Over the years, I found myself growing better able to look at the thunderheads as they developed over White, Independence, Cleburne and Prairie counties and predict whether the rain would reach us or pass by. To be sure, beyond the local weather forecast, there wasn’t a lot of technology brought to bear in regard to our meteorological concerns. Today’s farmers, though, are using technology in a big way, and not just to study the weather. read more >

A poultry company outside Arkadelphia has partnered with several southwest Arkansas counties to hatch, grow and process a “specialty chicken” popular in Asian markets across the western United States. read more >

In the ongoing conflict between conventional agriculture and emerging technologies, some innovations are finding favor while others confront hurdles. read more >

After historically low prices kept loggers from removing hardwoods from Arkansas forests for many years, something of a hardwood rebirth began recently. However, at least one timber expert has predicted that market pressures may reverse that trend soon. A significant threat to the industry, however, is an old one — insect infestation. read more >

As she pulled into one of her soybean fields during last year’s harvest, Crystal Lewis could see something from the height of her combine that she hadn’t been able to see from pickup level. In the middle of the field, the soybeans were gone. Missing. Vanished. read more >

Farmers increasingly look to expand the scope of their operations by purchasing ground, entering into traditional rental agreements with landowners or forging managerial relationships. However the method, the result is that fewer farmers are farming more acres today than a generation ago. read more >

Andrew Grobmyer, executive vice president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, recently spent an hour discussing issues facing the state’s agriculture industry, from the 2014 Farm Bill to how immigration reform is important to the state’s farmers. read more >

Tangible progress under the Obama administration is opening the door for the United States and Cuba to normalize relations. If Congress votes to lift the trade ban, few industrial sectors stand to gain as much as agriculture in general and Arkansas rice and poultry farmers in particular. read more >

Starting in July, soybean contracts started downward, hovering between $9.60 and $10 per bushel for the rest of the year. Bumper crops certainly depressed prices and uncertainties tied to federal farm bill legislation didn’t help either. read more >

Randy Veach is a third-generation farmer from the Lost Cane community (Mississippi County), where he grows cotton, rice, soybeans, wheat and corn on ground cleared by his grandfather and father. In addition to heading the state Farm Bureau, Veach is a board member of the American Farm Bureau. read more >

There is nothing simple about international trade agreements, and Arkansas farmers, ranchers and loggers have found themselves caught in the middle of tense talks as U.S. officials try to finalize a huge deal in Asia. read more >

The threatened end of cash subsidies to the nation’s row crop farmers dates back through at least the last two iterations of national agriculture policy legislation. That threat became real, though, earlier this year when Congress passed the newest Farm Bill. read more >

At 25 years old, Crystal Lewis is the sole operator of a farm that is just shy of 1,400 acres, sandwiched between I-440 and the city of Scott, and a 400-acre farm outside of Carlisle. Lewis is one of just a handful of female farmers in the Natural State to do so. read more >

Most tractors crisscrossing fields in the Arkansas Delta and elsewhere use technology that nearly renders a driver obsolete. Global Positioning System programs allow farmers to set up their tractors, combines and other vehicles to drive themselves across fields. read more >