River Valley Beef Cattle Conference to explore state of hay availability, cattle genetics and more

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

OZARK, Ark. — Researchers and extension agents with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will be bringing the latest in cattle production knowledge to interested attendees at the Feb. 20 River Valley Beef Cattle Conference in Ozark. 

ADDRESSING CONCERNS — With cattle markets soaring throughout 2023 and regional drought conditions affecting the availability and quality of hay and other forages, attendees at the Feb. 20 River Valley Beef Cattle Conference in Ozark can expect the conference to address topics key to success in 2024. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

With cattle markets soaring throughout 2023 and regional drought conditions affecting the availability and quality of hay and other forages, attendees can expect the conference to address topics key to success in 2024.

“I think producers are mostly worried about hay and forage shortages,” said Bob Harper, staff chair for the Logan County Cooperative Extension Service. “They are also worried about high fertilizer and input costs in the coming year. I think most of them would like to try and up inputs this spring and summer in order to try and get back ahead of their hay situation, but they are concerned that high fertilizer prices may prevent that from happening.

In-person registration for the conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the conference will. conclude at 12:15 p.m. with lunch. The cost is $20, payable at the door.

Presenters will include Jesse Taylor, staff chair for the Johnson County Cooperative Extension Service; Kevin Van Pelt, extension agriculture agent for the Conway County Cooperative Extension Service; Maggie Justice, extension beef cattle specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture; Jeremy Powell, professor of animal science for the Division of Agriculture; and Ryan Loy, extension agricultural economist for the Division of Agriculture.

Taylor and Van Pelt will discuss the 2023 hay verification report, which will include the latest findings in verification trials. Justice will discuss understanding expected progeny differences, or EPDs, and genetic tests for cattle breeding. Loy will discuss the input price outlook for 2024.

The conference agenda includes:

• Registration Introductions & Welcome

• Welcome from Farm Credit Services

• Hay Verification report – Jesse Taylor & Kevin Van Pelt

• Understanding and using EPD’s & Genetic tests – Dr. Maggie Justice

• Break

• Input Price Outlook – Dr. Ryan Loy

• Veterinary/Producers relationship requirements – Dr. Jeremy Powell

• Live cattle assessment & valuation – Shawn Gattis

• Lunch

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Conference brings muscadine, bunch-grape researchers to Arkansas on Oct. 3-5

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Muscadine and bunch-grape growers and researchers have tended to move in their own circles. Until now.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will host the North American Grape Breeders and Vitis-Muscadine Alliance Conference on Oct. 3-5 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Science, 1371 W. Altheimer Drive, in Fayetteville.

Fruit breeder Margaret Worthington holds "clamshell" containers of muscadines during a tour of the Fruit Research Station in Clarksville in 2021. (U of A System Division of Agriculture file photo)

“To my knowledge, the conference is one of the first national attempts at a collaboration of people working with Vitis and Muscadinia,” said Renee Threlfall, a research scientist, enology and viticulture for the division’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and director of the Arkansas Quality Wine program. “Muscadines are very ‘regional’ so many U.S. consumers have never heard of them, never mind having tasted a muscadine grape or a product made from muscadines.”

“Vitis” is the genus that encompasses all grapes, whether they’re grown for food or wine. Bunch grapes — which include those used for wines, raisins and eating fresh — and muscadines, each belong to a separate subgenus. And that’s where things get interesting.

Muscadines, with their distinct flavor and thick skins, have 20 chromosomes, one more than bunch grapes. However, researchers see benefits in creating a hybrid of the two. That decades-long quest is driven by several factors such as being able to lend some of the muscadine’s disease resistance to the table grapes.

“Breeding efforts between these genera have already begun, resulting in new grape cultivars, some with attributes like Vitis, some like Muscadinia, but also many with attributes of both,” Worthington said. “This project is important because we believe there is much more to be gained in future collaborations, bringing the best of two powerhouse grape species together.”

