. Ouachita Mountains, and the Arkansas River Valley. The ARVAC Food Bank, located at 504 Union Street in Dardanelle, provides food for local churches, community food pantries, and soup kitchens. High prices and the availability of newly developed land led to a boom in Delta agriculture in the 1970s. inner.style.display = "block"; For more than 150 years, agricultural practices had hardly changed. Arkansas is a top-ten producer of soft red winter wheat in the United States. The way of life that had sustained them for generations was rapidly dying. var d = document.querySelectorAll('#threecolaccord'); d[i].id = "question" + a; //c.style.display = "none"; 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. In addition to the credit crunch, farmers in the last quarter of the nineteenth century faced a steady decline in crop prices. Temperatures are generally warmer than in the Ozarks and cooler than Central Arkansas, although the wide variance in elevation in the River Valley can create locally different climatic conditions. Greenwood also has a Coal Miner's Memorial near the town square, with a restored coal railroad car and names of Sebastian County coal workers engraved on site. Without regular incomes, they became dependent on public housing and food subsidies and spent an extended amount of time unemployed, even as landowners hired migrant workers from Mexico as day laborers. /* Written by Amit Agarwal - labnol.org */ Global Village Day at Heifer International, October. 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. It grew in such dense stands that early travelers from Memphis, Tennessee, to Little Rock (Pulaski County) often hired guides to get through it. Between 1935when farms reached an all-time high of more than 235,000 unitsand 1995, the number dropped steadily before leveling off to just under 50,000 farms. The Arkansas River Valley is informally defined along county boundaries, including all of Logan and Sebastian counties and portions of Conway, Franklin, Johnson, Perry, Pope, and Yell counties. Bradley County earned the reputation as the tomato capital of the state, and selective breeding by crop scientists at the University of Arkansass College of Agriculture kept tomato growers in a competitive position in the twenty-first century. Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation. } Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. str = str.substring(14, str.length); In Arkansas, the main office did not open in Little Rock until October 1868. DeMaris, Ralph, and Robert Irving. Throughout the nineteenth century, landowners concentrated on draft animals, horses, mules, and oxen, with only a passing interest in dairy or beef animals. } The drought of 193031 became almost as legendary as the flood. a++; function iframeLoaded() { Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions. d = document.querySelectorAll('[id^=threecolheader]'); But lofty though its goals, and as well intentioned as its sponsors may have been to help the Southern underclass, it was not a panacea. Concurrent with the growth in population, there has been increasing pressure on land and water resources. Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener. // ]]> Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Finally, an economic model of crop production for existing acreage allocations in the Arkansas River Valley is in development. function s4() { The conference will be on Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Conway County Fairgrounds, 901 E. Elm St. in Morrilton. css.appendChild(document.createTextNode(rule)); The project showcases Arkansas's diverse agriculture and crops, regional economies; the distinctive geography and geology of each region, and a broad look at the areas that make Arkansas the rich and varied land and culture it has been throughout its history. Mechanical milking machines, new techniques in pasteurization, homogenization, and refrigerationcoupled with improved transportationbrought modernity to the industry. At six cents a pound, standard wages for first picking in 1930, a hard worker could make six to eighteen dollars a day. Moneyhon, Carl H. Arkansas and the New South, 18741929. Part of this change was a reflection of market conditions, but more significant was that soybeans were better adapted to Delta soilparticularly the newly cleared timberlands along the swamps and bayous. Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers. The Arkansas River Valley bisects the Ozarks and the Ouachitas and offered the best farmland in the upland region. Over time the coarser particles (sand) built a dike along the riverbank and frequently prevented water carrying finer particles from returning to the main channel. The first extended the responsibilities of the Freedmens Bureau to assist with farming. } In response to the former slaves need for land, Congress adopted two programs designed to make individual land ownership a priority. inner.style.visibility = 'visible'; April 24, 2023. Opportunities for quick profits attracted a variety of new farmers and non-farm investors; many were unfamiliar and unconcerned with traditional cropping practices. productivity on these soils is often limited by their physical properties. The primary source of floodwater for the Mississippi River is the Ohio River valley, including the Tennessee River basin. if (css.styleSheet) { // For IE In total, Otto Nuttli reported more than 200 moderate to large aftershocks in the New Madrid region between December 16, 1811, and March 15, 1812: ten of these were greater than about 6.0; about one hundred were between M5.0 and 5.9; and eighty-nine were in the magnitude 4 range. Increasing nitrate concentrations are related to increasing agricultural . Generally defined as the area between the Ozarkand Ouachita Mountains,[1]the River Valley is characterized by flat lowlands covered in fertile farmland and lakes periodically interrupted by high peaks. . Typically, in a matter of several crop years, small farmers found themselves encircled by debt. 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. Fourche River Days in Perryville, April. A typical hill country farm through most of the nineteenth century had about thirty acres in cultivationten acres of corn, five acres of cotton, and the rest in cereal grains, sometimes tobacco (particularly in the Ozarks), potatoes, and vegetables. Arkansas was second only to Florida in acres still in the public domain and offered an opportunity for thousands of Arkansans, black and white, to own farms free of charge. var str = x.id; The Klan had limited support, and much of the area was viewed steadily Re Due to the climate, fertile soil and immigrants accustomed to wine with their meals, several wineries were established in the River Valley. Not only did Rockefeller import new cattle, he also started a scientific breeding program that included an annual bull sale featuring prize-winning animals. When state and private charities failed to meet the need, federal officials established a Drought Committee to review conditions and provide low-interest loans for farmers to use in buying farm supplies and forage for livestock. if(inner.style.display === "block") The new crops were aided in part by new technology, which made it possible to drain and dredge swampland. But after World War II, most Arkansas farmers were also a new elite. for (var i in d) { [CDATA[ Laws favorable to small-business development encouraged partnerships between poultry growers and processors and a redevelopment of land use. Soils were shallow, the terrain usually sloped, and most of the nutrients leached out through centuries of erosion. Whats wrong with my plants? Much of the farmers improved situation was due to World War I. Wartime demands for food and fiber led to a golden age in agriculture when cotton prices approached their Civil War levels. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1990. Again, farmers turned to activism. "&el=" + encodeURIComponent(document.location.pathname); around pasture lands. var iFrameID = document.getElementById('idIframe'); Held annually in July, the festival offers peach pit spitting contest and a terrapin derby in addition to a parade and traditional food and craft vendors. Similar forces were at work to spur an increase in rice acreage. In addition to the outdoor recreational activities available to residents and visitors of the region, the River Valley contains Arkansas's wine country as well as hundreds of historical sites throughout the area. Position your business to compete for government contracts. to 1670 A.D. We proudly serve the area with a commitment to quality, affordability, and excellent customer service. formed when the ocean covered a good portion of southern Arkansas. Desha County, which had 26.9 percent of its acreage in cultivation in 1925, had 40.5 percent in 1940. When most domestic workers did not return to rural America after the war, a treaty between the United States and Mexico formalized the plan. The need for workers in wartime industries drained rural Arkansas of farm workers in the 1940s. The Alma Spinach Festival held on the third weekend in April pays homage to Alma's reputation as "Spinach Capital of the World". of our most important activity - agriculture. Car show and festival entertainment. Creating an account gives you access to all these features. This page is not available in other languages. var children = document.querySelectorAll('.ptac-plus .ptac-sign'); considered here. A crop lost to floods often offset soil fertility. var b = 0; Check it out. Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture. Holley, Donald. test = "threecolblock" + test; In other areas, particularly the Coastal Plain, farmers converted cropland to timber farms. Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more! [5], Hernando de Soto became the first European explorer to enter Arkansas in 1541. children[y].innerHTML = "+"; The River Valley's first wineries date to the postbellum era, when they were founded to produce wine for the Swiss and German immigrants relocating to the area to work in coal mines. Soil is one the most precious natural resources in Arkansas as it is the foundation slopes, and by the weathering of the existent parent material. } In 1987, Alma claimed the title of "Spinach Capital of the World" and erected a Popeye statue in front of the Chamber of Commerce building. var x = document.getElementById(b); For many of the farmers new to the Delta, a key was in growing rice instead of, or in addition to, cotton. 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. What else do you need to know? Juice grapes continued to be a viable industry into the 1980s before market forces put most of the growers out of business. for (var i in d) { It had oxbow lakes, swamps, and dense undergrowth that presented a challenge to early farmers. Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals. Almost twenty-seven percent of Arkansass acreage lay unclaimed, and more than eighty percent of that was in the Delta. As with row cropping, however, increased technology brought increased investment costs and greater capitalization. var c = 0; One of the largest farming regions, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (formed by the Arkansas, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers), stretches about 250 miles from Missouri to Louisiana. In some ways, the Civil War had a major impact on Arkansas agriculture, but in others, little changed. Less pronounced but still significant was the number of upland farmers hit by similar forces. d[i].id = "threecolaccord" + a; var x = document.getElementById(b); //alert(str); the Environmental Protection Agency: Region 6 as part of a cooperative non-point source 1 But even modernization did not remove the risks. If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. 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. After 1850, commercial agricultural in the Delta eclipsed subsistence farming. Altering the landscapewhether clearing forests, draining swamps, channeling streams, or replacing cotton with rice and soybeans or chicken houses and cattletransformed the rural culture. Originally brought to southeast Arkansas to work on cotton plantations, a band of these aliens migrated to Washington County and established a self-sufficient community, in part by growing grapes. // ]]> A new age in Arkansas agriculture had begun and was reflected in changing land and cropping practices. Heavily capitalized, with access to thousands, sometime millions, of dollars, these farmers were products of an agribusiness system. Low prices, coupled with erratic weather patterns and periodic bollworm infestation, challenged even the best farmer. Living in small villages characterized by earthen burial mounds, these native peoples planted vegetables and grains by tilling with hand-held wooden tools. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. var css = document.createElement('style'); Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals. The numbers picked up over the next eight years. Even those farmers who remained on the land faced greater uncertainty than ever before. For ten years, the Southern Homestead Act was an experiment in public land reform, placing individuals using the land above the speculator. Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit. count = d.length; The spinach and greens products allowed Alma to leverage its existing fruit canning facility owned by the Alma Canning and Evaporating Company, which had been in the area since 1888. Unable to meet the competition offered by their east Arkansas neighbors, hill country farmers turned from grain and row crops to poultry, livestock, and timber. Nuttli also noted that about eighteen hundred earthquakes of . if (css && head) { However, the Arkansas River Valley, as referred to by physiographers, "is not the alluvial valley through which the Arkansas River actually meanders. Cities such as Booneville, Clarksville, Morrilton, Paris, and Perryville serve as cultural and economic centers within the rural counties of the River Valley.[17]. That year also saw a precipitous drop in housing construction and a downturn in the forestry industry.
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