UAM forestry program expands recruitment efforts with summer camp, grant funding

By Lon Tegels
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

The forestry program at University of Arkansas at Monticello is recruiting to expand the forestry workforce, powered in part by federal grant funding.

RECRUITMENT — Dr. Pipiet Larasatie (left) and her graduate student Kamala Chamlagain (right), who are working on the projects together.  (Division of Agriculture photo by Lon Tegels.)

Pipiet Larasatie, assistant professor of forestry for UAM, has received two federal grants to address recruitment in forestry. The first grant is part of an outreach project that will match eleven students from rural Arkansas high schools, vocational-technical institutions, or community colleges with eleven students from the UAM in a mentoring program. The program is designed to increase participation of underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering, and math, commonly referred to as STEM, especially as they relate to forestry.

The $107,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant provides funding for students to attend summer camp at UAM’s campus and eventually prepare a project for a science competition in 4-H, Future Farmers of America or science fairs. The camp will be held June 3-6, and its application period is open through April 1. Interested individuals can apply at https://www.competitive-forest.com/wamsfor or email larasatie@uamont.edu for more information. Most Arkansas residents are eligible to apply.

Michael Blazier, dean of the UAM College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources, supports the mission.

“I think the action of doing these camps in and of themselves is important because even if these students that go through the program don't necessarily go right into forestry, it may open their eyes to similar opportunities,” Blazier said.

“It unlocks new potential in them,” he said. “That is the win that we at UAM get immediately from this. These students may be attracted to us sooner because they get quality time with our faculty, staff, and students while on campus. The longer-term benefit I’m hopeful for is that what we learn from these students will help our recruiting efforts by not only being better at reaching students geographically but culturally. That will be vital to our long-term success as a college and providing a workforce for the forestry profession.”

The program will pay participants a $1,000 stipend for their time at the summer camp and science project development.

“We have launched an open call,” Larasatie said. “We will initially interview 15 high school students, and depending on what motivates them, we will match the high school mentees with college mentors so that they can help them with their science journey and prepare for the science competitions. Once on the UAM campus, the mentee and mentor will spend time bonding to determine the student's science interests.

“They can choose their science project with the end goal that they will go to competitions such as 4-H, FFA, and Science Fair,” she said. After the UAM camp, the mentee and mentor will continue working on the science project online until the actual presentations.

The mentors will also receive mentorship training before the camp, Larasatie said.

“The project is twofold,” she said. “The first goal is to give them more exposure and opportunities to be involved in STEM-based forestry science projects and then be able to compete in the science competition.”

A second long-term goal is to encourage these young talents to enter forest sector workforce, Larasatie said.

Forest Grant to Research Attitudes of Workforce

The second grant that Larasatie is involved in focuses on identifying the existing workforce and exploring issues and opinions around recruitment and retention. The Forest and Wood Products Sector Inclusion Council funds the grant, led by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities.

Larasatie said she was particularly pleased about receiving this grant.

“This is an honor for us because this opportunity recognizes that we are doing the right thing,” she said. “This research is targeting all actors in the forestry and wood products workforce including students, employees, and recruiters. It includes participants along forest chains who manage forest ecosystem services across the United States' urban and rural landscapes.”

Larasatie is joined by graduate student Kamana Chamlagain, who completed her undergraduate degree in forestry study in Nepal and then worked as a conservationist with tigers and red pandas. For Chamlagain, her master's thesis will investigate the patterns of entry into the forestry workforce and the value of seeking natural resources careers.

“To sustain the forestry workforce, we want to make sure that we're recruiting students from a broad array of backgrounds, and we want to make sure that we're placing them in good jobs and continuing to be a resource for them,” Blazier said.

If you are in the forestry and natural resource sector, please fill the survey here: https://uark.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1NVKtClRXIG4SlE

About the Arkansas Center for Forest Business

Established in 2021, the Arkansas Center for Forest Business is part of the University of Arkansas, College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Center provides technical assistance for market-based solutions to forest resource challenges, programs for degree and post-baccalaureate education, and information on timber supply, forest products markets and operational efficiency. The Center for Forest Business will provide market-based economic solutions to forest resource issues, improving business practices for forest enterprises, and enhancing economic competitiveness.

About the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center

The College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, a University of Arkansas System Center of Excellence, brings together interdisciplinary expertise through a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The College and Center are headquartered at the University of Arkansas at Monticello campus, but their programs range statewide with the mission of developing and delivering teaching, research, and extension programs that enhance and ensure the sustainability and productivity of forest-based natural resources and agricultural systems. Academic programs are delivered by the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources through the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, research is administered by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and extension and outreach activities are coordinated by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offer all of their programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employers.

