ARC and PLC enrollment deadlines approaching, corn and rice future updates, hog and cattle updates and more.

Just four years ago cotton prices bottomed out, Arkansas acreage and production dropped and only a handful of cotton gins remained open. But in 2019, prices, acreage and production saw a dramatic increase, bringing a need for more ginning capacity. In southeast Arkansas, the Day family joined others there to build a new gin at Winchester, south of Dumas. The gin began operating in January and provides a new facility to process what is expected to be expanded acreage this year.

SalScilla Farms owners Judith and Tim Allen have established a simple mission statement for their 50-acre farm near Mayflower: "Maintain a farm retreat providing a place for faith, friendship, food and fellowship." Watch to learn more.

This week, we talk with members of Arkansas Farm Bureau commodity boards about this week’s Winter Commodity Meeting in Little Rock and we learn what’s going on with the Arkansas Forestry Association.

We visited the Heart Hospital's garden and greenhouse to see how the hospital's culinary team is growing and incorporating microgreens and other fresh produce into their hospital's meals.

This week, we talk with soybean and trade experts about the latest news on trade negotiations and the road ahead in 2020. We also get the latest on the pork industry from Dr. David Newman, president of the National Pork Board and Arkansas State University animal science professor and learn about new urban agriculture classes being offered at the St. Joseph Center in North Little Rock.

Arkansas recently hosted a Tri-State Soybean Forum in Dumas for more than 150 soybean producers and consultants. Following two difficult production years, growers were informed about new seed varieties and herbicide technologies that will be available this year. Farmers are hopeful prices and weather will be better in 2020.

Before harvest season in Arkansas wraps up, we paid a visit to Jackson County farmer Bubba Sink to follow his pickers in the field. See for yourself how Sink brings in his soybean crop and learn more about soybeans in Arkansas.

Peanut production has become more common in Arkansas. With a little help from Tommy Jumper and his vertically integrated business model at Delta Peanut LLC, cotton farmers in Lee and St. Francis counties have been adding peanuts to their rotation and harvesting better-than-expected yields. Jumper talked to us about his business and how he believes that the state will become a “major player” in the U.S. peanut industry when Arkansas’ first shelling facility begins operation near Jonesboro next year.

Jeff Edwards has been farming in the Sherrill-Pastoria community near Pine Bluff for most of his life. Like others in the Arkansas River valley, he lost cropland to the historic flooding earlier this year. He and his family have weathered challenges like this before, though, and Jeff plans to continue farming until, “the Lord calls him home.” Watch to learn more.