The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff announces an Agriculture Field Day is scheduled for Aug. 14 at the Pearlie S. Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center.
The center is located at the UAPB Farm at Lonoke. The field day begins with registration at 7:30 a.m. Tractor and walking tours and demonstrations will begin at 9 a.m. and the last tour at 11 a.m.
The field day emphasizes water management activities that help curtail the declining groundwater in central and eastern Arkansas.
Tractor-pulled trailers will transport participants to three main tour areas – crop production systems, water management activities and agriculture-related activities — where learning stations will feature scientists /researchers reporting on specific projects.
The Crop Production System stops include native tall grass prairie seed production plots for wildlife and conservation, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service weed science study plots, the Arkansas State Plant Board weather station and UAPB alternative cropping system designed for small and limited resource farmers. This includes an organic garden, Southern pea, peppers and sweet potato studies.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Those on the Water Management Activities tour will see the UAPB on-farm reservoir levee stabilization project and the constructed wetlands wildlife enhancement area as well as the in-line irrigation monitoring system, hear about the USGS Mississippi River alluvial aquifer groundwater elevations study and the data collection platform that measures the water table within the aquifer that supplies groundwater to the Lonoke Farm and surrounding area.
On the Ag-Related Activities stops are the UAPB-NRCS Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) site, Arkansas Forestry Commission progeny testing, and presentations on honey bees as well as mechanical verses hand harvesting of Southern peas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Fish Tank and an antique tractor show round out field day activities.
The Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center was created on the 871-acre UAPB farm to address critical groundwater issues facing Arkansas and the economic plight of the small- scale limited resource farmer.
Currently, 23 research and demonstration projects are underway with a multi-agency group of scientists, engineers, professors and community organizations. Their primary focus is the efficient and effective use of surface water.
The UAPB Farm is located on O’Cain Road, off Highway 31, about 2.8 miles from the Interstate 40, Lonoke Exit 175. For more information on field day, contact Leslie Glover, at (870) 575-8822 or Charlie Cummings, at (501) 676-4470 or email charliecummings42@yahoo.com.