In-person field day tours resuming at Stuttgart facility

Informational programs for farmers being offered in variety of subjects

In-person field day tours will return to the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart on Friday, Aug. 5, for the first time in three years with informational programs on a variety of subjects.

The program is an annual outreach event held by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture to present results and recommendations from faculty with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.

No registration is required for the event. The Rice Research and Extension Center is located at 2900 Highway 130 East in Stuttgart.

This will be the first in-person field day at the Rice Research and Extension Center since 2019, according to Jarrod Hardke, professor and rice extension agronomist for the Division of Agriculture.

"We're excited to announce our first in-person field day in three years,” Hardke said. “We had great success and feedback in the past two virtual field days, given how we needed to do it. We delivered some good information and people enjoyed it. But there is that in-person element to ask questions, interact and discuss and have a fellowship that is a big part of it. We look forward to being there in person."

"It will be exciting to bring the Ag community together for the field day to review the latest updates in irrigation, weed, pest management and new rice breeds, all of which are vital to the farming industry here in the Arkansas Delta," said Jenna Martin, St. Francis County Ag Agent with the St. Francis County Extension Office in Forrest City.

The two field day tours run simultaneously at 7:30 a.m. and again at 9:30 a.m. Exact times and the order of speakers are subject to change as finalizations are made. Speakers and topics will include.

Field Tour One:

• Rice Breeding Updates — Xueyan Sha, professor and senior rice breeder

• Drones in Agriculture — Terry Spurlock, professor and extension plant pathologist

• Agronomy — Jarrod Hardke, professor and rice extension agronomist

• Soil Fertility — Trent Roberts, associate professor of soil fertility and testing; and Gerson Drescher, post-doctoral fellow

Field Tour Two:

• Current Issues in Rice Insect Management — Nick Bateman, assistant professor and extension entomologist; Chase Floyd, Ph.D. student; and Trevor Newkirk, master’s student

• Irrigation — Chris Henry, associate professor and water management engineer

• Weed Control in Rice: What’s Working and What’s in The Pipeline — Jason Norsworthy, distinguished professor of weed science; and Tommy Butts, assistant professor and extension weed scientist

Indoors at the Rice Research and Extension Center:

Beginning at 11:30 a.m., prior to the noon lunch, these presentations will be made.

• Introduction — Alton Johnson, director of the Rice Research and Extension Center

• Crop Overview — Jarrod Hardke, professor and rice extension agronomist

• Division of Agriculture Update — Deacue Fields, vice president of agriculture for the University of Arkansas System