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Butterball plans new farms, more jobs for Ozark plant


Tyson Announces $27M expansion to Iowa facility

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Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. announced Thursday a $27 million expansion of its case-ready beef and pork plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Tyson Fresh Meats is a wholly owned subsidiary of Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., and is one of the largest employers in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area. The project, according to the company, will include a 55,000-SF addition for new production lines and warehouse space and increase the plant’s capacity to produce fresh ground beef, beef and pork cuts, and meal kits that are ready for distribution to retail grocers. The expansion is underway and scheduled to be completed in July 2017. It is expected to add 350 jobs, bringing total employment at the plant to more than 1,400.

The post Tyson Announces $27M expansion to Iowa facility appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Tyson Foods buys stake in plant protein producer Beyond Meat

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Tyson Foods Inc. has acquired 5 percent of plant-based protein producer Beyond Meat. The Springdale-based company announced the deal Monday (Oct. 10). Beyond Meat is a privately-held company based in El Segundo, California, and is the only plant-based protein producer in which Tyson Foods has invested.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but money from the investment will help Beyond Meat expand the number of its products and distribution, according to a news release. The company, led by founder and CEO Ethan Brown, will remain independent and privately owned.

The post Tyson Foods buys stake in plant protein producer Beyond Meat appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Governor Hutchinson to promote Arkansas farming on trip to China

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According to Arkansas Business, Governor Asa Hutchinson on Thursday said he will travel to China to meet with existing and prospective business contacts and with government officials about opening the country to Arkansas rice and poultry. Mike Preston, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and Mark Hamer, AEDC director of business development for Asia, will accompany the governor on the six-day tour, which will include stops in Shanghai, Beijing, Yanzhou District, Jinan, Jining and Suzhou. The group leaves Saturday and will return Oct. 21.

The post Governor Hutchinson to promote Arkansas farming on trip to China appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

USDA announces McLarty Capital Partners Rural Investment Fund

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday the launch of a new private investment fund with the potential to inject $100 million into growth-oriented small businesses across rural America. The McLarty Capital Partners Rural Business Investment Company will be the fifth RBIC that USDA has helped to initiate since 2014. The initiative is part of the USDA’s ongoing efforts to attract private sector capital to investment opportunities in rural America to help drive more economic growth in rural communities.

The post USDA announces McLarty Capital Partners Rural Investment Fund appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Multitude of factors lead to decline in bees, making life hard for honey producers

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The unprecedented loss of honey bees has put a local industry and area families in jeopardy. The Coy family has been in the honey business since 1969. Next year, they’ll be starting their fourth-generation of beekeepers in a family business that is more sweet than sour. The Jonesboro Sun reports that Coy’s Honey Farm is the largest honey producer in the state. With operations located in Brookland and in southern Mississippi, the business has grown exponentially over the past few decades. Today they not only produce honey, but they also lend their bees to help farmers in California with early spring pollination of fruit crops.With brothers Richard Coy and David Coy running the day-to-day operations, Coy’s Honey Farm continues to be a closely run family business. Though they’ve seen their share of both natural and man-made challenges over the years, the current plight of honey bees presents a new threat, Arkansas Business reports.

The post Multitude of factors lead to decline in bees, making life hard for honey producers appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Arkansas fish farmers make final effort for permits

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is denying last-ditch attempts by Arkansas fish farmers to obtain individual permits that would allow them to kill limited numbers of double-crested cormorants this winter, according to Arkansas Online.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, a part of the federal Interior Department, lost a federal lawsuit this spring over the issuance of “depredation permits” allowing fish farmers or wildlife-management officials to kill cormorants deemed a threat to the aquaculture industry or to public resources. That permit differs from the individual permit known as a Form 37.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled in Washington, D.C., that the agency had violated the National Environmental Protection Act in how it reached its environmental assessment that said killing a limited number of cormorants would not harm its nationwide population. The bird is protected to some extent under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The post Arkansas fish farmers make final effort for permits appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Tyson battles lawsuits over chicken price-fixing

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Several law firms representing shareholders have filed lawsuits in the last two days claiming Tyson Foods made false or misleading statements related to allegations the company colluded with other agribusinesses to fix chicken prices. Early last month, food distributor Maplevale Farms Inc. filed an antitrust complaint in Illinois against Tyson and several other poultry producers. The lawsuit said the companies had conspired since 2008 to manipulate the price of broiler chickens.

Reported by Arkansas Online, at least eight more complaints seeking class-action status have been filed recently against Tyson and the other poultry producers, including Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Perdue Farms Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. In response to the price-fixing lawsuits, an analyst at Pivotal Research downgraded Tyson shares from “hold” to “sell” early this month. The analyst, Timothy Ramey, also dropped his target price for Tyson stock from $100 per share to $40 per share.

