Barber named interim AVP for agriculture, natural resources for extension service

LITTLE ROCK — Tom Barber has been named interim assistant vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the Cooperative Extension Service.

Barber, an extension weed scientist and director of the Jackson County Extension Center, will step into the role on Feb. 26. The position came open with the retirement of Vic Ford at the end of January. The extension service, the land-grant outreach arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will conduct a nationwide search for a new assistant vice president.

Tom Barber will be interim assistant VP for agriculture and natural resources in the wake of Vic Ford's retirement. (U of A System Division of Agriculture file photo)

“I am excited to have Tom Barber joining the administrative team as interim agriculture and natural resources program leader,” said John Anderson, director of the Cooperative Extension Service. “Tom brings many years of experience as a highly effective and highly respected state extension specialist. He knows what it takes to develop and deliver quality, research-based, high-impact programs, and he is well-connected, not only to his research counterparts within the University of Arkansas System, but also around the country. 

“I am grateful that he is willing to step into this temporary role to provide program stability and continuity as we make a thorough search for our next ANR program leader,” Anderson said.

Barber earned his bachelor’s and master’s in weed science at the University of Arkansas and his doctorate in weed science at Mississippi State University.

Barber joined the Division of Agriculture in 2007 as an extension cotton specialist and assistant professor. He moved to extension weed scientist in 2012 and in 2016, Barber was promoted to full professor, adding a research appointment from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station to his duties.

“All of us in extension’s agriculture and natural resources appreciate the hard work Vic did on our behalf,” said Barber. “I’m committed to working with my colleagues to ensure the continuity of the programs and outreach that are part of our land-grant mission. I’m looking forward to being able to serve our stakeholders and will be glad to work on a smooth transition once we have our new assistant vice president.”

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.

Dropping temps, additional moisture, longer nights help fall foliage outlook

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

HOPE, Ark. — The arrival of more fall-like temperatures and the season’s longer nights are expected to encourage an improved autumn color display, says Vic Ford, head of agriculture and natural resources for the Cooperative Extension Service.

In northern Arkansas, lows are forecast to sneak into the 40s this week. In northeast, central and southern Arkansas, lows are expected to sink into the 50s and 60s.

SEEING RED — Cooler temperatures and longer days will help encourage fall color. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

“The cooler temperatures will help two processes needed for fall color to happen,” Ford said. “First, it will accelerate abscission layer formation. This layer cuts off nutrient flow to the leaf and is where the leaf will eventually break from the tree, but more immediately, it keeps excess sugars in the leaf, promoting non-green pigment production in the leaf.”

The cooler temperatures “also quicken chlorophyll degradation, allowing the leaves’ natural red and gold pigments to show,” he said.

“The recent rains may also help intensify color,” Ford said.

The Climate Prediction Center says it’s likely Arkansas will see below-normal temperatures through Oct. 22.

The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

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.

Ford named recipient of Society of American Foresters’ Gifford Pinchot medal

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Vic Ford, head of agriculture and natural resources for the Cooperative Extension Service in Arkansas, has been recognized by the Society of American Foresters with its highest honor, the Gifford Pinchot medal.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award because the list of award winners includes my mentors and heroes,” Ford said. “It is extra special since I was nominated by friends and colleagues in Arkansas who thought my accomplishments qualified for the award when I did not. I am indeed grateful for their confidence and support.”

Arkansas' Vic Ford has been honored with the Gifford Pinchot medal, the highest honor given by the Society of American Foresters (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo).

The medal recognizes outstanding contributions by a forestry professional in the administration, practice, and professional development of forestry in North America, and is presented in odd-numbered years. The Society of American Foresters announced its awards on Aug. 31. Ford will receive the medal in October.

“We are very proud of Dr. Ford’s accomplishments as a forester,” said Bob Scott, director of the Cooperative Extension Service. “In his role as associate vice president for ag and natural resources, he often finds himself doing double duty in our forestry group due some vacancies and reduction in the number of staff. I join everyone in congratulating him on this well-deserved recognition.”