The conference is the culmination of work conducted under a Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, or NIFA. Threlfall and Margaret Worthington, associate professor and fruit breeder for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, obtained the grant in 2022.

The event is comprised of the North American Grape Breeders Meeting on Oct. 3. The following day includes a tour of the Division of Agriculture’s research vineyards and wineries. Oct. 5 is the Vitus-Muscadina Alliance Conference.

The conference will include discussions of breeding, production, marketing and economics. Threlfall also said the results of a survey on consumer preferences for fresh-market grapes will be revealed at the conference.

“We conducted an online survey of more than 900 consumers from all U.S. regions, asking their preferences for fresh-market grape options,” Threlfall said. “These preferences will be used to inform future breeding efforts.”

Attendance is by invitation. For more information, contact Renee Threlfall at rthrelf@uark.edu.

Learn about the Division of Agriculture’s grape-breeding program.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Arkansas Trucking Association announces 2023 conference speakers

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

Shelley Simpson, president of Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services, and Gov. Sarah Sanders will be featured speakers at the annual Arkansas Trucking Association Conference & Vendor Showcase next week in Little Rock. Chris Spear, president and CEO of American Trucking Associations, will also speak at the three-day event.

More than 300 trucking industry leaders are expected to attend the event from Monday through Wednesday (May 15-17) at the Statehouse Convention Center. Speakers will address economics, leadership, politics, workforce equity, nuclear verdicts and the state’s role in the global supply chain.

On Tuesday, Simpson, who was named president of J.B. Hunt in 2022, will speak about the role Arkansas plays in the supply chain and the future of trucking. Bryan Day, executive director of the Port of Little Rock, will highlight the expansion of business in central Arkansas and how trucking is helping to drive the growth. Ross DeVol, president and CEO of Bentonville think tank Heartland Forward, will provide strategies for promoting regional innovation to enable job creation and economic growth.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/05/arkansas-trucking-association-announces-2023-conference-speakers/

Inaugural Community Health Impact Conference Provides Info and Partnerships for Organizations Throughout the State

By Kev' Moye

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health Center for Research, Health & Social Justice presented its first-ever statewide Community Health Impact Conference.

Themed, “Social Justice in Turbulent Times: Reclaiming our Space,” the two-day, virtual event offered several discussions and group activities designed to address issues such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, health outcomes in rural settings and social justice reform.

“Our goal for this conference is to provide tools to help you eliminate cancer and cardiovascular disease through using a social justice lens,” Latonya Rucker, the center’s co-director of community outreach and engagement said during her opening remarks. “Currently, we’re facing chronic health disparities that can be addressed through community partnerships.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/10/24/inaugural-community-health-impact-conference-provides-info-and-partnerships-for-organizations-throughout-the-state/

Latonya Rucker (right), co-director of community outreach and engagement for the Center for Research, Health & Social Justice, meets with Sandilyn Bullock – research project coordinator for the center – as they plan one of the segments of the Community Health Impact Conference.

Arkansas Community Colleges announce scholarships for 22 academic all-star students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
October 11, 2022 

For questions or more information, please contact: 

Collin Callaway, Senior Policy Director 

Arkansas Community Colleges 

Cell: 501-554-2146 

ccallaway@arkansascc.org 

HOT SPRINGS (October 11, 2022) – Winners of the Academic All-Star Scholarships were announced today in Hot Springs at the Arkansas Community Colleges annual conference (ACC).  

Governor Asa Hutchinson presented the keynote address at a brunch honoring the 22 student scholarship winners. The students were awarded a full-tuition transfer scholarship to any Arkansas public, four-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree. The combined total for the scholarships are estimated to be more than $500,000.  

“These scholarships will enable our highest-achieving students to reach for their dreams at any of Arkansas’s public, four-year universities,” said Andrea Henderson, ACC Executive Director. “Many of these students are not only working hard to maintain excellent grades but are also adding jobs and parenthood to their list of responsibilities, which makes their accomplishments even more impressive. These students deserve our recognition, and these scholarships are a fantastic way to help them achieve their goals.”  