The post Tyson battles lawsuits over chicken price-fixing appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.


If Donald Trump wins and does what he says he will, Arkansas could lose a lot of people overnight

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The era of United State history Donald Trump most admires, he has said, is the early 20th century through the 1940s when the federal government banned the immigration of specific ethnic groups.

Donald Trump’s immigration proposals, which have included mass deportations, undergird his campaign promise to “Make America Great Again.”

Trump’s campaign has gone scorched earth. He’s accused Hillary Clinton of debating while on drugs and President Obama of “letting people pour into the country illegally so they can go and vote.” While Trump has recently softened on his mass deportation talk, given the prominence he gives the issue, I would not be surprised if he pivots back to his hardline rhetoric.

With some national polls showing Clinton and Trump in a near tie, a Trump presidency is still  possible. So it’s still necessary to take a serious look at the ramifications his immigration policy could have for the nation and Arkansas.

For a national perspective, we have the New Yorker’s Evan Osnos’ interviews with several dozen people, including economists, campaign advisors, and veterans of five Republican administrations, on what the specifics of a Trump White House would look like.

Mr. Osnos asked about the likelihood Mr. Trump would build a steel and concrete wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. He has promised the wall will be a thousand miles long, up to fifty feet tall and deep enough to prevent tunneling. Some say construction would take four years and cost between 12 billion and 25 billion dollars. Despite Mr. Trump’s insistence otherwise, Mexican leaders say they won’t pay for the wall.

The financial and logistical obstacles to building the wall led Osnos to conclude: “Trump’s wall would end up as a small, symbolic extension of the federally financed [650-mile long] border fence that is already in place. Its construction was approved by the Senate in 2006, with backing from twenty-six Democrats, including New York’s junior senator at the time, Hillary Clinton.”

Through much of his campaign, Mr. Trump’s most ambitious pledge has been the removal of the estimated 11.3 million undocumented immigrants through pressure tactics or mass deportations. Recently, he has backed off his pledge to forcibly remove all illegal immigrants, saying only those who aren’t immediate threats would need to go home and then reapply for legal status, according to the Associated Press.

Illegal immigration

                   Via Pewhispanic.org

Illegal immigrants make up a significant percentage of Arkansas’ population. In 2012, the Hispanic Pew Research Center estimated the state is home to roughly 60,000 illegal Hispanic immigrants among its overall 2.95 million population.

Mr. Trump’s plan for a wall and deportation taps into a desire that many Americans share to fortify the southern border. In recent years, the issue took center stage in northwest Arkansas, which experienced a rapid influx of illegal immigrants whose cheap labor has helped fuel an economic boom since the 1990s.

In 2005, Jim Holt, a Republican state senator from Springdale, announced the formation of Protect Arkansas Now, modeled on an Arizona precedent. Mr. Holt proposed the Arkansas Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, which would have halted state spending on undocumented immigrants, according to Perla Guerrero, a University of Maryland professor writing a book about the labor history of Hispanics in northwest Arkansas. The law would require state employees to report suspected immigration violations or face misdemeanor charges.

Joe McCutchen, a Fort Smith resident who was chairman of Protect Arkansas Now, accused President George W. Bush of failing to protect the United States from “Mexican invaders,” according to Mr. Guerrero in Race and Ethnicity in Arkansas.

Mr. McCutchen said he doesn’t know whether he’ll vote for Mr. Trump, he told me in a telephone interview in September. He believes both the Democrat and Republican parties are “rotten to the core.” But his thinking on immigration policy most closely aligns with Mr. Trump. “I support building a wall, deportation and vetting” those who want to enter the U.S., Mr. McCutchen said. “I support cleaning up our country.”

In 2005, Mr. McCutchen spent a month patrolling with the Minutemen Project, a group of volunteers who extrajudicially monitored the U.S.-Mexico border for undocumented immigrants. He saw multiple poorly guarded points of entry along the border, he said, and believes additional manpower would stop the influx of illegal immigrants more than a giant wall. “Personally, I’d rather take the troops out of the Middle East where they don’t belong and put them on the border.”

 

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. For notice of the second part, scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to our daily newsletter. 

The post If Donald Trump wins and does what he says he will, Arkansas could lose a lot of people overnight appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

CCF Brands enlists E2open to reduce costs and drive down inventory

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LITTLE ROCK (October 25, 2016) ~ E2open today announced that CCF Brands has selected E2open’s Demand Signal Repository and Retail Insights solutions to capture, cleanse and analyze daily demand data. E2open’s retail solutions, acquired from Orchestro, will help the Rogers-based marketer of fresh eggs and egg products cut costs and reduce unnecessary inventory in its supply chain to drive profitable growth.

