arkansas river valley agriculture

Holley, Donald. Agriculture has played a major role in Arkansass culture from territorial times, when farmers made up more than ninety percent of the population, through the present (about forty-five percent of the states residents were still classified as rural in the early part of the twenty-first century). Also, initially exempt from acreage controls, rice provided a good alternative to cotton farmers in the same way soybeans had. Companies invested large sums of money in developing the infrastructure: harvesting, hauling, and milling. inner.style.opacity = '1'; } Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved. The Klan had limited support, and much of the area was viewed steadily Re Throughout the nineteenth century, landowners concentrated on draft animals, horses, mules, and oxen, with only a passing interest in dairy or beef animals. Kansas-Colorado Arkansas River Compact - Kansas Department of Agriculture The western portion of the River Valley (i.e., around Fort Smith) is situated near an area known as Tornado Alley in the central United States. var b = 0; The first vineyards were established in the upper Arkansas River Valley in the 1870s by Swiss-German immigrants lured to the state by railroad agents promising fertile land at cheap prices. c[e].id = "answer" + b; When many of the small farmers did not return to the land after the war ended, as they had following World War I, landowners were forced to rely on machinery even more. Wage contracts, adopted as a necessity in the 1866 crop year, quickly evolved to tenant and sharecropping contracts that allowed the underclass farm hands and the landowners to meet mutual needs. King Cotton has been dethroned, farming has become an increasingly corporate venture, and agriculture itself has lost its position as the mainstay of the economy. } It is the entire synclinorium, or trough, lying between the two well defined groups of mountains"; Arkansas Natural Area Plan (Little Rock: Arkansas Department of Planning, 1974), 13. However, competition introduced into the market by the railroads allowed farmers in Texas and other states to undercut the prices offered by River Valley farmers. His expedition of 600 Spanish explorers searching for gold and riches crossed into Arkansas across the Mississippi River, and explored the state for the next two years. [7] Since settlement, the River Valley had been a largely cashless society with significantly less reliance on slave labor compared to plantation agriculture areas like the Arkansas Delta and elsewhere in the Deep South. The rapid and extensive disappearance of the hardwoods in eastern Arkansas created controversy. Whayne, Jeannie M., and Willard B. Gatewood Jr., eds. area were formed by deposition of the river, by landslides that moved to the foot } Many parts of Arkansas had descended into lawlessness and violence between whitecapping groups (including the Ku Klux Klan), freedmen, Republicans, and unaffiliated bandits taking advantage of the chaos. [CDATA[ Most farmers were willing to make long-term commitments to these crops even though it meant acquiring new equipment. By the early part of the twenty-first century, family farm dairying had largely disappeared, with Arkansas having just over 40,000 dairy cattle and 420 dairy farms. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. The Mississippi River alluvial soils of eastern Arkansas make up the Delta region of the state. The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox. Whayne, Jeannie M., ed. Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases. 72201. Many immigrants came to the River Valley searching for agricultural prosperity, particularly by farming cotton, which could fetch high prices at market and quickly turn a farm into a profitable enterprise. The bill initially limited public land access to homesteaders and limited individual claims to eighty acres, rather than the 160 acres in the original 1862 bill. Mississippi River Valley Alluvial aquifer continues to lose water This one-page handout, from the Horticulture Track of the Oklahoma Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, lists, for over four dozen vegetable crops: direct seed vs. transplant, days from indoor to field planting, first and last indoor and field dates, and germination temperature range and optimum. var x = document.getElementById(b); for (var i in d) { The 1930s were difficult for almost all Americans, but for Arkansas farmers, the Depression started with the Flood of 1927, a disastrous flood along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Single crop, hand-labor production had been replaced by diversification, mechanization, and chemical and biological practices. Mountains, West Gulf Coastal Plain, and Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, Avian Influenza Biosecurity Best Practices, APEX Accelerator & Government Contracting, Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences. Watering the Valley: Development Along the High Plains Arkansas River, 1870-1950 by James E. Sherow James Earl Sherow contends that a vast network of problems in the arid West has sprung from the mistaken notion that water is a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded. inner.style.opacity = '1'; It is one of six natural divisions of Arkansas.