Questions continue over Arkansas teacher pay

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks about the Arkansas LEARNS Act, she almost always mentions teacher pay.

“It starts by immediately offering incentives to attract and retain the best brightest teachers to Arkansas,” she said when she first introduced the bill. “Instead of being in 48th in the nation for starting teacher salary, we will now be in the top five.”

Under the law, new teachers will get $50,000 a year, a far higher base salary than even a year ago, when, according to the National Education Association, Arkansas offered on average $37,000 to first-year teachers.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-12/questions-continue-over-arkansas-teacher-pay

Lindsey Balbierz For NPR

As the LEARNS bill rolls out, teachers and districts experience confusion about how teacher pay provisions in the law will pan out.

Arkansas medical marijuana sales up 5.2% through June

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas medical marijuana patients have spent $141 million on purchases in the first half of 2023, up 5.2% compared with $134 million in the same period of 2022, according to figures from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).

There were 29,057 pounds purchased in the first six months of 2023, up 26% compared with the same period in 2022. Medical marijuana purchases generated $16 million in tax revenue in the first six months of 2023. Since the first dispensary opened in mid-2019, $105 million in state tax revenue has been collected, according to DFA data.

“Since the first dispensary opened for business in 2019, approximately $900 million has been spent on medical marijuana purchases in Arkansas,” DFA Spokesperson Scott Hardin said in a statement. “With a sales average of $23.5 million monthly, we should surpass $1 billion in overall sales toward the end of this year. Patients are spending an average of $785,000 a day at the state’s 38 dispensaries.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/arkansas-medical-marijuana-sales-up-5-2-through-june/

Rep. French Hill tackles broadband vote, COVID relief fraud, party politics

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, shared his views on a variety of subjects ranging from his vote on infrastructure and broadband funding to COVID relief fraud to Russia and party politics.

Appearing on this week’s edition of Capitol View, Hill said he does not regret voting against President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package, even though it recently brought more than $1 billion to Arkansas for broadband investment.

“The bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Biden worked on with 11 Senators and Nancy Pelosi in the House contained a lot of good ideas, but it’s money that we thought was, I thought personally was too much for too many projects around the country. Only about 10% of it even went to roads and bridges and core infrastructure. So I voted against it, and I think it’s a contributor to the 40-year high inflation,” Hill said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/rep-french-hill-tackles-broadband-vote-covid-relief-fraud-party-politics/

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

This week we received the Fiscal Year 2023 Revenue Summary. It shows we ended the fiscal year with the second-largest surplus in state history.

Results from collections and distributions for FY 2023 reached $7.185 billion. That is $1.161 billion in excess of the full funding level for the Revenue Stabilization Act representing a surplus.

The 2023 fiscal year ended above forecast in all major categories of collections and above year-ago levels in sales tax collections. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration says this broad-based gain resulted from another year of high growth in sales tax collections and less decline in income tax categories than expected from tax rate reductions.

The 94th General Assembly passed Act 532 which reduced the state’s top income tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%. As a result, individual income tax collection was less than the previous year but still $42.4 million above what economic forecasters predicted.

Sales and Use tax collections for FY 2023 were $263.6 million or 8.4% over FY 2022. Corporate income taxes saw an increase of $5.3 million or .6% above FY 2022.

In the 2023 Regular Session, the General Assembly passed Act 561 which authorized the transfer from the previous year’s unobligated surplus funds and up to $380.6 million in projected surplus funds from this year to the restricted reserve fund. Act 561 prioritizes spending of the restricted reserve fund on projects such as educational facilities, correctional facilities, the state crime lab, teacher academy scholarships, and the UAMS National Cancer Institute Designation Trust Fund.

Revenue reports help guide our decision-making when it comes to state spending and tax reduction.

The FY 2023 Revenue Report shows us that our state’s economy is growing and outperforming expectations. In fact, for the month of June alone revenues were above forecast and year-ago levels in all major categories.

We’ve posted the revenue summary at arkansashouse.org.

Beau McCastlain Named Regional Finalist for Arkansas Teacher of the Year

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Department of Education has announced the 14 educators named 2024 Arkansas Teacher of the Year Regional Finalists. These educators will be recognized July 27 at an event at the Governor’s Mansion.

