Lanny Ashlock

Even a generation ago, most “agriculture” students at colleges and universities studied the business concepts involved in operating a farm. They learned about depreciation and tax incentives. Those who followed expanded into the marketing arena, and those newly minted graduates introduced brokering and data-driven selling to the farm. Biotechnologists burst on the scene, and with them they brought genetically modified varieties of various crops. read more >

When those in the agriculture industry speak of “marketing”, they aren’t referring to computer-generated geckos hawking insurance or bikini-clad models posing with a low-calorie beer. They mean using information, technology and infrastructure to ultimately make their operation as profitable as possible. read more >

The 2014 Arkansas row-crop harvest was a historic one in more ways than one. The state’s farmers planted more rice acres than ever, and the rice, corn, cotton and soybean yields were the highest on record. read more >

To be sure, the state’s soil is tailor-made to grow rice, cotton, soybeans, corn and sorghum, but it is producers’ ability to irrigate the vast majority of the state’s farm acreage that helps guarantee a decent crop in even the worst drought years. When corn and soybean fields are withering in Iowa, Indiana and Missouri, Arkansas’ crop thrives as irrigation systems provide a boost when necessary. 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 >