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.

This week, we talk about a new multi-million dollar infrastructure project at the Little Rock Port, learn the importance of keeping written legal documents when leasing farmland, and hear the latest on LeadAR, the two-year leadership development program of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.

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.

This week, we learn what the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak will mean for the 2020 Arkansas State Fair and we talk to a University of Arkansas professor about a recent grant to support technology research that could help the poultry industry. We also learn all about the Arkansas Youth Expo.

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.

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This week, we talk about the impact of the pandemic on Arkansas’s 4-H programs, and we get to know Dr. Bob Scott, the new director of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. We also hear from the man whose shoes he will have to fill, Dr. Rick Cartwright, who retired at the end of June. We also talk to horticulture research professor Elena Garcia about her recent retirement.

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.