USDA offering $2M to study field runoff
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering $2 million to farmers in eight states, including Arkansas, to fund technology to monitor water runoff from fields into watersheds.
"Edge-of-field water quality monitoring helps us evaluate the benefits of conservation at the field level," said Mike Sullivan, the Arkansas state conservationist for the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Farmers and landowners have until July 17 to submit applications for financing for the voluntary edge-of-field monitoring stations.
The monitoring stations will measure the amount of nutrients and sediment in water runoff from a field and compare the improvements under different methods of runoff reduction. These methods include irrigation water management and no-till farming.
Monitoring stations measure at the edge of farms rather than looking in streams, which are subject to factors outside a farmer's control.
The funds will help farmers maintain the monitoring systems for up to nine years.
-- Claire Williams
Izard County mining subject of hearing
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public hearing next month on a sand and gravel mining permit for a facility in Izard County, the agency said.
The meeting, to discuss a proposed permit revision, starts at 6 p.m. July 7 in the Melbourne Community Room, 63 Municipal Drive in Melbourne, according to a news release.
Spring Creek Materials Inc. of West Plains, Mo., has asked to move to a location known as "Cooper Mine" near Oxford.
The comment period for the permit will close when the July hearing is completed, the news release said.
Written comments may be sent to the Environmental Quality Department's Surface Mining and Reclamation Division, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock.
-- Jessica Seaman
Index sheds 1 point, declining to 374.89
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 1 point to 374.89 on Friday.
Windstream Holdings Inc. shares fell 1.3 percent.
Acxiom Corp. declined 1.68 percent.
Communications Sales and Leasing Inc. shares rose 1 percent.
Home Bancshares Inc. declined 1.07 percent.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 06/13/2015