“Congratulations to these teachers for achieving this honor,” ADE Secretary Jacob Oliva said. “We are proud to recognize excellence in teaching and honor those selected for this recognition.”

DQTV Teacher and District Communications Director Beau McCastlain has been named one of the 14 regional finalists. “I want to say a very sincere thank you to our Leopard Family for making this opportunity possible,” said McCastlain. “ I am extremely honored to be named one of the 14 finalists for Arkansas Teacher of the Year, but my students are the ones who have made this possible. DQTV has developed into a great success because of their engagement, commitment, and hard work. We have amazing kids and I am blessed to be in a position that allows me to work with them each day. ”

The regional finalists will each receive a certificate and a $1,000 prize provided by the Walton Family Foundation. The event at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock will include a brunch, a ceremony honoring the 14 finalists and the announcement of four 2024 Arkansas Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist, and one will be named the 2024 Arkansas Teacher of the Year this fall.

The CALL announces new Coordinator for Howard, Hempstead and Nevada Counties

Holli Boyett has been named as the new Coordinator for The CALL in Howard, Hempstead, and Nevada Counties.

Boyett is a 2006 graduate of Nashville High School. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Arkansas Tech University in 2009, a Master of Arts in Education in 2012 and Master of Science in Education in 2017.

Boyett brings nearly a decade of program coordination experience having managed various state and federal education programs at DeQueen Mena and Southwest Arkansas education cooperatives. She attends Unity Baptist Church in Hope along with husband Scott and daughter, Julianne. At Unity, Boyett serves in the Rev It UP and Greeter ministries. Boyett is an Ambassador for the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce and has previously been active with United Way and Junior Auxiliary of Hope.

“I am excited to bring my program coordination experience to The CALL and continue the good work that has been done southwest Arkansas,” Boyett said. “I am most excited about relationship building to meet the foster care needs in our part of the state. I look forward to partnering with churches and community organizations to recruit, encourage and equip foster families."

The CALL will host a Community Coffee at the Hope Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, August 23. The public is invited to attend. Community Coffee events in Prescott and Nashville are pending as well. The organization will also host their annual Souper Sunday fundraiser the first Sunday in October. Those wishing to get involved with The CALL can contact Boyett by email at hboyett@thecallinarkansas.org.

DHS officials say redetermination numbers meeting estimates, work requirement waiver in ‘negotiation’ phase with feds

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Nearly halfway through a six-month process to redetermine Medicaid eligibility for hundreds of thousands of Arkansans, Department of Human Services officials said they believe estimates of where the population would land are close to projections.

DHS Secretary Kristi Putnam and Arkansas Medicaid Director Janet Mann appeared on this week’s edition of Capitol View and Talk Business & Politics. According to figures released by the agency in June, nearly 140,000 Arkansans have been disenrolled from the Medicaid expansion program, now known as ARHOME, or had their cases closed through regular program operations. New figures are expected to be released in mid-July.

“We do feel that they are tracking. We chose to do our extended category first with our regular renewals, because we had worked through the three-year pandemic on redeterminations, and if we determined that they would most likely be ineligible, we put them in the extended category. So we started with that, those categories first, to really work on right-sizing our population,” Mann said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/dhs-officials-say-redetermination-numbers-meeting-estimates-work-requirement-waiver-in-negotiation-phase-with-feds/

AG Griffin says FOIA law needs to modernize

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Pointing to a need for privacy in sensitive situations, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said Sunday (July 2) the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) needs to change to adapt to modern times.

“One thing I want to mention that really is driving a lot of my interest here was the ransomware issue with Little Rock School District. The Little Rock School District was a victim of a ransomware [attack]. And the way the FOIA law is currently written, they have to discuss their strategy on dealing with ransomware in public. That’s ridiculous,” Griffin said. “That’s like asking the U.S. Army to strategize and plan a battle in public… We’ve got to change that.”

