by - February 6, 2019 5:57 pm
Deadline for Market Facilitation Program looms
Farmers looking to get trade adjustment assistance from the USDA have until February 14th to sign up with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in order to be eligible for…
Agriculture & Timber
by - February 5, 2019 3:57 pm
Tyson Foods reportedly interested in acquiring Foster Farms
Tyson Foods has made no bones about its desire to grow through acquisition when it makes sense from a financial and operations standpoint. The Springdale-based meat giant is still in…
by - February 4, 2019 4:00 pm
Ed Fryar of Rogers appointed to University of Arkansas Board of Trustees
Retired poultry executive and former University of Arkansas professor Ed Fryar of Rogers has been appointed to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. The 10-year term is effective March…
by - February 4, 2019 12:54 pm
Bachoco, parent of OK Foods, posts 5.2% annual sales growth
Mexico-based Industrias Bachoco, the parent company of OK Foods in Fort Smith, reported annual revenue growth of 5.2% for the year ending Dec. 3. The integrated poultry company is the…
by - February 4, 2019 8:38 am
Arkansas farmers hope to fare better in the coming year after brutal 2018
A perfect storm of problems ranging from the ongoing trade war with China, lower commodity prices, and bad weather plagued Arkansas farmers in 2018. Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward told…
by - January 31, 2019 4:01 pm
Benton County agri extension hosts livestock education session
The Benton County Agriculture Extension Cooperative Service will be hosting an education session on livestock issues as well as demonstrating for weed control. The event is free and open to…
by - January 30, 2019 11:00 am
Tyson Foods recalls Panko-breaded frozen chicken nuggets
Tyson Foods is recalling approximately 36,420 pounds of chicken nugget products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically rubber, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s…
by - January 28, 2019 4:59 pm
State beef producers surveyed for the first time in more than a decade
The first industrywide assessment survey of Arkansas beef producers in more than a decade discovered producers are concerned with who will follow in their footsteps, how their operations may be…
by - January 28, 2019 3:16 pm
Darden Restaurants sues poultry industry alleging price fixing
Arkansas-based companies Tyson Foods, George’s Inc., Simmons Foods and OK Foods are each named as defendants in a civil lawsuit filed Jan. 25 by Florida-based restaurant operator Darden Restaurants in…
by - January 22, 2019 8:04 pm
Peanut acres slightly down in Northeast Arkansas
For the third straight year, farmers in Northeast Arkansas planted more than 20,000 acres of peanuts as the legume continues to make a comeback in the Natural State after not…
by - January 22, 2019 4:01 pm
Fayetteville startup Little Bird Systems engineers feed inventory management system for poultry industry
Fayetteville-based Little Bird Systems has taken on an industry challenge the poultry sector has faced for more than two decades. Electrical engineers Byron Western and Edgar Cilio put their heads…
by - January 21, 2019 4:31 pm
Wholesale beef prices rise in January
Wholesale beef prices continue to rise through January, which is good for packers like Tyson Foods and Cargill Higher beef prices will help operations margins as long as prices don’t…
by - January 21, 2019 3:05 pm
Taxpayer funded research a boon to farmers
It’s been several decades since land grant universities first began developing hardier strains of rice, corn and other agricultural commodities, but the benefit to growers has been clear, according to…
by - January 16, 2019 7:24 pm
Greenway Equipment teams with country music star Jason Aldean to tackle child hunger
Greenway Equipment, based in Northeast Arkansas, has spent years donating thousands of dollars to a backpack food program that provides hungry children food on the weekends when they are not…
by - January 16, 2019 3:56 pm
USDA to reopen FSA offices for limited services during government shutdown
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Wednesday (Jan. 16) that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for…
by - January 15, 2019 4:08 pm
Dramatic drop in number of soybeans exported to China
As the trade war rages with China the real impacts to U.S. soybean farmers are starting to be felt. University of Arkansas agriculture economist Scott Stiles created a chart mapping…
by - January 14, 2019 7:08 pm
Tyson Foods announces management changes following Keystone acquisition
Tyson Foods CEO Noel White announced several management changes in connection with the meat giant’s recent acquisition of Keystone Foods. White made the announcement late Monday (Jan. 14) in an…
by - January 14, 2019 9:58 am
FDA food inspections cease, USDA meat inspections continue despite shutdown
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees about 80% of the U.S. food supply, said it has ceased all routine inspections of domestic food-processing facilities in the midst…
by - January 9, 2019 1:58 pm
Tyson Foods clears another hurdle for plant expansion in Texas
The city council in Sherman, Texas, has approved a tax abatement for a Tyson Foods plant expansion expected to cost $30 million. The agreement is for six years at 50%…
by - January 9, 2019 1:35 pm
USDA halts meat recall updates on its website while shutdown persists
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has halted updates on its website for meat and poultry recall updates because of the partial government shutdown. The last update listed on the site is…