Each of the 22 public two-year colleges names one student as an “Academic All-Star.” These students maintain a cumulative grade point average of no less than 3.25 out of a possible 4.0 and are outstanding campus and community leaders.  

The 22 member institutions of ACC, located throughout the state, serve more than 60,000 Arkansans per year through educational programs, technical training, continuing education, and customized workforce training for today’s businesses and industries.  

Here are the Academic All-Stars and their respective colleges:  

Arkansas Northeastern College 

Maddie Treece 

Arkansas State University  Beebe 

Steven Winchell 

Arkansas State University Mid-South 

Jayden McNair 

Arkansas State University Mountain Home 

Elsie Clark 

Arkansas State University Newport 

Dustin Mars 

Arkansas State University Three Rivers 

Kevin Nard 

Black River Technical College 

Kimberly Stokes 

East Arkansas Community College 

Megan Sullivan 

National Park College 

Tyanna Lindsey 

North Arkansas College 

Marie Kershaw 

Northwest Arkansas Community College 

Lizbeth Cenobio  

Ozarka College  

Sarah Kirby 

Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas 

Ashlynne Jenkins 

South Arkansas Community College 

SaKiya Gill 

Southeast Arkansas College 

Verdia Mays 

Southern Arkansas University Tech  

Brooke Avant  

University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville 

Samantha Wilson 

University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton 

April Brown  

University of Arkansas Cossatot 

McKenzie Simpson 

University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana 

Allison Bonner 

University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College 

Chacall D Charles 

University of Arkansas Rich Mountain 

Mary Kate Duncan 

RUTLEDGE HOSTS 3RD ANNUAL ELDER ABUSE CONFERENCE

LITTLE ROCK—Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge hosted today the 3rd annual statewide Elder Abuse Conference at The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock. More than 150 attendees heard from the experts about issues faced by loved ones and the providers who assist seniors and adults with developmental disabilities. 

“Too many times our seniors have experienced despicable abuse,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “It is my office’s responsibility to protect the state’s elderly and disabled population from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation–a duty I do not take lightly.”

The conference covered a broad range of topics including elder maltreatment, senior financial abuse, prescription drug abuse by caregivers and tools for the prevention of elder abuse. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge who keynoted the Summit, launched the event and training in 2020 after the Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) continued to experience record numbers of complaints, arrests and convictions. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, MFCUs nationwide recovered over $1.7 billion in payments illegally claimed by providers in 2021.

Medicaid fraud occurs when Medicaid providers use the Medicaid program to obtain money to which they are not entitled. To report Medicaid fraud, abuse or neglect in nursing homes or Social Security disability fraud, call the Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud hotline at (866) 810-0016 or submit a complaint online.

Additional trainings offered by the Attorney General’s Office may be located on the website.

Rutledge to host 3rd Annual Elder Abuse Conference on Sept. 1st in Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK— Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge will host the 3rd annual statewide Elder Abuse Conference at The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock on September 1, 2022. Attendees will learn about issues faced by loved ones and providers who assist and serve seniors and adults with developmental disabilities. 

“All too often our seniors get taken advantage of through financial and physical abuse and it is important to know the signs before it happens to your loved one,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “The annual Elder Abuse Conference empowers family, friends, employers and law enforcement to recognize the signs of abuse and teaches them how to protect victims when abuse is occurring.”

According to the National Council on Aging, one in 10 Americans 60 years and older have experienced some kind of abuse. It is estimated that as many as five million elderly Americans are abused each year.

The conference will cover a broad range of topics including elder maltreatment, senior financial abuse, prescription drug abuse by caregivers and tools for the prevention of elder abuse. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge will be the keynote speaker.

This course has been approved for 6.25 credits of continuing legal education, in addition to 6.25 credits of continuing education for nursing home administrators. Additionally, 6.75 hours of law enforcement (CLEST) credit has been approved. Medical provider credit is pending.

Click here to view a list of upcoming trainings offered by the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office.