UADA Clark County Agriculture - Amy Simpson

10/24/2026

Jequetta and I are set up at the Okolona Hayride ready to talk with you about what the Cooperative Extension Service has to offer. Come see us at the Okolona Community Center on 1st Street! Good food, games, face painting, a hay ride, and more! 🍁🍂🎃

10/09/2026

Cattle producers, during these extremely dry conditions where there is little to no grass, cattle are looking for other green things to eat. Unfortunately some of those things are toxic and deadly. I visited with a producer that lost 4 head in a week. When I searched the shady areas and thickets their cattle spend a lot of time in, I found perilla mint that had been grazed on. Usually, cows won’t graze it when they have plenty of grass to eat, but during times of drought, perilla mint remains green, and they can turn to it. Perilla mint can usually be found in shady areas, has a square stem, and leaves are arranged opposite of each other on the stem. It is also toxic to horses. Symptoms include emphysema, open mouth breathing, grunting on exhale, and tiring easy.
If you have perilla mint present, try to limit your cattle’s access to that area and make sure they have plenty of good quality hay and grain to keep them satisfied.
Control of perilla mint includes mowing before the early flowering stage to hinder further seed dispersal and use of one of several herbicides.
Perilla mint also remains toxic if baled as hay.

10/01/2026

Join us next Tuesday, October 6th for the Growing Beyond the Summer Cool Season Veggie Gardening Clinic in the Youth Building at the Clark County Fairgrounds! We'll start at 6:00 pm, and there is a $5 fee at the door. This is a fundraiser for the Clark County Master Gardeners to help support their projects in the community.
Pre-registration is not mandatory, but please call us at 870-246-2281 if you can to let us know you are coming.

09/30/2026

Clark County, the 2026 Voter Guides from the UA Division of Agriculture Public Policy Center are in and have been distributed around the county!
It explains each of the 4 ballot issues we will be voting on in November in plain speech and in a non-biased manner. It tells what a vote "for" each particular issue means and what a vote "against" an issue means among other important information. Here's where you can find them while they last in your area:
Arkadelphia:
🏫 Cooperative Extension Service,
🏦 Clark County Courthouse,
📖 Arkadelphia Library,
🥩 Ouachita Valley Meats
Gurdon:
📖 Cabe Library,
💵 Southern Bancorp,
⛽ Phillips 66 on the interstate
Amity:
💵 Chambers Bank
🍕 Hometown Pizza
🏪 Hilltop

09/22/2026

Some day, these hot temperatures will break. When they do, there are several things you can still grow in your garden! Come to the fair grounds on October 6th and join us for our Cool-Season Gardening Clinic hosted by the Clark County Master Gardeners. There will be a $5 fee at the door that will go to help with Master Gardener beautification projects. Please call 870-246-2281 to let us know you are coming.

09/03/2026

Producers, be sure to enter your report on the drought conditions of your farm each month. Take pictures of your pastures, hay fields, ponds, dying trees and add them to the report. This will help the accuracy of the drought monitor!

08/19/2026

Ever thought about becoming a Master Gardener? It's a great way to learn more about gardening, attend fun and informative seminars and conferences, and give back to Clark County!

To become a Master Gardener, you must attend a 40 hour training and then commit to 40 hours of community service and 20 hours of continuing education your first year after training. After the first year, the community service requirement goes down to 20 hours per year and the continuing education requirement remains at 20 hours per year. Meanwhile, several Master Gardener-exclusive events and trainings are opened up to you around the state.

Clark County Master Gardeners meet monthly, and some of their projects include the Arkadelphia Library, the Teaching Garden at Central Park, the courthouse, and horticulture check-in at the county fair.

For the upcoming year, we have 3 options for you to choose from for training:
🌼In-person every Thursday from January 28-February 25, 2027 at the Garland County Fairgrounds. Fee for this is still TBD, but lunches and snacks will be provided each day.
🌼Self-paced online from October 6 - December 11, 2026. Fee = $140.
🌼Zoom every Wednesday from October 21 - November 18, 2026 at the Clark County Extension Service. Fee = $90.

Fees cover your Master Gardener manual and name tag. They will also cover lunches and snacks at the in-person training in Garland County.

Deadline to apply for the online and Zoom options is September 18th. The deadline to apply for the in-person is also TBD.

Please reach out to me at [email protected] if you are interested or have questions.

08/13/2026

Effective this evening, County Judge Troy Tucker has declared a burn ban for Clark County until further notice.

08/13/2026

Yesterday for their monthly meeting, the Clark County Master Gardeners met at the Teaching Garden/Farmer’s Market Pavilion and learned lots about the history and growing of basil from MG Erica Hughes while enjoying delicious caprese salad and fresh homemade pesto from her garden. The group also enjoyed lemon basil simple syrups with their drinks.
The group then viewed the Basil Variety Demo and the Lavender Variety Demo while I pointed out the different varieties and how they have performed so far.
It’s time now to apply to become a Master Gardener! If you would like to join this group and give back to your community, email me at [email protected] for more information about the training and requirements. Applications are due September 18th.

08/13/2026

Check out this upcoming workshop:

🐂 BEEF CATTLE REPRODUCTION WORKSHOP — HOPE, AR 🐂
Want to improve reproductive efficiency and fertility in your beef cattle operation? Join us for a hands-on Beef Cattle Reproduction.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

📅 Friday, September 25, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 SWREC – 362 Highway 174 North, Hope, AR, 71801
💲 $40 — Lunch included
👥 Only 15 spots available!

Come learn, practice, and take your beef cattle reproduction program to the next level!

👉 REGISTER NOW:
https://uada.formstack.com/forms/beef_cattle