On Thursday, August 11th, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced that it would offer online options for pest control and pesticide program licensing and certification exams. The pest control program and pesticide application programs are adminis
Read More
On Wednesday, the Arkansas General Assembly approved new tax cuts aimed at providing inflation relief to Arkansans and Arkansas businesses. Included in the legislation (now Act 2) was a section that brings the state into conformity with the federal Sectio
Read More
Democrats in Congress reached agreement on a budget reconciliation package that is likely to soon be signed into law by President Biden. The legislation, now known as the "Inflation Reduction Act," is a scaled back version of the so-called, "Build Back Be
Read More
On Tuesday, August 9th, President Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at increasing the United States capacity in the production of semiconductor technologies and reducing dependence on foreign production of such mater
Read More
On Monday, July 25th, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) issued an updated Crop Progress and Condition Report. The report for Arkansas indicated additional slippage of crop condition due to lack of rainfall and excessive heat that has ca
Read More
On Friday, July 29th, the U.S. Senate approved the H.R. 7776, the Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) of 2022. The measure was approved as amended in the Senate 93-1 after previously being passed by the House 384-37. The measure will next go to conferen
Read More
A new weather system in Arkansas has provided much needed drought relief for significant areas Arkansas with cooler temperatures and rainfall. Several areas in Arkansas have faced major drought with minimal rainfall since May. The rainfall expected in the
Read More
On Friday, July 29th, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) issued new reports highlighting farm expenditures and farm prices. The reports highlighted the ongoing challenges facing farmers as input costs continue to place pressure on pr
Read More
The U.S. Internation Trade Commission (USITC) recently decided to deny new tariffs on imported urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizer products from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago. The news was welcomed by farmers who've dealt with dramatic increases to fe
Read More
The City of Marion, Arkansas, will receive an additional $1 million in federal grant funds for the development of the new museum that will commemorate the sinking of the Sultana, a Civil War steamboat that sank near the town in the Mississippi River on Ap
Read More
The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a legislative package of six appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year, including funding proposals for USDA and the FDA. The measures passed on a party line vote of 220-207. The current fiscal y
Read More
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bipartisan CHIPS Act sending the measure to President Biden for his signature. The legislation is aimed at increasing the United States capacity in the production of semiconducter technologies and reducing de
Read More