Four States Ag Expo Feb. 13 in Texarkana

  

 

By Tracy Courage

U of A System Division of Agriculture

 

TEXARKANA, Ark. – The Four States Agricultural Expo returns Feb. 13, bringing together growers and producers from Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma area to learn about the latest research and resources available for commercial horticulture, livestock and forages, integrated pest management, home gardening, lawn, pond management, and more.

 

The expo is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Four States Fairgrounds, 3700 E. 50th Street in Texarkana. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. All growers and producers from the four-state region are invited. The expo is free, open to the public, and includes lunch. No registration is required. Lunch will be provided by Farm Credit of Western Arkansas and Texas Farm Bureau - Bowie County. Sponsors and donors include Cavender’s Texarkana and Simmons Bank-Jonathan Shumate.

 

The event is a joint project of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, with experts from both agencies presenting workshops throughout the day.

 

“We usually have around 350 people attend,” said Jennifer Caraway, Miller County extension agent. “Every year we offer a variety of agricultural sessions about livestock and forages, row crops, horticulture, commercial horticulture, timber and wildlife management, and pond management."

 

Continuing education units — CEUs — are available for licensed pesticide applicators. Texas pesticide applicators pay $10 for up to five hours of CEU credits. Arkansas pesticide applicator training will be available at the expo. The cost is $65, with $20 paid to Miller County Cooperative Extension and $45 paid to Arkansas State Plant Board to obtain a five-year license.

 

Concurrent programs will begin at 8:30 a.m. and include the following topics and speakers:

 

8:30 a.m.

* Managing Vegetation in Farm Ponds – Tyson Keese, pond management program specialist, Texas A&M. 

* Vaccination Protocols for Beef Cattle – Meg Harrington, NAH Livestock Consulting.

* Production & Management of Blueberries – Tim Hartman, assistant professor,  extension specialist, integrated pest management Texas A&M.

 

9:45 a.m.

* Alternative Forages for Livestock – Jonathan Kubesch, extension forage specialist, Division of Agriculture.

* The Fate of Dicamba and Rice Weed Control – Bob Scott, extension weed scientist, Division of Agriculture. 

* Production and Management of Tomatoes – John Gavin, Bradley County extension agent, Division of Agriculture.

* Beekeeping 101 – Garrett Slater, assistant professor and apiculture extension entomologist, Texas A&M.

 

11 a.m.

* Managing Fish Populations in Farm Ponds – Tyson Keese, Texas A&M.

* Treating Common Diseases in Beef Cattle – Robert Bonner, DVM, Nashville Animal Hospital.

* Production and Management of Peaches – Tim Hartmann, Texas A&M. 

 

Noon-1 p.m.: Lunch

 

1 p.m.

* Safe Use of Pesticides Around the Farm – Bob Scott, extension weed scientist, Division of Agriculture.

* Grassy Weed Control in Pastures and Hay – Chad Cummings, Texas A&M county extension agent-agriculture and natural resources.

* Pests, Pathogens, Pesticides, and Poor Nutrition and Their Impact on Bee Hives – Garrett Slater, Texas A&M. 

 

2:15 p.m.

* Broadleaf Weed Control in Pasture and Hay – Chad Cummings, Texas A&M.

* Arkansas Pesticide Applicator Training – Jennifer Caraway, Miller County agricultural extension agent, Division of Agriculture.

* Texas Auxin Training – Brian Triplett, county agent-agriculture and natural resources, Texas A&M.

 

For more information about the expo, contact the Miller County Extension office at 870-779-3609. To learn more about Division of Agriculture extension programs, 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.uark.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insect Waste Can Improve Soil Fertility

 Insect frass. (Photo by Taylor Adams, ARS)

January 29, 2025

Insect droppings, commonly known as insect frass, may seem useless and downright disgusting, but scientists found that this waste can improve soil health when added as a fertilizer in farming.

Insect frass is a mixture of excreta, feed, and molted skins. These droppings are a by-product of farming insects like yellow mealworms, banded crickets, and black soldier flies. Farmers raise and breed insects, also known as “mini-livestock,” to be an alternative protein source for animals and be a more sustainable practice in agriculture.

Insect frass may also be used as fertilizer. Previous studies by this team led by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) show insect frass can have higher carbon and nitrogen content than fossil fuel-based fertilizers and fewer pathogens than other animal manures.

These researchers, along with collaborators from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, also studied insect frass’ potential as an organic fertilizer source when used as a soil amendment in farming.

In a two-year field study, researchers found that frass from yellow mealworm increased the amount of carbon by two times and nitrogen by three times in soils than other sources like poultry litter and ammonium nitrate. Furthermore, soils with frass addition produced crop yields and carbon dioxide emission rates similar to soils amended with poultry litter and ammonium nitrate.

“Insect frass substantially improved soil fertility which showed its ability to be used as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers,” Amanda Ashworth, a soil scientist at the ARS Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit in Fayetteville, Arkansas, said. 

“This is important since insect farming is on the rise and circular agricultural systems (agricultural by-products that are recycled back into production systems) can be sustainable avenues for growing foods in the future.”

According to Meticulous Research’s Global Edible Insects Market Forecast to 2030 report, the insect farming industry is expanding in response to increasing demands for sustainable protein sources for animal feed. The industry is projected to grow 28% annually and have an estimated market value of $8 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.

The study was recently published in Scientific Reports and done in collaboration with crop, soil and environmental science researchers with the Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the ARS Biological Control of Pests Research Unit in Stoneville, Mississippi.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.