December 2025 Arkansas Ag Research Report

January 5, 2026

A cluster of black grapes hanging from a green vine against a blurred background.

Altus™ (pictured above) and Mighty Fine™, the first two muscadine grape varieties from the Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program, were released in 2025. Both offer cold-weather hardiness, with Altus™ developed for wine and juice production and Mighty Fine™ as a fresh-market table grape.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Get to know the new muscadines: Mighty Fine™ and Altus™
Voluntary cover crop adoption is up in Arkansas, and now we know what cash crops are being used most with them
Biodegradable microneedle pain patch experiment offers proof-of-concept and points to new avenues of innovation
A familiar face will be UADA’s next chief of communications

Big News

UADA releases its first muscadine varieties

Released earlier in 2025, Mighty Fine™ and Altus™ are our first two muscadine grape varieties. Watch the below videos to learn more about both varieties.

Mighty Fine™ Muscadines

Mighty Fine™ is the first fresh-market muscadine released by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in 2025. Mighty Fine™ is a vigorous and cold-hardy vine that produces large, black berries with outstanding sweetness and a classic muscadine flavor.

Watch the video

Altus™ Muscadines

Altus™ is the first processing muscadine released by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Altus™ vines are vigorous and cold-hardy, with berries that produce juices and wines that compare favorably to Noble, the dominant black-fruited processing muscadine.

Watch the video

Research Spotlights

Experimental microneedle painkiller patch for pigs shows proof of concept

An experimental pain-relieving drug delivery method for farm animals using microneedle patches may not have delivered an effective dose, but it took a pivotal step that offers new leads for innovation.

Jeremy Powell, veterinarian and professor in the Department of Animal Science, said the goal of the USDA-supported project has been to provide livestock pain management after castrations and tail dockings without repeated drug administration by farmers. Powell and his co-authors published the results of the study in the journal RSC Pharmaceuticals.

While the pain medicine delivery fell short of the required concentrations to be effective, Powell said the study remains a proof of concept, demonstrating that pig skin can absorb medication delivered through a dissolvable microneedle patch. The team also found that the patches work better on the neck than the ear, which he said may guide future testing.

Robin Cheek, a Ph.D. student, works with Jeremy Powell, veterinarian and professor, to apply a microneedle pain patch to a pig in an experiment testing a pain delivery method.

Read the story

Voluntary cover crop adoption up 5 percent in Arkansas, highest use after soybean

Using satellite imagery and government data, researchers measured a 5 percent increase in voluntary, or non-subsidized, cover crop adoption by Arkansas farmers. The results of the study can help policymakers develop more targeted incentives for using cover crops.

Lanier Nalley, corresponding author and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, said that while the initial push of the study was to find out what cash crops were associated with cover crops, the team overcame several technical obstacles, including occasional GPS inaccuracies for specific cover crop locations. The lead author of the study was Zobaer Ahmed, Ph.D., when he was a senior research assistant at the University of Arkansas Center for Advanced Spatial Research.

Other co-authors of the study included Lawson Connor, assistant professor, and Mike Popp, Harold F. Ohlendorf Professor, both in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness; Kris Brye, University Professor in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences; and Steven Green, professor at Arkansas State University’s College of Agriculture.

Read the story

Voluntary cover crop adoption was estimated to increase by 5 percent in the Arkansas region of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain with a greater association in soybean rotation.

Watch

Ryan Dickson – Advancing Controlled Environment Ag

Ryan Dickson thinks of himself as an explorer. As an associate professor of greenhouse and controlled-environment agriculture, his work allows him to dive deep into niche areas of plant science, pursuing unbiased research that benefits Arkansans and beyond. With a background in commercial horticulture, Dickson brings a practical approach to finding solutions to real problems for the industry.

Watch the video

Listen

Computational Biology: Using Computers to Solve Complex Biological Programs

Aranyak Goswami, a computational biologist and assistant professor with the Departments of Animal Science and Poultry Science and the experiment station’s Center for Agricultural Data Analytics, was featured in a recent “Short Talks from The Hill” talking about how his work with AI and machine learning aids agricultural research.

Listen to the Podcast

Hot off the Press

Economic Contribution of Agriculture and Food to Arkansas’ Gross Domestic Product 2015–2024

Agriculture and food are foundational to Arkansas’ economy, accounting for 10.9% of the state’s Gross Domestic Product in 2024. Download our latest report that analyzes the Arkansas Ag and Food Sector’s contribution to the state’s GDP over the past decade, from 2015 to 2024.

Download the Report