Rick Cartwright. (Arkansas Farm Bureau)
A native of Arkansas, Rick Cartwright joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture in 1992 after earning his Ph.D in plant pathology from University of California Davis. He earned international recognition as a rice pathologist and served as interim head of the plant pathology department, and then the associate director of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the university.
He was named interim director of extension in 2016 and senior associate vice president for agriculture-extension for the UA Division of Agriculture in 2017. He retired June 30, 2020.
He has earned a number of awards including most recently the John White Outstanding Extension State Education Award in 2000 and received the National Distinguished Rice Research and Education Award in 2004 from the Rice Technical Working Group.
Why are companies becoming so interested in soil health?
Do data support that consumers are demanding regenerative practices? Are they willing to pay more for them?
Will soil health and regenerative agriculture practices be mandatory in the future?
Will growers see any financial reimbursements or incentives?
The Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Farmer Showcase is part of the
Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton project, which provides farmer-focused education and training events delivered by Soil Health Institute scientists, partnering with local soil health technical specialists and farmer mentors who have implemented successful soil health management systems. The project aims to increase the adoption of soil health management systems among cotton producers while documenting environmental and economic benefits.
Why are companies becoming so interested in soil health?
Do data support that consumers are demanding regenerative practices? Are they willing to pay more for them?
Will soil health and regenerative agriculture practices be mandatory in the future?
Will growers see any financial reimbursements or incentives?
The Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Farmer Showcase is part of the
Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton project, which provides farmer-focused education and training events delivered by Soil Health Institute scientists, partnering with local soil health technical specialists and farmer mentors who have implemented successful soil health management systems. The project aims to increase the adoption of soil health management systems among cotton producers while documenting environmental and economic benefits.
Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. January 18, 2021
The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent transiting the Arctic Ocean. This expedition between Norway and Canada collected seawater samples for microplastics analysis. (Photo: Arthi Ramachandra / Fisheries and Oceans Canada)
The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern communities that rely heavily on seafood and marine mammals for food.
But who would have imagined that the clothes we wear might add to this onslaught? Evidence increasingly shows that tiny synthetic fibers are permeating the Arctic Ocean and finding their way into zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.
The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern communities that rely heavily on seafood and marine mammals for food.
But who would have imagined that the clothes we wear might add to this onslaught? Evidence increasingly shows that tiny synthetic fibers are permeating the Arctic Ocean and finding their way into zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals.
In a new study published in
Nature Communications, my colleagues and I find a stark confirmation that microplastics are found throughout the Arctic Ocean from Europe to the North Pole and the North American Arctic. Their presence raises concerns that textiles, laundry and municipal wastewater may be an important source of these emerging pollutants.