Griffin, who announced last month he was forming a working group of legislators and FOIA stakeholders to advise him privately, appeared on this week’s Capitol View and Talk Business & Politics programs. He said there was a legislative commission report from the year 2000 that contemplated technological changes that would require amending the FOIA law.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/ag-griffin-says-foia-law-needs-to-modernize/

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

Gov. Sanders names RPA chair Cody Hiland to Arkansas Supreme Court to replace Justice Robin Wynne

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Gov. Sarah Sanders appointed Republican Party of Arkansas chairman Cody Hiland to the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday (July 3) to fill a vacancy left by the death of Justice Robin Wynne. Hiland, a former state and federal prosecutor, will serve until January 2025 after voters choose a new justice in the 2024 election cycle. Hiland will not be eligible to run for the open seat.

Sanders said the appointment would provide the Arkansas Supreme Court with a “conservative majority” for the first time. Judges and justices run for office in Arkansas under an independent label.

Wynne was re-elected to an eight-year term on the state’s highest court in November 2022, but died in June. The law declares the governor fills the term until the next regular election.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/gov-sanders-names-rpa-chair-cody-hiland-to-arkansas-supreme-court-to-replace-justice-robin-wynne/

Arkansas AG Tim Griffin agrees with U.S Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action

KUAR | By Talk Business & Politics Staff

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, said he agreed with the U.S Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action. The decision by the Supreme Court ends the ability for public and private universities to consider race as a factor during the admissions process, according to NPR News.

During an interview with Talk Business & Politics, Griffin said overturning affirmative action was the correct decision because the U.S Constitution is color blind.

“I’m not surprised by this ruling. In fact, we had several issues here in Arkansas that involved minority set asides like you have to have pigment in your skin to get this job or you have to be of a certain race to get this job,” he said. “We knew that was not going to fly. We thought that’s where this [Supreme Court] opinion was going and that’s exactly what they said.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-02/arkansas-ag-tim-griffin-agrees-with-u-s-supreme-courts-decision-to-end-affirmative-action

Michael Hibblen/KUAR News

In addition to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, Arkansas' Republican Gov. Sarah Sanders also views the U.S Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action as the correct ruling. President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party of Arkansas disagreed with the court's ruling.

Four finalists await judges’ decision as Arkansas 4-H Governor’s Award marks 40 years

The four 2023 finalists for the Governor’s Award stand with U of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt and his wife Susan on the stairs of their home. From left, Lani McClure of Pope County; Laven Franklin of Madison County; Jack Berryhill of Hot Spring County, and Ethan Wolcott of Sevier County. The Bobbitts hosted the finalists for lunch. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — The Governor’s Award, the highest honor offered by the Arkansas 4-H program, is marking its 40th year as four finalists eagerly await the judges’ decision on who will be named the 2023 winner.

“The award was instituted in 1983 as a way to recognize one outstanding 4-H member each year,” said Shannon Caldwell, director of programs for the Arkansas 4-H Center.

Applicants must be former state record book winners and submit a current record book along with two letters of recommendation. Finalists are selected during record book judging and are interviewed, with the winner being determined at a separate judging event. A record book is a log that describes the work a member has done on a project and is an important part of 4-H.

The winner is announced at the annual State 4-H O-Rama, which starts July 25 this year and is held on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

“Each finalist exhibits an impressive scope of ‘making the best better’ through their 4-H work,” Caldwell said. “To quote one of the judges, ‘selecting one winner is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and I’ve made policies’.”

The finalists were recognized at a luncheon hosted by Donald R. Bobbitt, president of the University of Arkansas System, and his wife, Susan, following rounds of interviews with judges.

This year’s finalists are Jack Berryhill of Hot Spring County; Laven Franklin of Madison County; Lani McClure of Pope County and Ethan Wolcott of Sevier County.

Berryhill, 18, is the 2022-23 Arkansas 4-H state president and has represented Arkansas 4-H at the state Farm Bureau Convention and the American Farm Bureau Convention in Puerto Rico. He also facilitated a roundtable at the Southern Regional Teen Leader Conference in Tennessee. Berryhill has held many leadership positions in 4-H, been a Teen Star and state 4-H Ambassador. He was selected for the 4-H National Congress Youth Leadership team, which is responsible for leading all assemblies at the national congress. Berryhill is also a member of the Tech Changemaker program and is frequently seen at 4-H events working as part of the 4-H Video Crew. Berryhill also has an extensive record of community service.

