by anthony childress

JUDD HILL — It’s all about connecting farmers with new ways to make their work a little easier when agriculture stands front and center at the annual Judd Hill Cotton Technology Field Day here at the old plantation south of Trumann.

Matt Moon, chairman of the event committee, pointed to its roots in connecting growers and others associated with farming to the latest innovations.

“We try to focus on the technology that is available to farmers right now, to show them the opportunities and options out there,” said Moon, whose family farms the plantation’s 4,000-acre working cotton operation. The land is used for a variety of research initiatives by ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY and the University of Arkansas.

A pair of tours allowed attendees at the 13th annual event to take a closer look at some of the technological advances now accessible.

“It lets them see how it works on a large scale. This is farming at the eye level,” Moon said.

The day is a joint effort of the two institutions. ASU and UA have been cultivating an agri-based relationship on this level for two decades. It focuses on ways to bolster faculty research, particularly at ASU.

Five additional faculty have been added to research endeavors through UA.

Judd Hill draws upwards of 600 people each year, Moon said, mainly because the crowd can enjoy and get involved in a wide variety of things.

Mark May of Farm Credit Mid South, based in Jonesboro, attends for primarily two reasons.

“You get to visit with your customers, and that’s always important; plus, you see what the farmers see on the tours, so that’s also beneficial,” May said.

Tours

Visitors were transported along the plantation’s grounds for tours that covered farming economics and university-generated trials to presentations on how the two universities partner at Judd Hill to undertake research and development as they relate to agriculture.

One of the technologies highlighted on tour was an agricultural monitoring system developed by Izon Inc., an agri business in Paragould. The apparatus is used to “remotely transmit a signal to a pager, e-mail or cell phone” by notifying the individual when conditions have changed regarding an irrigation well.

“The technology enables a farmer to receive a text message that one of his wells is down and lets him get it back up again,” according to Izon spokesman Stacy McPherson. “Once the well is running again he gets another text message.”

A farmer who stood in the crowd as McPherson listed the system’s benefits shook his head approvingly.

“It cut down my irrigation time by half,” the man said.

Other aspects of the tours delved into how ASU researchers are conducting small plot cotton research on 35 acres at Judd Hill to a student project zeroing in on the painted bunting bird species found on the plantation and its habitat.

Dr. Greg Phillips, dean of ASU’s College of Agriculture, touted the cooperative efforts of both schools and the backing they receive from the Judd Hill Foundation as proof that agriculture is alive and well in the region.

“We believe that we should do complementary research and sharing of resources and information,” Phillips said.

Farmers were also able to see the ASU-UA joint cotton research center on the grounds. Chemical and seed companies were represented at the event, along with new equipment and a keynote speech by 1st District Rep. Marion Berry, D-Gillett.

anthony@jonesborosun.com