Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
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Table of Contents • Notables HEADLINES Dan Felton, Jr. Building dedicated at LMCRS Agriculture Hall of Fame inducts five Vision Credits
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UA Trustees meet at new Cotton Research Station building
Eastern Arkansas was the focus of the University of Arkansas System April 6 with a morning meeting of the U of A Board of Trustees in the new Dan Felton, Jr. Building at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station, followed by a dedication program for the Division of Agriculture facility.
Formerly the Cotton Branch Experiment Station, the research station's name was changed in September 2005 to honor the late Lon Mann of Marianna, who was a leader in Arkansas and Mid-South agriculture. Milo Shult, the U of A System's vice president for agriculture, said, "These improvements at the Marianna station illustrate a strong commitment by the U of A System and the Division of Agriculture to serving the people of eastern Arkansas." Other Division of Agriculture units in the region are the Northeast Research and Extension Center at Keiser, the Rice Research and Extension Center at Stuttgart, the Southeast Research and Extension Center at Monticello, the Arkansas Forest Resources Center at Monticello, the Lonoke Agricultural Center, and branch experiment stations in Jackson, St. Francis and Desha counties.
The Dan Felton, Jr. Building, named for another state and regional leader from Lee County, replaces the station's headquarters facility built in 1926. The project was made possible by contributions of more than $500,000 from June Mann and family, Counts M. Felton and family, the Soil Test Review Board, Jim Lindsey, Arkansas Seed Dealers, Stanley and Charlene Reed, Southern Cotton Ginners, Bob and Barbara McGinnis, Dr. Jessamine Gist and Tom Gist, Clyde and Martha Hogan and Larry and Betty Jo McClendon. In a surprise announcement, Bob McGinnis, chairman of the Arkansas Soil Test Review Board, said the auditorium in the Felton Building will be named the "Milo J. Shult Auditorium, Sponsored by the Arkansas Soil Test Review Board." Other named rooms are the Arkansas Seed Dealers Association Conference Room and the Southern Ginners Association Library. The Felton Building is attached by a covered breezeway to the Eastern Arkansas Soil Testing and Research Laboratory building. The 6,628-square-foot addition includes a 160-seat auditorium with kitchen in addition to offices, a laboratory and a library/conference room. The design is by Architecture Plus, Inc., of Fort Smith. Triple MC of Monticello was general contractor. Lon Mann, who was inducted into the Arkansas Agricultural Hall of Fame, operated a cotton gin started by his father, which is now the McClendon, Mann and Felton Gin Co. He was president of the National Cotton Council of America, the National Cotton Ginners Association and Agricenter International. He received the 2000 Horace Hayden Cotton Ginner of the Year Award in recognition of outstanding leadership to the U.S. cotton industry, superior customer service and civic contributions. Mann was president of the Mid-South Ginners Council, the forerunner of the Southern Ginners Association, and of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas. He received the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Cotton Achievement Award and the National Cotton Council Harry Baker Award. Dan Felton, Jr., was a farmer, cotton ginner, merchant, and cattleman. He was a leader in both the livestock and row crop sectors of agriculture in Arkansas and the Mid-South, serving as president of the Arkansas Registered Angus Association and the Agricultural Council of Arkansas. Felton was a member of the Arkansas State Board of Education, the Commission on Higher Educational Finance, and the board of the Marianna/Lee County School District. He was a member of the St. Francis Levee Board and the First National Bank at Marianna board of directors. He served as chairman of the Lee County Democratic Central Committee for 30 years. The Cotton Branch Experiment Station was established in 1926 as one of the first three permanent branches of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. The Legislature appropriated $7,000 to purchase 160 acres of land and build a brick residence, brick office, mule barn, machine shed, shop and gin building. The Eastern Arkansas Soil Testing and Research Laboratory was added in 1954 and now provides soil and plant analysis services statewide in addition to a soil fertility research program directed by Dr. Morteza Mozaffari. The Lon Mann Cotton Research Station includes 653 acres of field research plots. Projects include annual tests of cotton, soybean, wheat and corn cultivars and breeding lines, as well as research and extension programs on cropping systems for eastern Arkansas.
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