Coal mining was an important industry in the River Valley's early history. a++; High prices and the availability of newly developed land led to a boom in Delta agriculture in the 1970s. if (css && head) { for (var i in d) { [CDATA[ Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more! Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation. [CDATA[ Beginning on the states western border, it ranges from twenty-five to thirty-five miles wide and extends almost 150 miles into the state. The building boom that began at the end of World War II and continued with the baby boom into the 1960s accelerated the need for lumber and its by-products. inner.style.display = "none"; In Colorado's Arkansas River basin urban growth and harsh farming conditions have led to water transfers from agricultural to urban uses. The Arkansas River Valley is the area carved by the river long ago. The Stephens Gallery hosts exhibits of glass and ivory carvings. 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. } Cotton and corn farmers survived by planting in the Ouachita-Saline River watershed valleys. Single crop, hand-labor production had been replaced by diversification, mechanization, and chemical and biological practices. Following the war, the Southern economy was in shambles, including Arkansas. These natural barriers confounded Americans for more than 100 years after the first farmers arrived in the 1820s. This equipment made it possible to bring new land into cultivation, ideal for rice and soybeans but not cotton. else But in 1927, lumber prices began a rapid decline that continued for more than five years. Refinements in the torque converter and power shift transmission, when applied to a tractor equipped with cutting blades and tree pushers, allowed one man to clear more trees in a day than a family could in a lifetime using traditional means. var css = document.createElement('style'); } Visitors can buy wines, tour the winery and watch the production process. More than ninety percent of the region was covered with trees, eighty percent of which were bottomland hardwoods. In addition to the Arkansas Valley, many of the prime agricultural regions of the state are experiencing population growth-related . Originally valued for its cotton land, by the time of the Civil War, the region had the states most diverse agriculture. Conditions improved for two decades, and farmers realized a prosperity unmatched in American agriculture. 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). Not only did Rockefeller import new cattle, he also started a scientific breeding program that included an annual bull sale featuring prize-winning animals. var test = "" + str; d = document.querySelectorAll('[id^=ptac-faq-answer]'); In many areas of the state, ground water has been depleted at a rapid rate, and rice farmers, in particular, face difficult choices between replenishing the aquifer and impounding surface wateror even leaving farming. inner.style.display = "block"; Gatewood, Willard B., Jr. Sunnyside: The Evolution of an American Plantation, 18401945. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 50 (Spring 1991): 529. Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Division and is implemented by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division. Agriculture has a history going back 200 years and has always been important to the economics of the region. In August 1930, the official reporting station in Little Rock recorded its seventy-first consecutive rainless day. World War II transformed Arkansas agriculture. 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. The NWR offers a driving tour with interpretative signs. var d = document.querySelectorAll('#ptac-faq'); The state operates four parks within the region: Lake Dardanelle State Park, Mount Magazine State Park, Mount Nebo State Park, and Petit Jean State Park. // 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. The devastating Mississippi River flood of 1927 has deservedly entered the realm of legend and lore, being one of the most costly natural disasters in American history. [7] Although no River Valley counties were initially subject to the proclamation, Clayton added four more counties, including one partial-River Valley county, Conway County. } The Alma Spinach Festival held on the third weekend in April pays homage to Alma's reputation as "Spinach Capital of the World". Almost 3,000 years ago, the Pre-Columbian Woodland people began growing food to supplement their hunters diet. The intrastate migration from the western hill counties to the eastern lowland counties interjected a work ethic that had been missing in the traditional plantation culture and its paternalistic social relationships. else for (var i in d) { They approached farming strictly as a business enterprise, and their entry quickly drove up land prices. 107 talking about this. However, the Arkansas River Valley, as referred to by physiographers, "is not the alluvial valley through which the Arkansas River actually meanders. [21], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}3522N 9322W / 35.36N 93.37W / 35.36; -93.37. Creating an account gives you access to all these features. 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. Fourche River Days in Perryville, April. In recent years, Arkansas has averaged 600,000 acres of wheat and yields have averaged 58 bushels per acre. But gaining access to farmland was a major challenge. Crop production in the Ozarks Plateaus and Ouachita Mountains is limited, mainly revolving River Valley Horticultural Products, Inc. | Little Rock AR Research-based connection to government and policy issues. 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. Extreme heat and humidity of the summer months and parasites such as ticks, mosquitoes, and screw worms presented serious challenges to cattle. var str = x.id; Read our Privacy Policy. 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. 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. 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. By the mid-1980s, the states agricultural revolution was largely complete. a++; Most ranchers did not engage in scientific breeding to improve herd quality, and a high percentage of their animals lived on open range. Throughout the nineteenth century, landowners concentrated on draft animals, horses, mules, and oxen, with only a passing interest in dairy or beef animals. For additional information: [5], Hernando de Soto became the first European explorer to enter Arkansas in 1541. Feed & Fertilizer DivisionArkansas State Plant Board, // Fibres That Power Your Body, Sealy Reflexion 4 Replacement Remote For Adjustable Bed, Ucsd Job Market Candidates, Gracemere Refuse Tip Opening Hours, Gazette Obituaries Past 3 Days, Articles A