[2]. . The . inner.style.visibility = 'visible'; css.setAttribute("media", "print"); Paisley, Clifton. Before sharecropping and tenant farming became the dominant cropping pattern, most farmers owned a milch cow, and most towns of even a few hundred people were served by at least one dairy. North of Clarksville, Lake Ludwig offers swimming, boating and fishing to visitors. "&ea=" + encodeURIComponent(document.title) + President Andrew Johnson signed the bill into law on June 21, 1866. For most, having spent their lives close to the soil working crops and livestock with a limited selection of tools, continuing in agriculture was expected. The traditional price support was continued, but to qualify for a subsidy, farmers had to take a designated amount of cotton acreage out of production. The Bracero Program brought thousands of immigrants to the fields and orchards of the United States. // ]]>, Physiographic Regions of Arkansas: Ozark Plateaus, Arkansas River Valley, Ouachita The Political Wheelers and the Election of 1888. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 25 (Spring 1966): 318. After 1970, federal officials modified the program and took steps to limit the acreage being developed for agriculture. Concurrent with the growth in human population in Colorado, there has been increasing pressure on land and water resources that were historically devoted to agriculture. The remaining property was open range for livestock, was used for hunting or fishing, and was a source for firewood, wood for tool handles, roofing shingles, and other needs. var a = 0; [15], The most populous city within the River Valley is Fort Smith, the principal city of the Fort Smith metropolitan area that also includes Van Buren and Alma. As historian Gilbert Fite noted, farmers became a new minority in many regions of the nation, and that was particularly true in eastern Arkansas. Hand tools and draft animals limited an average farmer to cultivating about four acres a day and made it difficult to accumulate wealth. In recent years, Arkansas has averaged 600,000 acres of wheat and yields have averaged 58 bushels per acre. Vegetable crop production has a long and successful history in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado. Vegetable Crop Management in the Arkansas Valley - USDA University of Arkansas at Little Rock. However, the Arkansas River Valley, as referred to by physiographers, "is not the alluvial valley through which the Arkansas River actually meanders. . var rule = "body:after{content:url(" + GIF + ")}"; Arkansas River Basin Water Forum discusses solutions to severe drought In all, 27 design . The second came in 1866 with the Southern Homestead Act, which provided free land from the public domain in the former Confederate states. One of his first actions was to introduce Santa Gertrudis cattle in the state, a breed specifically developed in south Texas to thrive in the regions hot weather and multiple pests. Divided into six regions, each with unique soils, the state presented a variety of choices. While the bank is not open to the public, ARVAC provides food to individuals and families based on the federally funded criteria of the CSFP and TEFAP Programs. We proudly serve the area with a commitment to quality, affordability, and excellent customer service. Car show and festival entertainment. The states climate did not favor the beef industry. In addition to the Arkansas Valley, many of the prime agricultural regions of the state are experiencing population growth-related . Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System. for (var i = 0; i < count; i++) { inner.style.display = "block"; Feed & Fertilizer DivisionArkansas State Plant Board, // APLU, 340 Agriculture Groups Urge Congress to Fund Research Facilities Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds. THE ARKANSAS VALLEY SUPER DITCH - A LOCAL RESPONSE TO "BUY AND DRY" IN COLORADO WATER MARKETS Tyler G. McMahon1 and Mark Griffin Smith2 ABSTRACT: Across the West, water transfers generate controversy. Kansas-Colorado Arkansas River Compact Kansas Department of Agriculture Home About Us Agency Information Secretary Mike Beam Kansas Agriculture Kansas Agricultural Statistics State Board of Agriculture From the Land of Kansas Human Resources Ag Growth Project Growth Strategy Strategic Growth Initiative Ag Summit 2022 Ag Summit 2021 Ag Summit 2020 inner.style.display = "block"; Once thought to be unique to the Grand Prairie, success came for rice farmers in the new drainage districts. In response to the former slaves need for land, Congress adopted two programs designed to make individual land ownership a priority. Elsewhere in the county, cotton and timber had given way to strawberry, hay, and cattle. DeMaris, Ralph, and Robert Irving. In some ways, the Civil War had a major impact on Arkansas agriculture, but in others, little changed. The Arkansas River Valley is among largest areas of Arkansas, which had a river covering it for many years. In terms of age from youngest to oldest, the aquifers of the Interior Highlands include: the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer, the Ouachita Mountains aquifer, the Western Interior Plains confining system, the Springfield Plateau aquifer, and the Ozark aquifer. Upon arriving in the region, many found only densely forested upland to be the only property they could afford. for (var e in c) { Peaches, another crop in the New South diversification movement, were also grown in all sections of the state, but commercial growers were most successful in the upper Arkansas River Valley, centered in Johnson County, and along the slopes and valleys of the Ouachita Mountains in southwestern Arkansas, with the largest concentration in Howard County. This fighting apparently caused de Soto to turn the expedition back east, leaving the River Valley.