Faulkner County Agriculture Update
February 23, 2024
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Weather
We have finally had a good run of dry, warm days. Producers have been doing field work, soil sampling, spraying and fertilizing trying to take advantage of this weather. It looks like we have a good run until rain chances and cooler weather return next Wednesday into Thursday.
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River Valley Rice Production Meeting
Next Wednesday, February 28, 2024 will be our annual River Valley Rice Meeting at Yesterday's in Morrilton. This is a great chance to meet with the experts of Arkansas Rice.
Here is the agenda for the morning:
9:30 – 9:45 - Registration/Coffee and Donuts
9:45 – 10:30 - Jarod Hardke – Extension Rice Agronomist
10:30 – 11:15 - Tommy Butts – Extension Weed Scientist
11:15 – 12:00 - Ryan Loy – Extension Agriculture Economist
Lunch
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Arkansas Soybean and Corn Cash and Booking Market Reports
The two links below take you to reports by Brian Deaton, Extension Economist with contributions by Jeremy Ross - Soybean Specialist and Jason Kelley - Corn Specialist.
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Wheat
If you haven't gotten your wheat fertilizer out, now is the time to get it out ahead of rain towards the middle of next week. Most ground should be dry enough to run fertilizer by ground.
Wheat that was fertilized last week has really responded and greened up. It is amazing what some nitrogen and warm dry weather does for wheat.
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Beef, Small Ruminants, & Forages
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February Cattlemen's Meeting
The Faulkner County Cattlemen met on February 22, 2024 for their monthly meeting. Dr. Cy Shurtleff from Morrilton Vet Clinic gave a presentation on beef cattle respiratory diseases.
The next meeting will actually be the Area 7 Conference at the Conway Expo Center on March 28, 2024. Check the Cattlemen website to RSVP. Extension will have a booth so come by and say hi!
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Grass Tetany
Grass tetany is a disease that commonly occurs in Arkansas in the months of February, March and April. The disease is caused by an abnormally low level of magnesium in the cow’s body. This decrease in magnesium can be indirectly caused by heavy fertilization of pastures. When forages are fertilized heavily with potassium (potash), this can decrease the dietary absorption of magnesium in a cow’s gastrointestinal system. Furthermore, young and rapidly growing forage usually has an increased content of potassium. These two pathways that lead to this disease (fertilization and rapidly growing forage) commonly occur in late winter and early spring.
Prevention of grass tetany can be achieved by providing a salt-mineral supplement containing at least 10 percent magnesium.
To read more on this disease please click the link below.
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Bloat in Small Ruminants
Bloat is a life-threatening condition, and time is critical if the animal is to be saved. Bloat, also known as tympany, is a buildup of gas in the rumen that cannot be released.
Gas is naturally produced during the breakdown of feedstuffs in the rumen and is typically released through belching (eructation). When belching cannot occur, bloat happens.
Three types of bloat can occur in small ruminants: frothy bloat (primary ruminal tympany), free-gas bloat (secondary ruminal tympany) and abomasal bloat (abdominal tympany). Both frothy and free-gas bloat can occur in any animal with a mature rumen, but abomasal bloat is usually only seen in bottle-fed young.
To read more on this disease please click the link below.
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2024 AGLC Grazing Conference
The 2024 AGLC Grazing Conferences will be held in Hope on March 28 and Harrison on March 29. They have a great line up scheduled this year. It costs $40 a person to attend.
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Tri County Beef and Forage Conference
Faulkner, Conway and Van Buren Counties are going together to present the 2024 Tri County Beef and Forage Conference on February 27, 2024 at the Cowboy Church in Damascus. The meeting will start at 5:30 pm with a meal followed by the program. Speakers will include Dr. Maggie Justice our State Beef Specialist, Danny Griffin the Van Buren County Extension Agent - Staff Chair and Kevin Lawson the Faulkner County Extension Agent - Agriculture.
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Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop
The University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture is partnering with the Alliance for Grassland Renewal to host an all you need to know workshop about renovating pastures with novel endophyte tall fescues. Speakers from across the southeast will join us to discuss everything from the history to economics of fescue toxicosis and managing tall fescues that have a fungus that helps the plant without the negative side effects on animal production. There will also be a tour of old and newly renovated stands of novel fescues at the research station. The workshop is March 21 at the Livestock and Forestry Research Station located at 70 Experiment Station Drive, Batesville, AR. The workshop begins at 8:15am and will conclude at 4:30pm. For meal and materials planning, everyone is asked to pre-register ($40/person).
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Arkansas River Valley Small Ruminant Conference
Save the date for the upcoming River Valley Small Ruminant Conference in April. I will have more information and an agenda soon.
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Here is this weeks Cattle Market Notes Weekly
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Livestock Market Report
The weekly livestock market report is available on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture website.
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Pesticide Applicator Training
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There are two PAT trainings scheduled for Faulkner County. All trainings will be held at the Extension Office located at 844 Faulkner Street in Conway.
The dates are:
March 12, 2024 - 6:00 pm
May 14, 2024 - 2:00 pm
To register you can call the office at 501-329-8344 or email my administrative assistant Mindy Beard at rbeard@uada.edu.
The training will cost $20. If you bring a check please make it out to Faulkner County Extension Office.
The online course is still an option also. If you want to use the online options, the link is below.
If you happen to miss ours, I have a flyer below with the dates and places of the ones in Conway and Perry County also.
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Faulkner County Open House
We would like to invite everyone to come to our Open House on March 16, 2024 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Extension office located at 844 Faulkner Street in Conway.
We have lots of activities planned for everyone that comes out. We will be taking soil samples that day. Just get a sample from your yard, garden or pasture and put it in a Ziplock plastic bag and bring it by and we will get it sent off for you.
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Homesteading Conference
We are excited to announce our upcoming Homesteading Conference on March 11, 2024 at the Extension Office from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. We will cover topics like Home Composting, Beekeeping, 4-H, Fertilizer Management for Small Farms, Food Preservation Basics, Economics of Food Preservation and Cheese Making.
Cost is $25 per person and a meal will be provided. We are excited for everyone to come out and learn more about homesteading.
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Pesticide Applicator Training - March 12, 2024 at 6:00 pm and May 14, 2024 at 2:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street Conway. To register call 501-329-8344 or email Mindy Beard at rbeard@uada.edu.
Tri County Beef and Forage Conference - February 27, 2024 - 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm at the Cowboy Church in Damascus
Rice Meeting - February 28, 2024, Yesterday's in Morrilton.
Homesteading Conference - March 11, 2024 - 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street, Conway.
Extension Office Open House - March 16, 2024 - 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at the Faulkner County Extension Office, 844 Faulkner Street, Conway.
Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue Renovation Workshop - March 21, 2024 - 8:15 am to 4:30 pm at the Batesville Livestock Research Center.
AGLC Grazing Conference - March 28, 2024 in Hope, March 29 in Harrison starting at 8:00 am.
River Valley Small Ruminant Conference - April 13, 2024 - 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.
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