The medal is named for Gifford Pinchot, who is widely credited as being America's first forester and the father of the conservation movement in North America. In addition to establishing the Forest Service, Pinchot founded the Society of American Foresters in 1900. He served as its president from 1900–1908 and again from 1910–1911. He was elected an SAF Fellow in 1918. Gifford Pinchot brought a professional approach to all his endeavors, the Forest Service, natural resource conservation, and the SAF. His actions have left an indelible mark on the profession of natural resource management. 

Ford earned his Ph.D. in forest soils from Virginia Tech. He joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture as a professor and head of the newly opened Southwest Research and Extension Center in 1983, the same year he joined SAF. He was named associate vice president for agriculture and natural resources-extension for the Division of Agriculture in 2020. Ford has become a familiar face and voice in Arkansas, thanks to his many appearances in media outlets, and talks about edible fungi.

In November 2022, Ford was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ouachita Society of American Foresters during its annual meeting in Oklahoma.

Early adopter of computers, spatial data
Ford was an early adopter of microcomputer use in forestry. By the late 1980s, Ford was learning geographic information systems, or GIS, and again was an early adopter in use of spatial data analysis for research and to develop operational recommendations for foresters.

His use of GIS hasn’t been limited to forestry. Over the last decade, he has used GIS to help determine the scope of large-scale row crop damage from flooding.

Ford developed a mapping system and code that used geology and geomorphology as a framework to map soils and develop recommendations. This system was used by his employer Westvaco in Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia. Consultants who conduct soil mapping have adapted the system to other areas.

Ford’s screening of herbicides for hardwood plantations led to significant changes to labels.  His work in water quality showed that water coming from a managed landscape was often cleaner than water entering the tract.

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.

LABOR DAY: Fall foliage may fizzle

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

HOPE, Ark. — Thanks to a string of dry days with highs in the 100s, Arkansas’ fall foliage display may fizzle this year.

“It’s going to be a pretty bad fall across the state,” said Vic Ford, a forester who is head of agriculture and natural resources for the Cooperative Extension Service. “A lot of trees are already turning brown.

Drought is likely to put a damper on fall foliage color in 2023, says Vic Ford, forester and administrator at the Cooperative Extension Service. (U of A System Division of Agriuculture photo by Mary Hightower)

“There’s a lot of drought stress going around,” he said. When drought hits, one of the tree’s survival mechanisms is to cut sap flow to its leaves, preventing moisture from evaporating from the leaves, which leads to browning and early leaf fall.

“Leaf color change of the type we like to see in fall is driven by day length and temperature,” Ford said. “The shorter day encourages the green chlorophyll to break down, revealing the yellows and reds. Cooler temperatures allow the non-green colors in the leaf to develop more fully.”

The Drought Center map for Arkansas showed areas of abnormal dryness in eastern Arkansas along the Missouri border, some patches in southwest Arkansas, but a broad swath of dryness north of the Arkansas River extending from the Mississippi River as far west as Faulkner and Pulaski counties. Five counties have areas of severe drought including all of Lee County, and parts of St. Francis, Woodruff, Monroe and Phillips counties.

The dryness was also prompting counties to impose burn bans across the state as the wildfire danger increased across most of the state.

“In areas where there might be more moisture, you may get some color, such as on northern slopes,” he said.

If the dry spell is upended, the chances for color might improve slightly.

“Any moisture in the next couple of weeks could produce color in places that are marginal,” Ford said.

Speaking from Hope, he said that “elms are just turning totally brown and the privet has wilted completely.”

La Niña gives way to El Niño
While cooler temperatures were in the forecast, the National Weather Service at Little Rock was not expecting abundant rain.

“Looking ahead, La Niña has faded, with a transition to a moderate to strong El Niño in the coming months,” the weather service said. “As we head through the remainder of summer/early fall long-term data is showing largely below normal precipitation across Arkansas.

“In addition to a lack of thunderstorms, there could be extreme heat at times,” the weather service said. “Given the scenario, and if there is no rain by way of a tropical system, drought is a growing concern in the short term. We will continue monitoring the situation.”

The Cooperative Extension Service is the land grant outreach arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

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.