[6]. In recent years, acreage has averaged 600,000 acres and yields have averaged 58 bushels per acre. Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar. https://www.butlercenter.org/agriculture-in-arkansas/ (accessed September 11, 2020). Immediately after the war, confusion and uncertainty made it difficult for freedmen to take advantage of the legislation. // Community Supported Agriculture - LocalHarvest d[i].id = "threecolaccord" + a; The way of life that had sustained them for generations was rapidly dying. Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors. Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information. Other Delta counties showed similar increases. From 1940 to 1978, about 2.5 million acres of forest were cleared and most of that land was brought into cultivation. Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century These former sharecroppers and tenant farmers were not the source of the new agriculture but rather were reflective of its change. While the state was fortunate to have two additional officesone in the Arkansas River Valley west of Little Rock and one in southwest Arkansas near the Red Riverall were far from the Delta and most of the public land. (Division of Agriculture photo.) Most small lumber companies were forced into merger or bankruptcy. In Van Buren, the King Opera House is a restored 1880s opera house, now holding various events throughout the year. For a time in the 1950s and 1960s, timber removal in the Delta became a full-time business. // ]]> The lower course river supports agriculture, such as hay and vegetables, as well as in the high dry valley and the towns of Pueblo. ANNUAL ROUNDUP This year's River Valley Beef Cattle Conference will focus on efficiency, presenting the latest recommendations for cattle producers looking to keep costs down and profits up. children[y].innerHTML = "+"; for (var i in d) { Read on. { Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. However, disease infested most orchards less than two decades after apple growing became commercially feasible. As the war ended, federal army officers confiscated some of the abandoned land and used it to resettle former slaves. [3] Much of what is known about these early societies has been uncovered by the Arkansas Archaeological Survey and the Arkansas Archaeological Society at Carden Bottoms in Yell County near the Arkansas and Petit Jean Rivers. The NWR offers a driving tour with interpretative signs. Gatewood, Willard B., Jr. Sunnyside: The Evolution of an American Plantation, 18401945. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 50 (Spring 1991): 529. for (var y in children) { The Museum of Automobiles atop Petit Jean Mountain hosts annual Antique Auto Show and Swap Meet events in June and September. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1990. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture and its partners in wildfire suppression, prescribed fire, and conservation combine hands-on exercises and classroom material to teach basic fire suppression, advanced suppression strategy and tactics, engine operation, dozer operation, Incident Command procedures, and more. Agriculture - Encyclopedia of Arkansas One of these, the Grand Prairie, a vast treeless region between the Arkansas and White rivers, occupies more than 500,000 acres of natural grassland in the south-central section. var inner = document.getElementById(test); The other crops produced in Arkansas in large quantities are soybeans, corn, cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat. var b = 0; Eventually, a preference for mixed farming emerged, including potatoes and other garden vegetables, to protect against a poor cotton crop sending a farm into economic ruin.[13]. slopes, and by the weathering of the existent parent material. var d = new Date(); By 1964, the statistical importance of tenant-sharecroppers, and the number of horses and mules, had been reduced to the point that federal officials no longer collected data on them. For more than 150 years, agricultural practices had hardly changed. // Seed Starting Guide - Arkansas River Valley - Kerr Center The other, Crowleys Ridge, was formed by windblown dust deposited before the rivers flooded. In 1954, Congress passed the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, designed to improve land already cleared for either crops or pasture by channeling and damming streams that were prone to flood. Real Estate in Arkansas River Valley - Colorado Real Estate Agency By the twenty-first century, about sixty percent of Arkansas farmers raised cattle. Even those farmers who remained on the land faced greater uncertainty than ever before. return Math.floor((1 + Math.random()) * 0x10000).toString(16).substring(1); function accordionClick(b) { var str = x.id; d = document.querySelectorAll('[id^=threecolheader]'); Mount Bethel Winery has been in operation for over 100 years, and offers a tasting, tour and gift shop for visitors. But even modernization did not remove the risks. As the demographic shifts occurred, rural Arkansas developed pockets of settlement occupied by people without land and dependent on a day wage. [15] In