Franklin, 17, has been part of the Arkansas 4-H program for 11 years. He enjoys music theory, plays the piano and guitar and also likes gardening. He has also started a robotics club and soon those simple club STEM projects turned into him fielding a remote-controlled submersible team for the SeaPerch competition. He teaches piano and leads his homeschool robotics club. Among his achievements were being the state 4-H robotics record book winner and his team placed second in the state SeaPerch competition. He spent 2022 learning JavaScript and C++ coding and was taking college trigonometry.

McClure, 18, has been a 4-H member since elementary school. She has served as state Ambassador, National 4-H Congress delegate and said she is ready and willing to encourage and advocate for Arkansas 4-H families. She is always looking for an opportunity to share her 4-H experience and encourage non-4-Hers to get involved. During her time as a national delegate, she spoke to more than 300 schoolchildren in Atlanta about 4-H.

She has used her skills in her main project areas from encouraging individual development in the fine arts, to leading painting workshops and digital art classes. She also organized and led sections of the Pope County 4-H Achievement Banquet in 2022.

Wolcott, 19, started in 4-H when he was 8. Since then, he’s been a Teen Star, 4-H Ambassador and won the Advanced Record Book competition in 2021. Wolcott has championed community service, especially to other youth and families. In 2022, he lent his energies to three new organizations that help families and youth: 100 Families, Breaking the Ties that Bind and You Matter. Over the last two years, Wolcott helped raise more than $72,200 for his community, just in Christmas projects alone. Wolcott was a finalist for the 2022 Governor’s Award and was inducted into the Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame this year.

Judges for the 2023 Governor’s Award are Christina Breckenridge, Ed.D., chief of staff for the UA System vice president for agriculture; J. J. Pitman, C. A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center director and Desarae Nelson, Ed.D. TRIO Student Support Services director at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

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

PARP offers opportunity for additional relief to underserved farms with pandemic-related losses

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture  

LITTLE ROCK — Underserved farmers who suffered pandemic-related losses have until July 14 to apply for funds from the Pandemic Assistance Relief Program, or PARP.

PARP was created to expand the existing pandemic relief programs and to target overall revenue loss rather than just price losses, said Ryan Loy, extension economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Extension agronomist Ryan Loy says there's a limit to the time to apply and the amount of funding available through PARP. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Kerry Rodtnick)

PARP is a lesser-known program that follows on the heels of other pandemic-relief programs including the Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs, known as CFAP 1 and 2, the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program Spot Market Hog Pandemic, and the 2020 Emergency Relief Program. The program is part of the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021.

“It’s mainly the fact that the federal government had leftover funds,” Loy said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture “said ‘Let’s try to reach producers that we weren’t able to reach before with CFAP and ERP and programs along those lines’.

“The goal with PARP is to actually focus on underserved producers,” he said. “There’s kind of a laundry list of eligibility. I would suggest to any producer who is interested, to either go to farmers.gov — it’s right there on the front page — or call your local Farm Service Agency office. If you come to the FSA office with your 2016-2020 tax returns, they’ll basically do it all for you.”

Who’s eligible?

Loy said eligibility extends to any producer or entity that participated in agricultural production during the 2020 calendar year.

“PARP is also written to include cattle feeder operations that were previously denied assistance under CFAP 1 and 2,” Loy said. “The producer must have suffered at least a 15 percent decrease in allowable gross revenue for 2020 as compared to either 2018 or 2019 calendar year.

Deadline approaching

The clock is ticking both on the time and funding available, Loy said.

“There are two weeks left, however, it’s first-come, first-served,” he said. “A producer is eligible for up to $125,000. That’s the most they’ll pay, but it is subject to available funds. So, let’s say you put in your application in January, there is a pretty good likelihood that you’ll get paid relatively sooner than someone who applies a little later.”

Taxable payment

“This is a direct payment. It’s not a loan, you don’t have to pay it back,” Loy said. “Something that is important to know is that this is taxable income because it is a direct payment to you.”

PARP targets whole-farm allowable gross revenue losses in 2020 compared to the producer’s allowable gross revenue in 2018 or 2019. A producer can choose to elect losses on either year as their benchmark or based on their expected gross revenue in 2020 if they did not farm in either 2018 or 2019.

