July 2024 Arkansas Ag Research Report
Arkansas Water Resources Center research scientist Brad Austin records data while collecting water samples at Lake Fayetteville on July 23, 2024.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- New seed funding program promotes Engineering Applications in Agriculture.
- From Kenya to Arkansas, one food science grad student is making a difference.
- Find out what diet worked best in a Southwest Research & Extension Center cattle finishing study.
- What do cover crops and no-till do for water quality?
- Arkansas Water Resources Center monitoring of Lake Fayetteville offers ideas for awareness.
Big News
Seed funding incubates ideas to improve agriculture through engineering
Ingenuity in agriculture requires collaboration — and funding — to make an impact.
That’s the mindset behind Engineering Applications in Agriculture, an innovation accelerator created with seed funding from the University of Arkansas College of Engineering, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.
Mary Savin, head of the horticulture department, said the overarching goal of the program is for researchers to develop new collaborations with colleagues from other colleges and to assist them in developing proof-of-concept outcomes that have “strong potential to secure future external funding.”
Sandra D. Eksioglu, associate dean for research in the College of Engineering said the initiative was “designed to foster collaboration and create opportunities for significant impact.”
On July 1, five winning teams in the first Engineering Applications in Agriculture program were awarded $25,000 each to carry out their projects. Over the next year, they’ll conduct research to put their ideas into action.Top Notch
New USDA-NIFA Grants Fund Future Research
Improving rice quality focus of NIFA-funded research
Research in Arkansas to improve rice quality was recently supported with two new USDA grants that total over $885,000.
USDA grant helps Arkansas researchers track invasive tick
Researchers have landed a $270,000 USDA grant to map the spread of an invasive tick species in Arkansas.
Watch
Cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing agriculture, and Cengiz Koparan is at the forefront. As a precision agriculture researcher, Cengiz aims to enhance farming practices with computer-assisted technologies. His goal is to improve farmers’ lives by embracing a tech-driven future.
Jennifer Acuff – A Passion for Food Safety
Jennifer Acuff, assistant professor of food microbiology and safety in the department of food science, investigates strategies to improve fresh and processed food safety and protect food products from microbial contamination.
Focusing on low-moisture food products like powdered milk, Acuff and her team performed a study seeking a method that guarantees food safety while retaining the most vitamins, minerals and flavor depending on the food. The process is not limited to low-moisture foods and may extend to other foods and processes.
Listen
“New” Herbicides Could Soon Be An Option for Blackberry Growers
In this episode, Matt Bertucci, an assistant professor of horticulture, discusses his recent research on using herbicides normally used in row crops in blackberry production.
The data supports the safety and effectiveness of 2,4-D choline and glufosinate in blackberry growing systems. Bertucci hopes to see regulatory approvals for these herbicides soon, allowing blackberry growers to benefit from these “new” weed management options.
Check out the Food, Farms & Forests podcast to stay updated on the latest agricultural research. Each episode features conversations with experts from the Arkansas Ag Experiment Station discussing their research findings and why they matter.
Matt Bertucci speaks during the 2021 Blackberry Field Tour at the Fruit Research Station in Clarksville.
New Episodes Every Other Week
Subscribe on your favorite platform to stay in the know on the latest in Ag Research.
New Episodes Every Other Week
Subscribe on your favorite platform to stay in the know on the latest in Ag Research.
Research Spotlights
Kenyan crop contamination outbreak inspires grad student to improve rice storage
While half the global population relies on rice as a staple, about 15 percent of rice produced each year is contaminated by potentially fatal aflatoxins. Seeing this threaten lives in her home country of Kenya prompted Faith Ouma, a Ph.D. student in the food science department, to focus on eradicating the risk through safer storage methods.
Ouma was the lead author of a study published in the international food safety journal Food Control investigating safe storage conditions to minimize aflatoxin contamination in rice. She works with Griffiths Atungulu, food science associate professor and director of the Arkansas Rice Processing Program.
Faith Ouma was the lead author of “Investigating safe storage conditions to mitigate aflatoxin contamination in rice” while working on her Ph.D. in food science.Best meat quality, most economical cattle ‘finishing’ diet has more byproduct
A high-energy diet that includes higher amounts of dry soybean hulls was the most economical choice for Arkansas beef producers who want to bring their weaned cattle up to market weight, on the farm.
An Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station study conducted at the Southwest Research and Extension Center in Hope showed that a high-byproducts diet, which uses a material that may otherwise be wasted, also provided the best meat quality among three diets tested. Daniel Rivera, associate professor of animal science and director of the center, worked with Michelle Johnson, animal science graduate student, on the study supported by the Arkansas Beef Council.
A study at the Southwest Research and Extension Center provided guidelines on finishing feeder steers on the farm instead of at a feedlot.Lake Fayetteville monitoring reveals peak months for harmful algal blooms
Five years of water quality monitoring at Lake Fayetteville is shedding light on the cycles of waterborne nutrients and bacteria-produced toxins, offering a better way to measure the risk to recreational users.
“It’s a small watershed and recreational lake that is heavily influenced by human activity,” said Brian Haggard, director of the Arkansas Water Resources Center and a professor of biological and agricultural engineering.
Water quality scientists with the Arkansas Water Resources Center have been examining cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms, or HABs, since 2018. Haggard and his team published several studies sharing the results of their ongoing analysis last year.
Brad Austin, research scientist with the Arkansas Water Resources Center, prepares to take a water sample at Lake Fayetteville on July 23, 2024.In Other News
- Institute of Food Technologists Recognize Rahman for Scientific Citations
- Cover Crops, Limited-Till Championed by Delta Farmer
- Phi Tau Sigma honors Ubeyitogullari with Early Career Accomplishment Award
- Crop science master’s student Fernandes places in international contest
- Fields Joins Arkansas Research Alliance Board
- Hillman Set as Keynote for Aug. 8 NE Rice Research and Extension Center Field Day
- Aug. 1 Rice Field Day Set at Stuttgart
- RCA Trellising System, Microclimate Control Enhances Pest Management in Arkansas Blackberries
Upcoming Events
More Recent News
