Dr. Robert Cole Forges Legacy of Impact in East Arkansas Agriculture

By William Hehemann, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, School of Agriculture

Pine Bluff, AR — Feb. 27, 2026 — For decades, Dr. Robert Cole has played a central role in strengthening small-scale farming and rural development across East Arkansas, leaving a lasting imprint on conservation, marketing and farmer education, according to Dr. Henry English, director of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) Small Farm Program. Through his close collaboration with UAPB, Dr. Cole helped expand research, outreach and market access initiatives that benefited farmers across the region.

One of Dr. Cole’s most significant achievements was helping small-scale farmers improve the productive capacity of their land through conservation, Dr. English said. By working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), he helped secure a Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant that delivered approximately $6 million in conservation funding to small-scale farmers. Through the program, farmers installed irrigation wells, precision land-leveling, underground pipelines with risers, use of cover crops, minimum tillage systems and other conservation practices.

Dr. English said Dr. Cole was instrumental in securing funding for UAPB’s Sweet Potato Foundation Seed Program, which works to supply high-quality, virus-indexed planting materials to farmers in Arkansas and the southern region.

“Dr. Cole understood that conservation was not just about protecting resources, but about giving farmers the tools they needed to stay productive and profitable,” Dr. English said.

Beyond conservation, Dr. Cole worked with the East Arkansas Enterprise Community (EAEC), a non-profit organization, to assist local mayors in developing community plans that enabled rural towns to access funding for development projects.

Dr. Cole also established UAPB’s Marianna Farm, known as the “Agricultural Demonstration Outreach Center,” (ADOC) in Marianna, Arkansas. The 52-acre Marianna facility created a hub for research and demonstration in a traditional row crop region and served as an off-campus training site where farmers continue to receive hands-on instruction in the production and marketing of locally grown vegetables. The site hosts demonstrations of vegetable equipment, drip irrigation systems, production in high tunnels and educational meetings for growers.

Marketing access was another cornerstone of Dr. Cole’s work, Dr. English said. Through a marketing initiative with Walmart and 1890 land-grant universities, including UAPB, Tuskegee University and Alcorn State University, he helped farmers sell fresh vegetables across Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi. The effort was built on the Walmart Fresh Market Southern Pea Project, which allowed small-scale farmers to sell fresh, shelled southern peas to retail buyers.

To support the effort, Dr. Cole worked through EAEC, using the outreach center’s vegetable grading tables, pea-shelling machines, packing rooms and coolers to prepare produce for sale. The organization purchased peas from farmers and resold them to Walmart during the two-year project.

“Dr. Cole did not just talk about markets, he built the infrastructure that allowed farmers to reach them,” Dr. English said.

Dr. Cole also helped connect farmers to institutional markets, beginning with pilot programs in schools in Forrest City in Phillips County, and in Earle and Memphis in Shelby County. Working with community partners and the EAEC team, locally grown sweet potatoes, cabbage, squash, greens, watermelons and cherry tomatoes were supplied to schools while creating reliable markets for farmers.

His vision for sustainability is reflected in the Pearlie S Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetland and Water Management Center, also referred to as “UAPB’s Lonoke Farm” in Lonoke, Arkansas. The center serves as a training and demonstration site for water conservation and current irrigation practices, Dr. English said. The center also provides ongoing training opportunities for local, state and federal agencies and has hosted research and demonstration projects on groundwater efficiency and water management since the early 1990s. Field days often include collaboration with NRCS and showcase research conducted by UAPB’s School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences faculty.

Dr. Cole also worked with NRCS through Conservation Innovation Grants to test practices such as drip irrigation and fruit and vegetable production systems at UAPB research centers, helping growers adopt proven conservation methods on their farms. He additionally partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a native prairie grass seed project from 2014 to 2019 to expand conservation acreage in Arkansas.

Looking ahead, Dr. English sees Dr. Cole’s legacy shaping new vegetable marketing initiatives in eastern Arkansas, with infrastructure at the Marianna Farm positioned to support diversification efforts beginning in 2026.