else d = document.querySelectorAll('[id^=ptac-faq-answer]'); [9] The Lutherans generally immigrated in organized companies, where the Catholics came independently, although some Catholic settlements like Clarksville and Subiaco were founded by organized groups. Moneyhon, Carl H. Arkansas and the New South, 18741929. inner.style.opacity = '1'; [CDATA[ str = str.substring(14, str.length); Requiring fewer additives than rice or cotton, soybeans could be produced more cheaply and were more environmentally safe. Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S. 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. Not only was their occupation gone, but also was the land that served as a source for food, fuel, and leisure. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is dedicated to the development and implementation of policies and programs for Arkansas agriculture and forestry to keep its farmers and ranchers competitive in national and international markets while ensuring safe food, fiber, and forest products for the citizens of the state and nation. 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. C. Fred Williams Tractors, although making an appearance in the Delta soon after World War I, were at first impractical due to poor design, high cost, and the dominance of small-scale sharecropping and tenant farming in the state. Some moved out of state; others gave up farming and relocated to the larger towns in their region. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1997. a++; } When most domestic workers did not return to rural America after the war, a treaty between the United States and Mexico formalized the plan. 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. 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. The second came in 1866 with the Southern Homestead Act, which provided free land from the public domain in the former Confederate states. inner.style.visibility = 'hidden'; var d = document.querySelectorAll('#threecolaccord'); inner.style.opacity = '0'; For ten years, the Southern Homestead Act was an experiment in public land reform, placing individuals using the land above the speculator. 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. Making sound choices for families and ourselves. The Arkansas River Valley is the area carved by the river long ago. Due to the climate, fertile soil and immigrants accustomed to wine with their meals, several wineries were established in the River Valley. Increasing nitrate concentrations are related to increasing agricultural . { test = "ptac-faq-answer" + test; area were formed by deposition of the river, by landslides that moved to the foot Some row crop agriculture is also present in the Arkansas River Valley. Crop production in the Ozarks Plateaus and Ouachita Mountains is limited, mainly revolving The ARVAC Food Bank, located at 504 Union Street in Dardanelle, provides food for local churches, community food pantries, and soup kitchens. //alert(c.id); Major funding provided by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Top commodities include broilers (chicken for meat), soybeans, rice, cotton, cattle and calves, and turkeys. Generally defined as the area between the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains,[1] the River Valley is characterized by flat lowlands covered in fertile farmland and lakes periodically interrupted by high peaks. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1990. d = document.querySelectorAll('[id^=threecolblock]'); Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System. 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. var b = 0; iFrameID.height = ""; Most farmers were willing to make long-term commitments to these crops even though it meant acquiring new equipment. 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 River Valley is home to several annual cultural events, including art, history, music, and traditional heritage festivals. This 40-mile . children[y].innerHTML = "+"; The Arkansas River Valley bisects the Ozarks and the Ouachitas and offered the best farmland in the upland region. 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). if (css.styleSheet) { // For IE //alert(str); Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. } The marginal buckshot soil avoided by traditional cotton farmers was ideal for rice. Cotton, the crop most identified with the Delta, did not appear until after the United States acquired the region with the Louisiana Purchase. // // ]]> Despite these issues, demographic changes have presented some opportunities for growers in the . Public policy also influenced the shift from cotton to soybeans. Town and Country: Race Relations in an Urban-Rural Context, Arkansas, 18651905. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2002. [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. var googleAccountID = "UA-39815896-1"; if(inner.style.display === "block") They approached farming strictly as a business enterprise, and their entry quickly drove up land prices. The . Populism in Arkansas. MA thesis, George Peabody College for Teachers (now Vanderbilt Universitys Peabody College), 1931. In 1940, Delta counties cultivated only 153,000 acres of rice and 176,000 acres of soybeans, compared with 1.2 million acres of cotton; those figures changed dramatically in the next twenty years. Paisley, Clifton. University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The other crops produced in Arkansas in large quantities are soybeans, corn, cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat. 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. [CDATA[ Little Rock, AR. After 1970, federal officials modified the program and took steps to limit the acreage being developed for agriculture. //alert(d.length); Arkansas, 18001860: Remote and Restless. Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar. The Chateau Aux Arc Vineyards and Winery is the largest US Chardonnay producer outside of California, and the largest Zinfandel producer in Arkansas. Such farmers usually made enough from cotton to pay taxes and buy a few finished goods. From a high of fifty-two cents a pound on the Memphis market in 1866, cotton prices began a downward trend that reached a low of 6.5 cents for the 1899 crop. Soils derived from ancient marine deposits occupy the southern part of Arkansas. Dairying also experienced dramatic changes in the postWorld War II period. "&z=" + (Math.round((new Date()).getTime() / 1000)).toString() + Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. [15] In Russellville, the Arkansas River Valley Arts Center offers visual arts as well as art classes and infrequent performances. for (var i in d) { } } for (var e in c) { } The following month, the expedition fought with a tribe referred to as the Tula somewhere near Fort Smith. Bluegrass festival. Early Twentieth Century var c = document.querySelectorAll('[id^=answer]'); The German community thrived with coal mining and railroad work driving the local economy. Beans became the crop choice for Delta farmers a decade after the war. 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. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. In recent years, acreage has averaged 600,000 acres and yields have averaged 58 bushels per acre. The drought of 193031 became almost as legendary as the flood. But even modernization did not remove the risks. Using money saved from wartime prosperity, farmers were poised in the postwar period to buy machinery and land to expand their operations. Farmers provided land and labor while processors offered chickens, feed, and a contract to buy the products. Arkansas is a top-ten producer of soft red winter wheat in the United States. Agriculture in Arkansas. 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. The River Valley as seen from atop Petit Jean Mountain in, Early history of the Arkansas Valley in Colorado, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Johnson County Historical Society Heritage Center, Logan County Coal Miners Memorial and Museum, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, "Osages participate in Carden Bottoms excavation in western Arkansas", "Google Maps (Search for Russellville, AR and Fort Smith, AR)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arkansas_River_Valley&oldid=1147017263, Arkansas Valley Hills - North and east of the Arkansas River, sometimes associated with the Ozarks, Bottomlands - Low swamps and prairies along the Arkansas River itself, 10 miles (16km) wide in some places, Tri-peaks Region - Region punctuated by three steep mountains: Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo and Petit Jean Mountain, Valley - south of the Arkansas River, level plains and gently rolling hills, Adona Bluegrass Festival in Adona, second weekend in July. for (var i in d) { The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, and cooperators printed a soil associa-tion map in 1959 (revised, 1967, and currently being revised again) which divided the state into 12 "areas" defined by soils and physiography. [CDATA[ That year also saw a precipitous drop in housing construction and a downturn in the forestry industry. The former Otero County commissioner and current chairman of the Arkansas Valley Conduit committee for the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District is passionate about agriculture being . })(); It is one of six natural divisions of Arkansas.[2]. The Klan had limited support, and much of the area was viewed steadily Re Not only did Rockefeller import new cattle, he also started a scientific breeding program that included an annual bull sale featuring prize-winning animals. We proudly serve the area with a commitment to quality, affordability, and excellent customer service. For more than 150 years, agricultural practices had hardly changed. inner.style.visibility = 'hidden'; In some ways, the Civil War had a major impact on Arkansas agriculture, but in others, little changed. Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. Howard, James Edgar. The Museum of Automobiles atop Petit Jean Mountain hosts annual Antique Auto Show and Swap Meet events in June and September. With their product valued more for juice than wine, grape growers in the northwest became a success by producing for commercial canneries. The model shows how changes in salt levels that are external to the farm influence on-farm profits, production levels, and water applications. css.appendChild(document.createTextNode(rule)); Cotton became the dominant crop as white Americans discovered that the alluvial soil typically produced about fifty percent more cotton than the states average pounds per acre, and Delta raw cotton regularly sold above market price at the Memphis cotton exchange. However, the railroad's prominence declined during the Great Depression, shrinking Altus's economy and population. Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA. } { The first extended the responsibilities of the Freedmens Bureau to assist with farming. } The Swiss and German immigrants found the rolling hills similar to the topography of their homeland. This page is not available in other languages. The flooding also helped shape two distinct Delta subregions. Most farming was done on hillsides, and even though many of the early immigrants staked out more than 100 acres for a homestead, their farming operations were usually far less. Low prices, coupled with erratic weather patterns and periodic bollworm infestation, challenged even the best farmer. To avoid or escape the credit-debt trap of single crop agriculture, and in keeping with the New South emphasis on diversification, some farmers turned to fruit and vegetable farming. var rule = "body:after{content:url(" + GIF + ")}"; Despite repeated efforts since 1948 at both state and federal levels to adopt a water use policy, little progress has been made. In the southern part of Arkansas we find Coastal Plain soils, which are marine deposits 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. The Stephens Gallery hosts exhibits of glass and ivory carvings. Car show and festival entertainment. In the decade before the Civil War, the regions population increased more than 100 percent, and the slave population grew more than 120 percent. Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds. Tomatoesalso became a commercial success in the twentieth century, particularly in the southeastern regions of the state.