Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently proclaimed October as Arkansas Farm to School Month. During the official ceremony, the Governor also took time to honor school garden and celebrate the 2018 Arkansas School Garden of the Year. Find out why "Farm to School" is so important in Arkansas.
Three years ago Sheridan Intermediate School partnered with the Grant County Cooperative Extension Service and other organizations to develop a school garden. The students recently harvested sweet potatoes they planted last spring and now the school has been recognized as having the state’s “Best School Garden” by the Arkansas Agriculture Department and Farm Credit.
This week students at Sheridan Intermediate School harvested sweet potatoes they planted last spring, just in time for the holidays and Farm to School Month. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Grant County Cooperative Extension Service staff chair Brad McGinley and his wife Serena, a science teacher at the school, discuss the importance of the garden to students and the community.
University of Arkansas Distinguished Professor of Horticulture John Clark spoke at a muscadine workshop, Sept. 11 at the UA Fruit Research Station on Red Lick Mountain near Clarksville. More than 50 growers and hobbyists from a half-dozen states attended the workshop to compare notes and hear about the latest research on "Arkansas's favorite grape." Hear what Clark has to say about the muscadine and why it works so well in our state.
The town of Gurdon sits near the heart of timber country in southwest Arkansas, and there's a growing need for logging industry labor in the area. That's why Gurdon Public Schools invested in two timber harvesting simulators to help train students for future jobs in the forestry business.
In Clark County and across southwest Arkansas, the need for certified trained loggers is about to increase with construction of the announced Sun Bio pulp plant near Arkadelphia. With this in mind the local school system, along with three partner groups, invested more than $100,000 to purchase a Forestry Equipment Training Simulator Trailer. In this edition of Arkansas Agcast, Superintendent Allen Blackwell and Vo-Ag instructor Justin Rowland discuss how the simulators will train students in how to harvest timber, then load logs onto trucks for delivery to local mills, certifying them for potential careers in the logging industry.
A team of students from Calhoun County will soon attempt to win Arkansas’s third National 4-H Forestry Invitational championship in a row. Jaret Rushing, staff chair for the county Cooperative Extension Service and team coach, talks about how practice will be key to bringing home the championship.
Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia has seen a steady growth trend in recent years, thanks in part to its Agriculture Department, which is attracting more and more students from across the state and region. Watch and learn more from the department's director, Dr. Jeffry Miller, and second-year student Brady Gentry.
The Bradley County 4-H Forestry Team has won the past two national forestry championships, but this year a team from Calhoun County will represent Arkansas and attempt to win the state’s third national title in a row. In this edition of Arkansas AgCast, Jaret Rushing, staff chair for the county Cooperative Extension Service and team coach, and 4-H team member Evan Beaver sat down to discuss what it would mean to bring home the championship.
The Danville School System is one several in Arkansas participating in the “Farm to School” program that connects farmers and ranchers with schools to provide fresh, locally grown produce for their food programs.
