Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference and Irrigation EXPO

Laudies Brantley (right) We are excited to introduce Laudies Brantley as one of our speakers for the 2026 Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference and Irrigation EXPO. He graduated from England High School in 1965. Following graduation, he attended Arkansas State University (A-State) and completed his Bachelor of Science degree. Laudies received his college diploma from Carl Reng in the Spring of 1969. Laudies was born in 1947 and the first year his parents made their fir

We are excited to introduce Dan Hooks as one of our speakers for the 2026 Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference and Irrigation EXPO. Dan Hooks, current President of the White River Irrigation District, is a semi-retired American farmer managing approximately 1,200 acres of irrigated farmland in Prairie County near Slovak, Arkansas, alongside his brother and son. Their family operation primarily produces rice and soybeans, with some wheat cultivation, and has successful

We are excited to introduce Dr. Michele L. Reba as one of our speakers for the 2026 Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference and Irrigation EXPO. Dr. Reba is a research hydrologist, lead scientist, and research leader (acting) at the USDA-ARS-Delta Water Management Research Unit in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The mission of the unit is to execute research related to agricultural water resources management at the multiple scales to further our knowledge base, evaluate technologic

We are excited to introduce Deborah Leslie as one of our speakers for the 2026 Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference and Irrigation EXPO. Deborah Leslie is an Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis in the Department of Earth Sciences. She grew up in the Arkansas Delta and graduated with her PhD in Earth Sciences from the Ohio State University. She completed a postdoctoral research position with the USDA-ARS Delta Water Management Research before becoming an a