Russellville, the Arkansas River Valley Arts Center offers visual arts as well as art classes and infrequent performances. Rainfall had typically been an ally for farmers, but from April 1930 to January 1931, measurable precipitation was far below average. inner.style.visibility = 'hidden'; Almost twenty-seven percent of Arkansass acreage lay unclaimed, and more than eighty percent of that was in the Delta. css.setAttribute("type", "text/css"); Unclear waters: How pollution, diversions and drought are squeezing the In other areas, particularly the Coastal Plain, farmers converted cropland to timber farms. } var b = 0; var iFrameID = document.getElementById('idIframe'); Not only did technologies developed in the war greatly improve the machines and reduce their costs, the mass migration of rural Arkansans to defense plants in regional towns reduced the number of farms and increased the size of farming units. } Additional support provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council. [8] Some immigrated directly from Europe, but most came from early settlements in the Ohio River Valley. Agriculture in Arkansas. Ozark Lake, formed on the Arkansas River southwest of Mulberry, is surrounded by a WMA, The United States Forest Service operates both the Ouachita National Forest and the Ozark National Forest within the region, offering trails, camping, and fishing over thousands of acres of public land. Vineyards and wineries around Altus have been in the same family for generations. Mount Magazine hosts an annual International Butterfly Festival in June, Frontier Days in October, and is the final destination on the Peak to Peak Poker Run, which begins at Queen Wilhelmina State Park in May. Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures. This culture lives on today in the five vineyards still in operation. productivity on these soils is often limited by their physical properties. Thousands of acres were now under the control of private companies that saw little reason to assess the land for its true market value. Despite repeated efforts since 1948 at both state and federal levels to adopt a water use policy, little progress has been made. Many company towns were established in the upland regions, and before 1930, hardly a family in the hill country was not involved, at least indirectly, in the forestry business. var count = 1; Not only was their occupation gone, but also was the land that served as a source for food, fuel, and leisure. if (css && head) { Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education. The first extended the responsibilities of the Freedmens Bureau to assist with farming. count = d.length; Pre-European Exploration, Prehistory through 1540, European Exploration and Settlement, 1541 through 1802, Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood, 1803 through 1860, Civil War through Reconstruction, 1861 through 1874, Post-Reconstruction through the Gilded Age, 1875 through 1900, Early Twentieth Century, 1901 through 1940, World War II through the Faubus Era, 1941 through 1967, Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform, 19682022, https://www.butlercenter.org/agriculture-in-arkansas/, Changing Climate and Changing Land (Grades 5-8). Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1993. inner.style.display = "block"; For over 25 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Related to that were the thousands of acres of farmland that lay fallow, some for the duration of the war, depriving individuals and the state government of income. var c = 0; You briefly mention free range of cattle in the nineteenth century in association with tenant/sharecropper farmers and say that beef cattle were often kept on free range prior to World War II, but I didnt notice any mention of free-range hogs in upland/GCP areas of Arkansas. Soils - Encyclopedia of Arkansas //alert(str); In short order, other cattlemen began their own experiments in raising blooded stock and improving their offspring through genetic breeding. Soils in this Perhaps the most divisive impact of the war was a policy that allowed those owning twenty or more slaves to be exempt from military service. The rushing floodwaters also changed course frequently, carving new channels and leaving the old river behind as oxbow lakes and bayous. Efforts to persuade Congress to adopt a federal farm bill to shore up prices failed when government officials argued such a bill would create larger surpluses and further complicate the problem. An Overview of Arkansas Agriculture - Farm Flavor Bluegrass festival. a town just downstream from the mouth of the Arkansas River, and 29% greater at Red River Landing, a site . var head = document.head || document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; { These crops brought diversification to the Deltas agricultural practices that generations of spokesmen had only dreamed about. Arkansas River Valley White River running through the Ozark Mountains of Northern Arkansas. Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages. Wheat | Arkansas Farm Bureau - arfb.com An exploration period for a new regional crop tested beans, legumes, and tomatoes before settling on mustard greens and spinach. The combination of increasing demand and rising prices for farm products, alternative job opportunities, and increasing use of technology changed the nature of farming in a generation.
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