Geospatial AI provides new avenue for forest health research

By Nick Kordsmeier
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

MONTICELLO, Ark. — While an emerging fungal disease continues to chip away at the forestry industry in the southern United States, remote sensing researcher Hamdi Zurqani is developing artificial intelligence models to seek answers from the skies.

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT — Hamdi Zurqani, remote sensing researcher and assistant professor for the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources at University of Arkansas at Monticello, inspects a drone outfitted with a LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, system. (U of A System photo courtesy of Zurqani.)

“My job is to identify different stages of mortality,” said Zurqani, assistant professor for the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Using aerial imagery obtained from drones, Zurqani said he is developing tools that give landowners and other stakeholders the information they need to manage this growing threat to the forestry industry.

By applying geospatial artificial intelligence techniques, Zurqani said he can assess how many trees have been affected by the disease. “How many trees have already died? How many trees may be in the early stage that are going to get worse? How many trees are still green?” he said.

Since summer 2022, foresters and researchers have been fielding calls about pine decline in Arkansas. Pine decline is a convergence of environmental and genetic issues that cause tree health problems in pine forests. Results from diagnostic tests in July 2023 confirmed that a fungal disease called brown spot needle blight is at least partially to blame.

“It's kind of nipping away at pine forests,” said Michael Blazier, director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center and dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Although there are pockets of dying trees within affected forests, a bigger issue could be slower growth of infected forests.”

Blazier said that when trees lose their foliage, as often happens with the needle blight disease, they have less energy to invest in growing their trunk diameter. Less trunk growth means less wood production and delayed harvest.

DETECTED — Aerial imagery of pine forests from remote sensing researcher Hamdi Zurqani are used in an AI model under development. The top photo shows a section of pine trees in southeast Arkansas impacted by disease. The bottom graphic shows part of the output from the AI detection approach, which shows living trees in green and dead trees in brown. Red boxes have been added to show corresponding dead spots. (U of A System photo courtesy of Zurqani.)

Understanding the how and why of brown spot needle blight remains the primary focus for researchers in Arkansas and the wider region, Blazier said. That’s where Zurqani’s work comes in.

“If we were able to identify the early stages of the disease, we can somehow get a clue about what’s going to happen in the future,” Zurqani said.

In Arkansas, Blazier said the fight against pine decline has been highly collaborative. The Forestry Division of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Arkansas Forestry Association have been working closely with the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, which conducts research and extension activities through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s research and outreach arms.

“We have a tight working relationship between all of those agencies,” Blazier said. “There’s been excellent communication between the university, extension service, forestry association and the state’s forestry division.”

Regional challenge

In August 2023, Blazier attended a meeting at Auburn University to discuss the needle blight phenomenon with researchers and industry stakeholders from across the southern U.S.

According to information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, brown spot needle blight has been confirmed in nine states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Severe damage, however, has so far been limited to Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The meeting was organized by Lori Eckhardt, professor and director of Auburn University’s Forest Health Cooperative.

“I organized this meeting to bring together industry, government, academia and private landowners to create a space in which attendees can discuss questions, brainstorm ideas, identify problems and make decisions and develop solutions pertaining to brown spot needle blight,” Eckhardt said.

“Collaboration is important between the researchers and the landowners,” she said. “The day-to-day managers in the field can share knowledge that assists us as researchers in asking good questions to design studies that better help us understand and manage the disease. Working together will help us find answers sooner.”

Collaboration leads to clues

Blazier said the Auburn meeting provided an opportunity for participants to share what actions each affected state is taking on the research side to understand what’s causing the problem.

“One of the things that was shared at the Auburn meeting was some anecdotal evidence from the forest industry showing that there may be a soil nutrient facet to this,” Blazier said. “And that's actually something that we are looking into further within the Arkansas Forest Resources Center.”

Researchers have been collecting samples this winter from stands of trees affected by pine decline and analyzing nutrient levels. If a nutrient deficiency is found to contribute to pine decline, Blazier said that targeted soil fertilization might be a way to fight the disease.

“And that would actually give us another tool,” he said.

Looking to the future

As the winter dormant season ends and the life cycles of fungal diseases pick up again, Blazier said that testing for pine decline will continue next month.

“We’re going to resume testing on a monthly basis as a group in February, and we’ll continue that all the way through the growing season,” he said. That information will continue to feed into Zurqani’s research efforts using geospatial AI.

Blazier sees hope for spatial analysis and machine learning tools to help researchers identify patterns in the data and get to the bottom of pine decline.

“We're really optimistic,” he said.

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 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 the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Research underway for forest biochar, poultry waste

By Lon Tegels
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

MONTICELLO, Ark. — In rural Arkansas, researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are exploring the potential of biochar to replace synthetic fertilizers in hay production — especially when combined with poultry litter.

