Branch experiment station turns 50, gets new offices

July 20, 2007

Contact Information:
Larry Earnest, Director, Southeast Branch Station, 870-644-3101, learnest@uark.edu

Chuck Culver, Director of Development, U of A Division of Agriculture, 479-575-2250,
cculver@uark.edu

Howell Medders, Communications, Division of Agriculture, 479-575-5647, hmedders@uark.edu
Kenneth Smith Kenneth B. Smith, director of the Southeast Branch Station at Rohwer from 1957 to 1977, was known as Experiment Smith for his enthusiasm for scientific approaches to farming. Other directors have been Ron Cox, 1977-81; Maxsie Taylor, 1981-93; and Larry Earnest, 1993-present.

 Larry EarnestLarry Earnest


 Maxsie Taylor 1 Maxsie Taylor

 Maxsie Taylor 2 Maxsie Taylor

 SEBS elevation Architect's elevation rendering of the new headquarters buildings for Southeast Branch Experiment Station at Rohwer and the Fruit Substation.
ROHWER, Ark. -- Ground was broken July 17 for a new headquarters building at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Southeast Branch Experiment Station near here, which is observing its 50th anniversary this year.

Station Director Larry Earnest said the 4,800 square foot building will include a large meeting area, which will double as an indoor workroom, along with offices, a laboratory, conference room, kitchen and reception area.

The station was started in 1957 on 134 acres donated by John Baxter of Baxter Land Co. and 500 acres purchased by the state; it now has about 800 acres under cultivation, Earnest said.

In observance of the 50th anniversary, local supporters have started a fund for future improvements at the station.

Kelly Farmer of Arkat Nutrition in Dumas and Bill Teeter, a local farmer, are leading the campaign. "We want to demonstrate local support for the station by providing a fund that can be used for ongoing improvements," Farmer said.

U of A System Vice President for Agriculture Milo Shult said, "The Southeast Branch Station plays a vital role in the Division of Agriculture's commitment to working with our stakeholders to provide the facilities needed for research and extension programs that directly address the needs in Southeast Arkansas."

The improvement fund campaign includes "naming opportunities" associated with the new building. For more information, contact Farmer, Teeter or Division of Agriculture Director of Development Chuck Culver, 479-575-2250.

The branch station is a unit of the division's Southeast Research and Extension Center at Monticello and is also known as the SEREC-Rohwer Division.

Division of Agriculture scientists from Monticello, Fayetteville and other locations conduct some 175 field trails at the station each year, Earnest said.

Research there has helped provide better crop varieties through breeding programs and variety trials. It has helped develop irrigation scheduling and crop management programs like COTMAN and DD60 for cotton and DD50 for rice.

Projects address every area of management for cotton, soybeans, corn, grain sorghum, rice and wheat. Variety trials are now being conducted for sunflowers as a possible energy crop.

Earnest said the new building will include insulation made from soybeans in keeping with the policy of using Arkansas agricultural products, which also includes use of biodiesel for station equipment.

Construction by general contractor Davis Construction Co.  of Monticello and SCM Architects of Little Rock is to be completed in eight months.