Urban Renewal board to meet
The Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the URA Board Room, 417 W. Sixth Ave. Details: Director Chandra Griffin, (870) 209-0323.
Taste of SEA set Sept. 19
Due to the overwhelming attendance at last year’s Taste of Southeast Arkansas, the event is expanding.
Taste of Southeast Arkansas will be held at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. The cocktail hour begins at 5:30 p.m.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Taste of Southeast Arkansas features samplings of dishes from regional chefs. Entertainment will be by the Rodney Block Collective.
The theme is An Evening in Paris. The event was moved to the Convention Center to accommodate even more attendees, according to a news release from the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Tickets are $55 for Chamber members and $65 for non members. Tables are available for $600 with seating up to 10 guests.
For ticket or table information, call (870) 535-0110 or email Jamal Gordon at jamal@jeffersoncountyalliance.com.
Soybean breeders tour starts Sept. 3
The Arkansas Soybean Breeding program invites all breeders, researchers, growers and industry professionals to the 2024 Southern Soybean Breeders Tour for an in-depth exploration of the latest research, trials and innovations in soybean breeding across the Mid-South.
This year’s event will take place from Sept. 3-5 in Memphis, focusing on the unique challenges and opportunities of soybean production in the Mid-South region.
The Soybean Breeders Tour is hosted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Missouri’s Fisher Delta Research, Extension, and Education Center.
Attendees will have the chance to learn from top experts in soybean genetics, agronomy, pathology and weed management, visit research facilities and fields to see cutting-edge breeding techniques in action, and connect with fellow researchers, graduate students and industry leaders.
Soybean breeder Caio Canella Vieira, assistant professor in the crop, soil and environmental sciences department and researcher for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the Division of Agriculture, is the organizing co-chair of the event.
“The Southern Soybean Breeders Tour has been a key event in the South for nearly 40 years,” Vieira said. “This event is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about agricultural production in the Mid-South. Our goal this year is to provide an immersive experience to truly understand the challenges and opportunities of agriculture in this region.”
Vieira leads the Arkansas Soybean Breeding program, which develops and releases conventional and herbicide-resistant soybean cultivars tailored to the needs of Arkansas growers.
“We are fortunate to work in a field where many research findings are translated into practical field solutions,” he said. “Events like this allow us to share recent advancements with growers and the research community, sparking thoughtful and fruitful discussions that can lead to real-world applications and innovations.”
Arkansas is the 10th biggest producer of soybeans in the country, and the crop remains a top contributor to the state’s economy. According to the latest Arkansas Agriculture Profile, in 2021, soybeans generated the highest export value for the state, bringing in $911 million.
That same year, soybeans were Arkansas’s second top commodity in terms of cash farm receipts, bringing in $1.6 billion, over 15 percent of the total Arkansas agricultural cash farm receipts.
Soybeans are the top crop in Missouri in both acreage and value and rank seventh nationally, according to the University of Missouri. The Missouri crop is valued at $2.5 billion. The value of the U.S. soybean crop was $45.7 billion.
Vieira will provide an update on soybean breeding in Arkansas and deliver the closing remarks along with Feng Lin, assistant professor at the University of Missouri and organizing co-chair of the tour.
Thanks to the support of this year’s sponsors, local farmers can attend the Field Days free of charge. Farmers can submit this registration form to register.
For details and to register, visit the 2024 Southern Soybean Breeders Tour website at https://aaes.uada.edu/row-crops/soybean/soybean-tour-2024/
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website at https://aaes.uada.edu/.