IN THE FIELD — In rural Arkansas, researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture are exploring the potential of biochar to replace synthetic fertilizers in hay production — especially when combined with poultry litter. (Division of Agriculture video.)

Biochar is produced when timber waste is exposed to high heat and no oxygen.

The implications of the research could be significant. A positive outcome could provide the forest industry with a new eco-friendly byproduct for wood mill residues and provide farmers in southeast Arkansas with a cheaper alternative to synthetic fertilizers. While chicken litter is a valuable source of fertilizer that has been used for decades, it has become harder to acquire and both transportation and application have become more expensive.

Furthermore, biochar has been found to sequester carbon in soil, an important factor in reducing greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

Kathleen Bridges, assistant professor of agronomy for the University of Arkansas at Monticello’s College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and Scott Hayes, Drew County extension agent for the Division of Agriculture, are leading the project. They each said the potential research outcomes are unknown at this point.

"We don't know if it will be good or bad,” said Bridges, who is jointly employed by both the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the Cooperative Extension Service, specializing in soils and crop sciences. “It could be a negative thing, but hopefully science will reveal that."

"This research is somewhat new,” said Hayes. “Most of our producers in this area use chicken litter as a fertilizer for their hay pastures. By mixing this with the biochar, we hope to see better soil health through microbial activity."

Hayes and Bridges launched their project in June with 20 plots, each measuring nine square meters, in a hayfield near the UAM Agriculture Building in Monticello. A local company donated the biochar, while an acquaintance of Hayes supplied the chicken waste.

Hayes and Bridges mixed the two sources and then hand-spread the chicken litter mix, and let nature take its course. The plot produced its second cutting of hay in September — somewhat ahead of schedule, due to the high summer heat.

"We are trying to measure the biomass of our forage production,” Bridges said.

The research team is using a tool known as a quadrat, which subdivides each plot — the quadrat in this experiment dividing the plots into squares measuring 25 by 25 centimeters — and shears for taking forage samples. The treatments include different rates of biochar and chicken litter. By weighing the samples collected, Bridges will be able to calculate the amount of forage production on a per-acre basis.

"We are recording forage weights and tonnage per acre,” Hayes said. “She's also collecting soil samples and keeping up with those because this will be a long-term project. Soil doesn't just change overnight; it will take years and be a good project."

Carbon storage potential
Biochar is high in carbon. When it’s applied to the soil, it can be sequestered there for many years, potentially increasing the number of microorganisms in the soil. Those microorganisms play a very important role in plant growth.

Bridges said there is a lot of biochar research across the state, including projects that involve mixing biochar with fertilizers for row crops such as corn and rice.

"They are also looking at using biochar in the chicken houses with the chicken litter, or with the bedding in the chicken houses, to see if it will help with reducing ammonia production,” she said. Exposure to ammonia can injure chickens, Bridges explained.

Hayes said the biochar product they used was light, and his part in this project is to try to make it easy for producers to incorporate biochar into their fertilizer program without needing any specialty equipment. Mixing the biochar with chicken litter, which farm producers already use, will be heavier and can be put into a spreader, where it will be mixed and applied on pastures or cropland evenly.

Potential for future funding
Much of the Division of Agriculture’s research, including that conducted by the University of Monticello, is grant-funded. The biochar project, however, has proceeded thus far without any such funding. Bridges and Hayes said that if successful, their work could lead to larger, grant-funded research that further helps farmers and the forest products industry.

"At the beginning of the summer, Scott came to me and said, ‘We've got access to the biochar; we got access to chicken litter, and we got access to a pasture. So, let's go ahead and do this,’” Bridges said. “And I said, OK."

Bridges said the team is presently processing samples and collecting data.

"We're just seeing what we can do to keep the agriculture alive here in Southeast Arkansas and make it good for our livestock and forestry guys,” Hayes said.

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 on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

About the Arkansas Center for Forest Business

Established in 2021, the Arkansas Center for Forest Business is part of the University of Arkansas, College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Center provides technical assistance for market-based solutions to forest resource challenges, programs for degree and post-baccalaureate education, and information on timber supply, forest products markets and operational efficiency. The Center for Forest Business will provide market-based economic solutions to forest resource issues, improving business practices for forest enterprises, and enhancing economic competitiveness.

About the College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center

The College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, a University of Arkansas System Center of Excellence, bring together interdisciplinary expertise through a partnership between the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The College and Center are headquartered at the University of Arkansas at Monticello campus, but their programs range statewide with the mission of developing and delivering teaching, research, and extension programs that enhance and ensure the sustainability and productivity of forest-based natural resources and agricultural systems. Academic programs are delivered by the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources through the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, research is administered by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and extension and outreach activities are coordinated by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offer all of their programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employers.