Gross revenue is the aggregation of the value of a producer’s crops. The allowable gross revenue is based on the net farming loss or profit from Schedule F, minus any pandemic-related aid already received by the producer.

For more information, please visit farmers.gov or contact your local FSA office.

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

Severe thunderstorms possible Wednesday and Thursday in Arkansas

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop today out ahead of a cold front, with additional development possible overnight Wednesday right along the cold front.

• Thunderstorms that become severe will be capable of producing damaging winds (up to 60 mph) and marginally severe hail (equal to or greater than 1 inch).

• The best chances for seeing severe thunderstorms will be this afternoon and early evening

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

From battlefield tours in Prairie Grove to sunset boat cruises in DeGray Lake, Arkansas State Parks hosts more than 42,000 educational programs, activities, and special events.

In Arkansas, there are 52 state parks in 48 counties covering 54,643 acres.

If you haven’t visited one of our state parks this summer, now is a perfect time to start planning. July is National Park and Recreation Month. And in Arkansas, we have a reason to celebrate.

Park and recreation professionals play a vital role in bringing people together, providing essential services, and fostering the growth of our communities. They make a positive impact on our state every single day. Parks help protect open spaces and natural resources. They also play a crucial role in our overall health and help to fight obesity by providing activities and resources for all people.

No matter where you live in Arkansas, a state park is nearby. The beauty of Arkansas’s parks is that they are all unique in their own way and all free for you to enjoy in your own way.

State parks include 12 swimming beaches, 37 boat launches, 9 marinas, 19 fishing piers, and access to 24 lakes and 18 rivers.

There are over 450 miles of walking and horse riding trails and the Monument Trails provide a world-class mountain biking destination within Arkansas State Parks.

In addition to providing recreation for Arkansas families, state parks are playing an essential role in our economy. Our parks attract more than 7,600,000 visitors annually. Visitor spending to our state parks, including goods purchased from local businesses, is estimated to have a $1 billion impact every year.

We encourage you to celebrate National Park and Recreation Month by exploring our parks. You can find a list of events, trails, and accommodations at arkansasstateparks.com

Tomato, corn pests in town for the 4th of July

By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK – As summer moves along, the season is running according to plan for many Arkansas crops – including annual pest issues.

FOURTH OF JULY FLIGHT – Extension specialists and county agents say growers should expect an influx of the Helicoverpa zea, also known as the corn earworm, cotton bollworm or tomato fruitworm, with a main concern for corn and tomato crops. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

Extension specialists and county agents across Arkansas are seeing an increase in Helicoverpa zea, also known as the corn earworm, cotton bollworm or tomato fruitworm. But specialists say this influx is to be expected this time of year.

“This is what we call the Fourth of July flight,” said Ben Thrash, extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Our moth trap numbers have been up the past couple weeks, and growers should be keeping an eye out.”

With soybeans and cotton still early in the season, the main concern with this flight is corn and tomatoes.

“Tomatoes and sweet corn are a prime target for serious losses due to tomato fruitworm feeding,” said Aaron Cato, horticulture integrated pest management specialist for the Division of Agriculture. “It’s important for growers to get out and scout tomatoes as soon as possible so control can be achieved prior to those larvae moving on to their second, third, or fourth fruit to munch on. Anyone with sweet corn that isn’t Attribute Plus or Attribute II needs to be applying insecticides at two- to three-day intervals, after silks are seen, to prevent significant infestations.”

Although cotton and soybean may not be a worry yet, Thrash said the worms could be moving into those fields soon.

“Bollworms are in cotton fields south of us in Texas and Louisiana,” he said. “The worms we’re seeing now will be coming out of corn into cotton and soybeans in about 28 days, maybe a little earlier. We usually see issues about the third or fourth week of July.”

As the growing season continues, it’s important for producers to be aware of annual insect pest issues. Data from moth traps for Helicoverpa zea and other common Arkansas pests are tracked and uploaded into interactive maps. Find up-to-date data and resources below:

Horticulture insect pest monitoring, interactive map

2023 county trap catches for Arkansas row crop pests

MP144 for insecticide recommendations, also available at county extension offices.

