Salt is essential to keeping our roads and walkways safe when it snows. But when salt is washed off the roads, how does it impact nearby microorganisms? Water quality researcher Shannon Speir and her students have been conducting studies…
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A Way Forward in Breeding Rice to Withstand High Nighttime Stress
Rice plants can deal with the heat during the day, but when the sun goes down, they need to chill out. Developing rice with tolerance to higher nighttime temperatures has become a focus for rice breeders because studies are showing nights…
Arkansas Clean Plant Center Leads Global Effort to Wipe ‘Phantom Agents’ from Pathogen Regulatory Lists
Wiping “phantom agents” from a list of suspected plant pathogens would improve agricultural efficiency and food security by updating regulations on international shipment of pathogen-free plant materials destined to countries where they are needed…
Arkansas Poultry Industry Sees Reduced Disease Impact, Job Market Woes
Despite a decrease in the influence of highly pathogenic avian influenza — HPAI — on Arkansas’ poultry industry, restructuring and closing of plants have posed increased challenges in the poultry producer…
$791,000 Grant to Support Future Nematode-Resistant Soybean Varieties
Causing an estimated $160 billion in damages globally each year, one of agriculture’s biggest enemies is too small to see without a microscope. Plant-parasitic nematodes feed on agricultural crops at their roots, reducing yields and profits for producers…
Norsworthy Honored with Rice Industry Award
Jason Norsworthy’s origin story as a weed scientist began on a truck farm in south Arkansas, and was told through the unnumbered long, hot hours spent at the end of a gooseneck hoe chopping weeds…
New Probiotic Shown to Improve Digestion in Poultry and Swine
A novel probiotic in both poultry and swine feed that promises to improve gut health and weight-gain efficiency may have another benefit: allowing the animals to unlock more of the nutrients of soybean in their diets. The probiotic, which is a beneficial bacterium…
REDI-NET Launch Brings New Line of Defense Against Emerging Diseases
Researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station helped develop an early warning system for the military to help identify the next contagion. Imagine a researcher in a lab in Kenya testing a water sample, looking at microorganisms under a microscope…
Hot Water Best for Sanitizing In-Shell Pecans, Sanitizers Prevent Cross-Contamination
Before those sweet and savory pecans make their way into your pecan pie or other holiday treat, they may go through an antimicrobial wash to reduce pathogens. But why would that be needed? “In‐shell pecans are typically harvested after falling from trees to the ground…
USDA-NIFA Grant Aims to Bring More Job Possibilities for Neurodivergent Individuals
With the help of a nearly $500,000 grant, Arkansas food safety expert Kristen Gibson is working to increase job opportunities for neurodivergent individuals. Gibson, a professor of food safety and microbiology and director of the Arkansas Center for Food Safety, received the grant from the USDA…
A Greenhouse Gas-Negative Future for Agriculture Presented at UN Climate Change Conference
As delegates from around the world convene in Baku, Azerbaijan for the U.N. Climate Change Conference, a new report suggests that agriculture could become greenhouse gas negative. Marty Matlock, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering…
Exploring New Approaches to Combat Bovine Respiratory Disease
It’s commonly known in the cattle industry that bovine respiratory disease is the most costly illness affecting cattle in North America. Despite extensive research and treatment efforts over the years, it continues to lead to high rates of sickness and death…
Geospatial Mapping Study Shows Drought Trend in Ag-Dominated Arkansas Delta
The Delta, a regional powerhouse for Arkansas agriculture built by river flows, is showing a trend of increasing droughts. Using satellite imagery, AAES researchers comprehensively analyzed drought dynamics over five years to reveal this and…
Finding a Preventative Solution to a Billion-Dollar Poultry Problem
The poultry industry loses up to $6 billion annually due to necrotic enteritis, a preventable intestinal disease in poultry, including broiler chickens. AAES poultry science researcher is evaluating a new possible solution using a novel vaccine combined with a bile acid regimen…
From Pets to Pests: Researchers Explore New Tool to Fight Disease-Carrying Insects
Arkansas researchers are testing a product commonly used to treat ticks and fleas on pets to target fly and mosquito larvae with the goal of helping reduce the spread of diseases carried by these insects. After switching to fluralaner as a veterinary medication for her dog….
Osage Ramen Fusion Dish Wins Mathis New Top Chef NWA Award
A recipe that paid homage to the Osage Nation won Chef Roni Mathis the title of 2024 Top Chef NWA. Mathis, a chef with the Arkansas Food Innovation Center at the Market Center of the Ozarks (AFIC@MCO), bested three other competitors in the event sponsored by the Rogers Public Library Foundation…
Survey Assesses Mexican Consumers’ Opinions on GMO Corn Import Ban
A fully implemented ban on genetically modified corn in Mexico could disproportionately affect the nation’s lower-income consumers, according to a recently published study by agricultural economists with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture…
Grapes, Blackberries, Poultry Immune System Enhancement Methods Among Patents Recognized at Annual Ag Awards
New fruit varieties and a means to enhance poultry immune systems developed by UADA scientists were among 10 patents recognized Friday during the annual Agriculture Awards. All of the patents arose from discoveries made by scientists…
Land-Grant Faculty, Staff Earn Honors at Annual Ag Awards
Outstanding land-grant faculty and staff were honored Friday during the annual Agriculture Awards, held at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences. The event recognizes the achievements of those from the UADA and the Dale Bumpers College…
Respiratory Virus Thins Turkeys, Prices Might Rise for Thanksgiving Birds
Retailers may try to take the sting out of higher turkey prices as a respiratory virus called aMVP affects production of turkeys that would end up on the Thanksgiving table, said Jada Thompson, economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. …
Histomonosis, a Deadly Turkey Disease, Researched with New $3.2M FDA Grant
As scientists learn more about a deadly parasite’s ability to move from host to host in turkey flocks, a long-standing theory is in question and opens the door to new preventative measures. Histomonas meleagridis, the parasite behind histomonosis…
Plant-Based Protein Extraction Study to Look at Ultrasound, Fermentation Methods
Food science researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station are tapping into the power of soundwaves and fermentation to improve the quality of plant-based proteins…
Red Milkweed Beetle Genome Offers Insight into Plant-Insect Interactions
Studying the secrets of how the common red milkweed beetle can safely feed on a toxic plant helps illuminate the ecological, evolutionary and economic impact of insect-plant interactions from a genomic perspective. Although the relationship between the red milkweed beetle and milkweed plants…
Bird Flu’s Growing Impact Calls for Urgent Action at International Summit
As highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to infect more than just birds, scientists and industry professionals want to prevent it from infecting more species and continuing to impact animal and human health, the environment and the economy…
Carrot Surplus Spurs BBQ Sauce for Chef Rios at Arkansas Food Innovation Center
A sweet-and-smokey barbecue sauce designed around surplus carrots is the newest product rolling out from the Expanding Farmers’ Opportunities in Northwest Arkansas program. Rafael Rios, chef at his family’s Yeyo’s El Alma De Mexico in Rogers…