Extension’s Ford receives Lifetime Achievement Award for forestry contributions

By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Victor L. Ford, associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ouachita Society of American Foresters for his 40-year career in forestry.

A LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT — Victor L. Ford, associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ouachita Society of American Foresters for his 40-year career in forestry. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

The award, presented Nov. 10 at the society’s banquet in Oklahoma, honors a person who has made considerable contributions to the forestry industry and to the Ouachita Society of American Foresters. The Ouachita Society of American Foresters includes foresters from Arkansas and Oklahoma and is part of the Society of American Foresters, the professional organization for foresters.

“It has been a labor of love over the past 40 years to give back to my profession,” Ford said. “I came to Arkansas and attended meetings with foresters who managed the virgin pine forests. These pioneers gave me a sense of history and along with others in my career were treasured mentors. I hope that I can give that sense of our place in history to the next generation of foresters.”

Ford has been a member of the society since 1982. He was named Forestry Educator of the Year for the Ouachita Society of American Foresters in 2013 and named Fellow of the Society of American Foresters in 2014.

He has held numerous positions within the organization, serving as secretary, vice chair and chair of the Silviculture Working Group. He served on the Ethics Committee, which he chaired for two years, and he co-chaired the Certification Review Board, which oversees professional credentialing. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Society of American Foresters and is the first Arkansan to serve in this capacity.

Ford’s career has always involved forestry — 20 years in private industry and another 20 with the Cooperative Extension Service. Before becoming associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources in the Division of Agriculture, Ford worked five years as an extension forester at the Southwest Research and Extension Center in Hope and later served as director of the center for eight years.

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 on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

AUDIO: Governor Hutchinson’s Weekly Address | New Center Assists Forest Business

LITTLE ROCK – Today I’d like to talk about the recent opening of a new academic center to promote the forest industry in Arkansas.

Agriculture is the leading industry in our state, and timber plays a critical role in our state’s economy. When you think of agriculture in the Natural State, the first commodities to come to mind are typically rice, cotton, poultry, soybeans, or cattle. But the forest industry is critical to our state’s economy and agricultural production.

Last week, I traveled to the campus of the University of Arkansas at Monticello for the grand opening of the Arkansas Center for Forest Business. The purpose of this Center is to provide technical assistance for solutions to forest resource challenges, degree programs, and information on timber supply, market conditions, and efficiency.

The forest industry accounts for $6 billion of the Arkansas economy. Our state is the most timber-dependent economy in the South and third most in the country. We are growing forests twice as fast as they’re being harvested, and we could double our timber production and still be a leader in forest sustainability.

The Center for Forest Business will provide a number of resources to the timber industry in Arkansas. Not only will the Center provide expanded educational opportunities at UA-Monticello, but it will also provide opportunities for greater economic development projects in South Arkansas.

Companies like Drax and Highland Pellets chose to expand their operations in Arkansas because of our abundant and sustainable forest products. The Center for Forest Business will not only help our timber producers maximize their profits, but it will also help attract additional businesses who utilize this resource.

But the Center for Forest Business will not just benefit timber producers in South Arkansas. Dean Peter MacKeith of the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture in Fayetteville has long had the vision for the entire state to work together to promote our state’s forest products. According to Dean MacKeith, the Center for Forest Business focuses on the economics and the finance side of the timber industry, while the Anthony Timberlands Center in Fayetteville will focus on the development and promotion of forest products.

UA-Monticello is home to the only forestry school in Arkansas, and UA-Fayetteville is home to the only architecture school in our state, so the two programs together provide a natural fit.

Our state is more successful when all corners of Arkansas work together to create economic success. The Center for Forest Business will not just benefit timber producers in South Arkansas, it will benefit any Arkansan in the forest product supply chain.

Congratulations to Dean Michael Blazier of the UA-Monticello College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, and thank you for helping keep Arkansas the Natural State.

YEAREND: Busy 2020 in the Forest Industry, Oh, and There Is A Pandemic Too!

By Matthew Pelkki

MONTICELLO, Ark. — Even if you leave out the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 was a busy one for Timber related news, both good and bad.

In the Arkansas forest products industries, industry expansions and investments included the Green Bay Packaging's Morrilton facility's virgin fiber project. After closing one paper facility in Crossett in 2019, Georgia-Pacific announced a 37-million-dollar investment in Crossett's remaining paper mill. Koppers, a wood treatment company, expanded its Little Rock operations. Resolute Forest Products acquired mills in El Dorado and Glenwood with plans to upgrade and expand each.

https://www.uaex.edu/media-resources/news/december2020/12-23-2020-UAM-YEAREND-Forestry%20.aspx