Agriculture & Timber

Tyson Foods adds former MLB exec to board of directors

Tyson Foods announced Friday (May 10) the expansion of its board of directors from 11 to 12 members with the addition of Jonathan D. Mariner. Mariner, 64, is a private…

Expanded internet access could add $47 billion to U.S. economy primarily in agriculture sector

Arkansas ranks last in the country in rural broadband access, and a newly released U.S. Department of Agriculture study shows expanded internet access could generate at least $47 billion in…

Farmers still rely on guesswork, gambling, gut instincts even with technology updates

As Tony Bradley of Jonesboro plants his 2019 crop, he reflects on the changes as well as the constants he’s observed in his four decades of farming in Craighead County….

Tyson Foods trades up on African Swine Flu fears, outperforms expectations

Tyson Foods outperformed Wall Street estimates in the second quarter ending March 30, with net income of $426 million, or $1.20 per share, on an adjusted basis and $1.17 on…

Jonesboro cut out of USDA’s national research HQ search

Jonesboro, Arkansas did not make the final short list for a possible relocation of one of two divisions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Earlier this year, Trump administration officials…

Tyson Foods voluntarily expands chicken strips recall

Tyson Foods Inc. has voluntarily expanded a recall originally issued Mar. 21 of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips made between Oct. 1, 2018, and March 21. The products were produced at…

Tyson Foods expected to report lower second-quarter profits

Tyson Foods is expected to report lower earnings on Monday (May 6) ahead of the market opening. Wall Street analysts have pegged the second fiscal quarter profits at $1.14 per…

PotlatchDeltic 1Q earnings slide 55%, completes $93 million sale of Arkansas mill

In what the company’s top executive described as “challenging operating conditions,” West Coast timberland trust PotlatchDeltic Corp. reported Monday (April 29) that first quarter profits were down nearly 55% just…

Corn farmers struggle with worst planting season in more than a decade

Heavy spring rains have significantly impacted Arkansas corn farmers. Only about 47% of the state’s planned 830,000 acres of corn had been planted as of April 19, according to a…

U.S. Rep. Crawford to vie to chair Agriculture Committee

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, will seek to become the Agriculture Committee Chairman when the 117th Congress convenes in 2021, his office has announced. Crawford, who is serving his fifth…

Greater Delta Region Conference opens in West Memphis

When Rex Nelson was named the Delta Regional Authority co-chairman more than 10 years ago, he noticed a significant problem in communities throughout the eight state DRA territory. When technological…

100 job expansion in Camden, 75 jobs in Helena-West Helena from two major economic development projects

After Tuesday’s announcement that 565 jobs would be coming to the Little Rock Port from Czech Republic gun maker CZ-USA, state economic officials announced two more big projects in Camden…

Tyson Foods, Cargill sued by cattle group R-CALF

Tyson Foods and its beef competitors were sued by cattle group — R-CALF USA in a Chicago federal court this week. The complaint alleges Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS S.S. and…

Walmart does end-around Tyson for direct beef supply chain

Walmart announced Wednesday (April 24) its own entry into the beef industry. The retail giant said it is developing an end-to-end supply chain for Angus beef working directly with ranchers…

Tyson Foods divests interest in alternative protein company Beyond Meats

Meat giant Tyson Foods has sold its stake in California-based alternative protein company Beyond Meat, just ahead of the startup’s public stock offering. That’s according to filings with the U.S….

World Trade Organization panel sides with U.S. in crop trade dispute with China, could help Arkansas farmers

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Thursday (April 18) that a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel found that China has administered its…

Agriculture scholarships presented by governor

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward, and State Plant Board Director Butch Calhoun doled $20,000 in scholarships at the state capitol earlier this week to students from four…

UA, China team study food safety risks in supply chain

John Kent, clinical associate professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, has been traveling to China…

UA soybean technician to study crops with drone

Daniel Rogers, program technician for soybean breeding and genetics at the University of Arkansas, will soon start using a drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, to monitor soybean crops at seven…

Fed cattle prices likely have peaked

Derrell Peel, extension livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University, said Monday (April 15) fed cattle prices have likely peaked on schedule in late March at nearly $129 per hundredweight….