Department of Agriculture

• Meat and Poultry Processing Grant Program
• Farm to School and Early Childhood Program
• The Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act
• Local Conversations
• Farmers Market Programs
• Arkansas Grown
• Arkansas Made
• Arkansas Grown School Garden Program
• Arkansas Century Farms
• Homegrown by Heroes
• Arkansas Champion Trees
• Fair and Special Agriculture Funds
• Arkansas Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines
• Produce Safety Program
• International Marketing / SUSTA

Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year Contest

School entries are being accepted for the seventh annual Arkansas Grown School Garden of the Year Contest sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas. Applicants may be any Arkansas school, grades pre-K through 12, that had a school garden open during the 2019-2020 school year, or any school planning to start a garden in the 2020-2021 school year.

The contest runs through Sunday, September 13, 2020. The online application can be found HERE. Winners will be announced at the Farm to School Celebration in October.

The 2020 contest has a new category, “Champion of Sustaining School Garden,” where schools who have previously won in a category can be awarded for their continued development and sustainability.

Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas is generously providing funding for winners in the following award categories:

• Best School Garden Start-up Proposal - $500
• Best Harvest Partnership Garden - $500
• Best Education Based Garden - $500
• Best Community Collaboration Garden - $500
• Overall School Garden Winner - $1000
• Champion of Sustaining School Garden - $1000

SUSTA Summer Internship

Looking For a Paid Summer Internship?

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture is seeking summer interns to help promote programs offered through the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA) that help Arkansas agricultural businesses sell their products in international markets.