Feb. 25, 2014

Contact:

Mary Hightower, Cooperative Extension Service communications501-671-2126 / mhightower@uaex.edu

Big Creek research team seminar to discuss hog farm water monitoring report

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A team of scientists at the University of Arkansas System

Division of Agriculture will discuss preliminary findings from its recent report on water

monitoring near the C&H Hog Farm in Newton County. Members of the Big Creek

Research and Extension Team will present “Big Creek and the C&H Farm: The Science”

at 3 p.m. March 4 at Hembree Auditorium in the Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Building on the UA campus. The AFLS Building is on Maple Street just west of Garland

Avenue.

Andrew Sharpley, professor of crop, soil, and environmental sciences, is the Big

Creek team leader. Sharpley will be joined by Mike Daniels and Kris Brye, professors of

crop, soil, and environmental sciences, and Karl VanDevender, professor of biological

and agricultural engineering. A question-and-answer period will follow the discussion.

The research and extension team is conducting an in-depth examination of the

hog farm in the Buffalo River watershed as it lays groundwork for the multi-phase, long-

term study. The team is conducting the work using funds from Gov. Mike Beebe’s office.

Funding was approved by a legislative subcommittee last September. Site work on the

study began in October.

The team’s first quarterly report was delivered Jan. 31 to the Arkansas

Department of Environmental Quality and the Arkansas governor’s office. The report is

available online at http://arkansasagnews.uark.edu/bigcreekquarter1.pdf. An addendum

to the first quarter report is available online at

http://arkansasagnews.uark.edu/bigcreekreport.quarter1addendum.pdf.