Mississippi County farmers, credit technology and hard work for their operation’s 99-year success. They are now raising their daughter Daphne, the fifth generation, to continue their legacy.
Meet the Henley family! Five years ago, Brian and Mary Ellen Henley purchased their dream farm and haven’t looked back. Balancing full-time jobs, the days are busy managing their cattle herd and hay business alongside their two daughters.
Down markets and startling low yields have many Arkansas soybean growers weighing their futures. Rain at the wrong times in 2025 and China buying more of Brazil’s beans are a combination some may not survive.
Growing up in a family that included sharecroppers, Gabe El-Bey and Dena Patterson never imagined they would one day be growing food of their own. Five years ago, they founded Turtle Island, a local food source for their South Little Rock community. Today, they continue to expand adding more acreage, a greenhouse and education workshops working hard to serve their community and fight food insecurity. Recently, they hosted a fall festival to engage and educate the community on the importance of agriculture and sustainability.
A high-tech bovine operation in the Ozarks can overnight your order or deliver to its on-ranch campsites. Just get the fire going and Norton Cattle Company in Harrison will cater high-quality, mouth-watering cuts to your mountainous retreat. S’more fixins not included.
Cracked nuts, classic cars and candids with the Clauses. The Arkansas Pecan Festival promises all that and more Dec. 6 in Keo, but locals also have lofty dreams of conducting research to make the smooth, oblong nut more useful and profitable.
Congressman French Hill met with agriculture and ag lending leaders to discuss the state of the farm economy. He and Lonoke County Farmer Clay Parker spoke about the issues at hand for farmers across the Delta.
On this week’s Arkansas AgCast, we take a closer look at Brazil’s fast-moving 2025–26 planting season, where record soybean and corn acreage could reshape global markets. We have the details on a new University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture two-part webinar series to help row crop farmers improve their cost-management strategies for the coming season. Finally, we break down the reaction from U.S. cattle producers after President Donald Trump floated the idea of importing Argentinian beef to lower consumer prices, a proposal that sent shockwaves through cattle markets.
Several former chicken broiler producers in North Arkansas are migrating to laying hen operations. “We feel like it’s a more stable market,” says Whitney Marr. Marr and her family share their journey and how they gather 56,000 eggs every day north of Green Forest.