Mention of product names does not imply endorsement by 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 on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Division of Agriculture welcomes Mahfouz as general counsel

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Nga Mahfouz is bringing more than 25 years of public and private sector experience as she joins the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture as its general counsel.

Mahfouz, of Hot Springs, earned her juris doctorate at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law after earning a B.S. in accounting from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Portrait of Nga Mahfouz, general counsel for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Kerry Rodtnick)

Before joining the division, Mahfouz served in the Arkansas attorney general’s office as senior assistant attorney general for the agencies division and assistant attorney general for the civil litigation division. Some of her work with the attorney general’s office was with two-year colleges.

Her private sector experience includes serving as a chief legal officer for RP Holdings Group and as an associate with Provost Umphrey. Mahfouz also served as staff attorney for the City of Bryant and staff litigator for the Arkansas Municipal League.

Mahfouz’s move to the Division of Agriculture seemed like a natural transition.

“I represented two-year colleges for eight of the 10 years I worked at the Arkansas attorney general's office,” she said. “Moving to a university job seemed like an excellent way to professionally develop the skills I had acquired as a legal adviser to institutions of higher education.

“My knowledge of the substantive laws relevant to higher education, my previous experience advising colleges, and my commitment to regularly training clients will serve me well as I begin my new role,” Mahfouz said.

Deacue Fields, head of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said that “We are fortunate to have someone with Nga’s depth of experience working for our team. With her background in both the public and private sectors and for entities dealing with domestic and international affairs, she’s a good match for the work we do.”

Mahfouz said she was looking “forward to being part of a team that has such a large presence in every county in the state. There will be tremendous opportunities to forge new relationships and offer training.”

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.

Pests, weeds, variety trials focus of Horticulture Field Day in Hope

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

HOPE, Ark. — More than 130 people braved the heat Wednesday at the 2023 Horticulture Field Day to hear from experts with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture on issues facing Arkansas specialty crop growers.

Crowd of field day participants listens to researcher's presentation.

FIELD DAY — The 2023 Horticulture Field Day featured talks on a variety of subjects, including pest and weed control. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

The Southwest Research and Extension Center hosted the annual event with information on growing blackberries, watermelons, peaches, pumpkins and ornamental trees. People from 27 counties in Arkansas and two counties in Texas attended.

Management tactics to combat pests were a dominant theme across the field trials, including research that seeks pumpkin varieties with natural tolerance or resistance to the dreaded melonworm that damaged a significant portion of the state’s pumpkin crop in 2020-2021. Melonworm, Diaphania hyalinata, is a tropical moth species that migrates to Arkansas each year from coastal regions from August to October.

Aaron Cato, extension horticulture integrated pest management specialist, said the pumpkin trial includes nine varieties from four different cucurbit species planted in mid-June and again after July 1. The experiment, supported by a Specialty Block Grant administered by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, will also help establish an action threshold for the pest and investigate other sustainable management tactics.

Matt Bertucci, assistant professor of horticulture, is testing more than a dozen varieties of seedless watermelons from five seed companies to determine growth quality in Arkansas. The study, also supported by a Specialty Block Grant, includes varieties like Exceed, Onza, El Capitan, Crackerjack and Blackjack. Bertucci included several varieties of seeded cantaloupe in the study to help determine the number of days to ripen in Arkansas.

Bertucci said he hopes his study can provide Arkansas growers with growth and management information more specific to Arkansas. He added that most major seed companies evaluate their varieties in states with larger horticultural industries, like Florida. “But what if some of these varieties that do well in Florida come up short in Arkansas?”

Bertucci's melon study seeks information like fruit count, fruit size, sweetness level and ripening date.

To help manage annual grass and small-seeded broadleaf weeds in watermelon fields, Bertucci said Dual Magnum, a trade name for S-metolachlor, now has a five-year, 24(c) pre-emergent herbicide registration with the Arkansas State Plant Board for use in watermelon fields. He also remarked on the new registration of Optogen (bicyclopyrone) as a “clean-up” material in the row middles. Bertucci said that Optogen was federally registered for use in watermelons late last year.

Bertucci recommended specialty crop growers inspect the Division of Agriculture’s MP44 publication for more information on herbicides registered in Arkansas.