“Using E2open’s Demand Signal Repository and Retail Insights solutions will enable us to respond more rapidly to market needs,” said Tonya Horn, VP of Category Management at CCF Brands. “It offers us the robust insights and flexibility we require in critical areas of Category Management and Supply Chain processes, especially at the store level, to drive sales for the egg category and reduce late orders and out of stocks. E2open went live within 9 weeks for our major retail partner ensuring our ability to deliver key insights rapidly.”

The post CCF Brands enlists E2open to reduce costs and drive down inventory appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Trustee: Turner Grain transferred $100M to related firms

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Turner Grain Merchandising Inc. of Brinkley transferred nearly $100 million to its related companies a year before it filed for bankruptcy protection, according to lawsuits recently filed by its Chapter 7 trustee, M. Randy Rice of Little Rock.

Since October, Rice has filed more than 40 suits against Turner Commodities Inc., Ivory Rice LLC, Agribusiness Properties LLC and Brinkley Truck Brokerage LLC, in an attempt to recover $96.8 million, according to the complaints filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Helena. Allegedly, farmers and other entities, including the U.S. government, received improper payments from Turner Grain within 90 days of its bankruptcy filing in October 2014.

The post Trustee: Turner Grain transferred $100M to related firms appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Tom Hayes steps up at Tyson as CEO Donnie Smith steps down

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This was Tyson chief Donnie Smith (above) on June 21, 2012, in Jackson, Mississippi, where he participated in a program to reduce hunger in Mississippi. (AP file photo by Rogelio V. Solis)

November 21, 2016

Two views of the Tyson news

Reuters: Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) shares tumbled almost 15 percent on Monday after the nation’s biggest meat processor forecast lower-than-expected 2017 profit and said Chief Executive Officer Donnie Smith would step down at the end of the year.

The seller of Jimmy Dean sausage and Ball Park hot dogs also reported disappointing quarterly results due to increased investment spending, the double whammy of spiking chicken feed costs and lower demand, and a prepared foods production hiccup following the closure of a factory that makes pizza toppings.

Tom Hayes

Tom Hayes

Shares were down 14.8 percent to $57.44 in midday trading.

Wall Street Journal: Shares of Tyson Foods Inc. dropped sharply Monday as the company announced that Chief Executive Officer Donnie Smith would leave, and the company gave a downbeat outlook for profit in the year ahead.

Tyson, which also posted disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, said Mr. Smith would be replaced at the helm by President Tom Hayes.

Mr. Smith, a 36-year veteran at Tyson, became CEO in 2009 and helped steer the company through a tough patch for the U.S. chicken industry, the Journal writes. In 2014, he oversaw Tyson’s bid battle with rival Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. to acquire Hillshire Brands Co., maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs, in a $7.7 billion deal that vaulted Tyson deeper into grocery-store aisles with a portfolio of brands that went far beyond Tyson’s existing offerings.

Mr. Smith delivered the commencement address at the University of Tennessee in May 2013. Tyson features Mr. Smith in a leadership video on its website.

The post Tom Hayes steps up at Tyson as CEO Donnie Smith steps down appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Farm Credit distributes $15.5 million to Arkansas members

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~News Release from Farm Credit~

$15.5 million is going back into the hands of Farm Credit members across Arkansas in February.  Farm Credit finances farms, homes, land, livestock, equipment and more.  Farm Credit is not a bank; it is a financial cooperative and shares a portion of profits with members in profitable years.

2016 was another strong year for the four Farm Credit associations headquartered in the state. 10,800 Arkansas member-owners are receiving their share of the $15.5 million in the form of patronage checks this month.

Farm Credit is directed by the members it serves and members have a voice and vote in the associations’ governance.  They also share in their cooperatives’ financial success through cooperative returns, which total $184 million in Arkansas since 1997.

$15.5 million back in members’ pockets demonstrates Farm Credit’s financial strength and commitment to the cooperative principle of providing value to members.

With $3.3 billion in assets, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, Delta Agricultural Credit Association, Farm Credit Midsouth and Farm Credit of Western Arkansas support rural communities and agriculture across the state.

The Farm Credit System additionally supports the rural communities of Arkansas through CoBank agribusiness cooperative loans which provide essential infrastructure services.  Combined, Farm Credit organizations provide more than $4 billion in loans, leases and related services in Arkansas and returned $25.8 million to their customer-owners, and the Arkansas economy, this year.

