U.S. Department of Agriculture

Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, horticulture, floriculture, and tree nuts. read more >

Carbon Chicken is turning poultry litter into a composted, microbe-rich biochar fertilizer to reduce pollution, improve soil health, and help Arkansas farmers sequester carbon. read more >

Former RiverBank loan officer Bryan Dalton was fined $35,000 by the FDIC and banned from banking after embezzling nearly $88,000 from clients. read more >

The estimate comes from Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. read more >

The grant is a portion of $120 million awarded to six projects to help strengthen American fertilizer production. read more >

The grants aim to expand access to clean energy and improve energy efficiency in rural communities. read more >

Before becoming executive vice president in June 2023, Jarrod Yates was the Farm Bureau’s director of public affairs and government relations for two years. read more >

Kevin McGilton was named Riceland CEO in December 2023. He previously served as vice president of government affairs and chief of staff. read more >

Some states have patchwork heat regulations in place for farm workers, but there are no federal rules about heat exposure in the U.S. And making a formal complaint can be fraught, though it’s a legal right. read more >

The tree plantings efforts will be focused on marginalized areas in all 50 states. read more >

The money is a portion of $700 million in grants and loans announced Monday for high-speed internet projects in rural areas of 22 states. read more >

Eligible entities include agricultural producers, processors, nonprofits, local governments, tribal governments and institutions. read more >

Claims such as "pasture-raised," "humanely raised," and "raised without antibiotics" are increasingly popular with consumers and allow producers to charge a premium. read more >

The company, which has licensed a line of vaccine innovations from the University of Arkansas System’s Division of Agriculture, is building offices, a research lab and a manufacturing plant in north Springdale. Its mission is to provide vaccine technologies to protect poultry, swine, ruminants, fish and, perhaps soon, people. read more >

The initiative is joint effort between UAMS, Jefferson Regional Medical Center and the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership. read more >

The program, which received federal approval last fall, aims to expand the market for cattlemen by allowing state-certified facilities to sell beef within the state. read more >

The loans are a portion of $2.7 billion that the USDA is investing in 64 rural electric projects across the country. read more >

A $1 million grant will help University of Arkansas researchers design robotics for use in poultry processing plants. read more >

University leaders plan to present a full proposal to the state Department of Higher Education in late July. read more >

The project aims to plant to up to 600 acres of oak forests in three river-influenced areas of Arkansas. read more >