Theresa Mitzler, a Miller County Master Gardener, said she has attended the Horticulture Field Day since 2017 to learn from researchers and extension specialists.

Roderick Greene of Camden also attended to support his operations at Titan Farm, where he grows sweet potatoes and cut flowers.

“It was worth the heat,” Greene said. Temperatures swelled into the high 90s with high humidity by noon.

Other Division of Agriculture faculty who presented sessions at the field day included:

Anthony Bowden, assistant professor of horticulture and ornamental extension specialist, gave a presentation on grafting Japanese maples and Eastern Redbuds.

Wendell Hutchens, assistant professor of turfgrass science, provided guidance for dealing with Large Patch, Spring Dead Spot and Gray Leaf Spot.

Amanda McWhirt, horticulture extension specialist, described how to use a rotating cross-arm trellis system to grow blackberries.

Hannah Wright-Smith, extension weed specialist, provided steps to take when reestablishing an abandoned peach orchard, and updates on turfgrass herbicide trials.

Daniel Rivera, director of the Southwest Research and Extension Center, thanked the guests for their attendance and commended his staff for their diligence in preparing the grounds for the researchers’ studies.

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. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

UAMS Bone Research Center Secures Second NIH Grant of Over $11 Million

By David Robinson

LITTLE ROCK — A federal grant of more than $11 million will provide five additional years of support to the Center for Musculoskeletal Disease Research led by Charles O’Brien, Ph.D., at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The $11.5 million Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase 2 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) branch of the NIH follows a 2018 Phase 1 award of $11.3 million to establish the bone research center.

COBRE funding aims to help establish multidisciplinary, collaborative and synergistic research centers in states with lower rates of federal research funding.

https://news.uams.edu/2023/06/27/uams-bone-research-center-secures-second-nih-grant-of-over-11-million/

Team members of the UAMS Center for Musculoskeletal Disease Research include:, front row: Jinhu Xiong M.D., Ph.D., Amy Sato, Ph.D., Jesus Delgado-Calle, Ph.D.; second row: Janeelle Whitfield, Melda Onal, Ph.D., Qiang Fu, M.D., Ph.D.; third row: Charles O’Brien, Ph.D., Maria Almeida, Ph.D., Roy Morello, Ph.D.; back row: Intawat Nookaew, Ph.D., Ha-neui Kim, Ph.D., and Elena Ambrogini, M.D., Ph.D.

Judge rules that LEARNS Act not effective until Aug. 1

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Herb Wright on Friday (June 30) ruled that the Arkansas LEARNS Act cannot go into effect until Aug. 1. The ruling, if it stands, could complicate the past few months of efforts by the Gov. Sarah Sanders’ administration to implement the law.

The case was brought by residents of the Marvell-Elaine School District and education advocates. The State Board of Education had voted to direct Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva to place the district under the management of the nonprofit Friendship Education Foundation through a transformation contract made possible by the LEARNS Act.

The plaintiffs had sued saying lawmakers had erred in voting on the bill and its emergency clause at the same time. The Arkansas Constitution says the votes on the two are to be separate. The votes were recorded separately by the House and Senate clerks.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/06/judge-rules-that-learns-act-not-effective-until-aug-1/

‘Harsh setbacks’ overcome to open the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

The relief was palpable among many of the 350 who gathered Thursday (June 29) to open the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith. It was a project 16 years in the making. Doug Babb said what is now a “glorious opening” was a “difficult task” and sometimes felt like an “impossible dream.”

Babb, chair of the U.S. Marshals Museum Board of Directors, said a year after it was announced Fort Smith was selected as the museum site, the Great Recession hit. That would be among several “extremely harsh setbacks” during the process to fund and build the national museum, Babb told the crowd.

“We had a difficult task. We had to raise $50 million,” Babb said, adding that “Today, our dream is a reality, and I thank you all for that.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/06/harsh-setbacks-overcome-to-open-the-u-s-marshals-museum-in-fort-smith/

The Fort Smith Police Department Color Guard stand near the Samuel M. Sicard Hall of Honor prior to the beginning of Thursday’s (June 29) ceremonial opening of the U.S. Marshals Museum.