Current Issue

Soybean producers: Compete for up to $7,500 and join 100 Bushel Club – apply August 1 ARKANSAS SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS Arkansas soybean producers are invited to enter the 16th annual Grow for the Green Soybean Yield Challenge (GFTG), a competition...

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Monsanto v. Durnell could change the way opponents of pesticides fight their battles, according to an attorney with the National Agricultural Law Center. At the center of this fight is Monsanto Company v. John L. Durnell. In 2019, John...

RYAN MCGEENEY LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS With clear skies but relatively little rain, verification program coordinators with the Cooperative Extension Service spent April working overtime to ensure verification fields were planted and ready for irrigation across the state. Ralph Mazzanti, extension rice verification...

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS EXTENSION JONESBORO, ARKANSAS May’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, or WASDE, report is shining a biofueled ray of light as it forecasts higher average prices for soybeans and corn. Each month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Outlook...

 LINDA GEIST COLUMBIA, MISSOURI University of Missouri Extension specialists are urging farmers, gardeners, hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts to take precautions against ticks by treating clothing with permethrin, a highly effective repellent that both repels and kills ticks. The reminder comes...

BRUNO PEDREIRA KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE A year ago, I wrote in this column about the importance of correcting acidic soils to make sure our forages grow green and fast in Tennessee pastures. However, in the last few months, I have been receiving...

JAKE MCNEAL JACKSON, TENNESSEE Soybean replanting decisions are almost always a tough call and a subjective decision.  Unseasonably warm and dry conditions throughout the late winter and up to the present have sent planting progress well above any “average” number I...

MARY HIGHTOWER JONESBORO, ARKANSAS  Dry weather at the start of the row crop growing season has sped planting of the state’s five major crops, with soybeans going in the ground at the fastest pace since 1988. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that as of...

LINDA GEIST NOVELTY, MISSOURI  Heavy rainfall is becoming more frequent across Missouri, leaving producers dealing with saturated soils, ponded fields and flooding even before the 2026 growing season began. Understanding how excess water affects crops – and what steps can help in...

MARY HIGHTOWER LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS  While interest rates have declined from post-pandemic highs, higher input costs related to oil prices may add to farmers’ interest expense burden, said Ryan Loy, extension economist for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. The Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve met March 18, voting...

JOHN LOVETT FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS  Electricity and water don’t usually mix, but technological advancements in floating solar arrays open the potential to generate electricity while decreasing impacts on farm irrigation reservoirs and agricultural land. Michael Popp with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station is...

JORDAN STRICKLER LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY A University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment researcher is leading a new project that could help farmers fight some of agriculture’s hardest-to-control insect pests with a method designed to hit the target and leave...

MARY HIGHTOWER SEARCY, ARKANSAS  Some Arkansas ranchers are reaching into their reserve hay as drought intensifies across the state. The April 9 map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 99.96 percent of Arkansas has some form of drought. Areas with the highest intensity of drought – exceptional drought...

GIOVANI PREZA FONTES URBANA, ILLINOIS March was wetter than normal across much of Illinois, with statewide precipitation averaging 4.85 inches, 1.91 inches above normal. The wet trend continued into the first two weeks of April, particularly in northern Illinois, which has...

HEATHER MARIE KELLY JACKSON, TENNESSEE This week I’ve gotten calls asking about fungicide decisions in wheat – is an application needed or not? While the initial conversation is on Fusarium Head Blight (FHB/scab) and the forecasting models available for FHB, I...