Donette Spann has been named administrator of the Arkansas Beef Council, the farmer-funded promotion agency that oversees and administers the Beef Checkoff Program in Arkansas. She replaces the recently the recently retired Travis Justice.
This week, weather takes center stage. We hear from a National Weather Service Senior Forecaster John Lewis, Ag Extension Rice Agronomist Jarrod Hardke and Sevier County livestock and poultry grower Bruce Jackson about how excessive winds and rainfall from Hurricane Laura could impact Arkansas agriculture. We also get some tips and information for Arkansas small meat and poultry processors interested in the state’s new $5 million grant program for expanding processing capacity.
Arkansas Farm Bureau on Friday praised Gov. Asa Hutchinson and members of the General Assembly after the body allocated $5 million from the federal CARES Act to create a grant program that will allow custom meat processors in Arkansas to expand and upgrade facilities.
This week, we learn about a potential $5 million grant to help Arkansas meat processors expand. We also talk Catfish Month in Arkansas with Chad Causey of Catfish Farmers of America, and we discuss the recent outbreak of VSV that’s hitting horses in the state.
Dr. Chelsea Bland Smith, DVM with Broken L Veterinary Services, PLLC, spoke with Gregg Patterson about the recent outbreak of Vesicular Stomatitus Virus (VSV) that’s primarily affecting horses in the state now.
Keith Sutton talks to ArFB's Chief Economist Travis Justice and Director of Public Affairs & Government Relations about the recent meat shortages in grocery stores and efforts to expand local meat inspections so growers can more efficiently sell their products directly to local consumers.
This week, we have an in-depth conversation with Arkansas Farm Bureau experts about efforts to establish a state meat inspection program in Arkansas and we chat with Cooperative Extension Service entomologists about summer insect pests Arkansas farmers will be facing.
We talk to Dustin Cowell of Mount Judea (Newton County). He and his wife Kayla operate a cow/calf operation with roughly 35 momma cows. They also serve as chairs of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher Committee. Cowell discusses his new and very succesful effort to sell beef directly to consumers.
Arkansas Farm Bureau state leaders and policy specialists met via tele-conference Tuesday with livestock producers to inform them about the U.S. CARES Act Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, known as CFAP. Only producers directly affected by the coronavirus who lost 5% or more raising cattle, swine or lambs are eligible for this program. Cow-calf cattle operations are the dominant livestock production in Arkansas.
Dr. Chelsea Bland Smith operates Broken L Veterinary Services, a mobile clinic, out of her homebase in Nashville, Ark. She is licensed in Arkansas and Oklahoma and works on livestock and pets on farms and homes in both states. Follow along as she takes us through an average day of a mobile vet.