More information available at ARFarmCredit.com.

The post Farm Credit distributes $15.5 million to Arkansas members appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

PODCAST: Opinion Poll Offers Good News for Farmers, Ranchers

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Mace Thornton, American Farm Bureau

A recent poll asked almost 2,000 registered voters their opinions on agriculture and sustainability. According to the survey, almost all respondents – no matter the political affiliation – supported sustainability, by one definition or another, and most believe agriculture and farming to be among the nation’s most sustainable sectors.

In this conversation, Mace Thornton, executive director of Communications for American Farm Bureau, discusses the survey results and why it’s good news for farmers and ranchers.https://soundcloud.com/user-242042406/public-perception-ag-sustainability

The post PODCAST: Opinion Poll Offers Good News for Farmers, Ranchers appeared first on Arkansas Money & Politics.

Arkansas Farmers, Heifer USA Take the Mystery Out of Meat

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SAN FRANCISCO – A group of livestock farmers in Arkansas, supported by Heifer USA, is using cutting-edge technology to let you know where your dinner comes from. The small-scale, forward-thinking suppliers of Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative are the first in the United States to use blockchain technology to trace their products from farm to fork, with the aim of giving consumers more confidence in the origin and quality of the meat they buy.

Already a mainstay in the financial sector, blockchain technology allows for public verification of information in the food chain. Shoppers and diners will be able to scan QR codes on Grass Roots products to learn where the meat came from and how the animals were raised. The “digital history” of the meat will also include stories of the people — from farmer to butcher — who contributed in crafting the final product.

“Americans have an increasing interest in better understanding what they’re eating. According to the 2016 Label Insight Study, 83 percent of consumers want more information about what’s in their food, and I totally believe it,” said Cody Hopkins, Grass Roots general manager and founding member. “When I learned about this technology, I thought ‘this is the solution.’ It’s the perfect way for Grass Roots to offer folks total transparency. [UK-based technology company] Provenance has developed a platform that levels the playing field for small-scale farmers and puts information directly in consumers’ hands.”

Grass Roots embraced technology as a way to boost food quality and customer service. Heifer USA’s Advisory Board Chair, Pierre Ferrari, commented, “Our farmers are innovative, always looking for ways to incorporate the latest technology that ultimately create real value to the consumer. Partnering with Provenance and the Golden Gate Meat Company is another example of how proactive they are in wanting their customers to know where their food originates. It’s only a matter of time before this becomes ‘best practice’ throughout the industry.”

San Francisco-based Golden Gate Meat Company, a purveyor of Grass Roots products, will debut the first trial of this technology today, giving customers the opportunity to use these advanced tools in stores. Additionally, Grass Roots meats are available for purchase online and can be found in restaurants and retailers across the country.

For more information about their foods and traceability measures, visit grassrootscoop.com

The post Arkansas Farmers, Heifer USA Take the Mystery Out of Meat appeared first on AMP.


AgHeritage Farm Credit Services Announces Board Chairman and Vice Chairman

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AgHeritage Farm Credit Services announces its Board of Directors Chairman and Vice Chairman. Dwain Morris of Pocahontas (left) has been named Board Chairman and Jerry Burkett of Stuttgart (right) has been named Board Vice Chairman.

Morris has been a board member since 1991 and farms corn, milo, rice and soybeans on 500 acres. He serves on the Executive Committee, Human Resources Committee, and State Legislative Committee. Morris also serves on the AgriBank District Farm Credit Council Board and the Randolph County Farm Bureau Board.

Burkett has been a board member since 2002, and farms 262 acres of timber plus an additional 1,485 acres of rice, soybeans, and wheat. He serves on the Executive Committee, Audit Committee and the Finance Committee. Burkett also serves on the Arkansas County Farm Bureau Board and is a member of the Yoder Ruritan Club.

AgHeritage Farm Credit Services is a financial cooperative with owned and managed assets of approximately $1.15 billion as of Dec. 31, 2016, that provides credit and related services to more than 3,096 farmers, ranchers and producers or harvesters of aquatic products in 24 Arkansas counties. Branch offices are located in Batesville, Brinkley, Dermott, Lonoke, Newport, Pocahontas, Searcy, Star City and Stuttgart.

The post AgHeritage Farm Credit Services Announces Board Chairman and Vice Chairman appeared first on AMP.

Ben E. Keith Foods to Open New North Little Rock Facility

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Ben E. Keith Foods is expanding – and staying – in North Little Rock.

The distributor of food products has been in business since 1906, and its mid-south division has two distribution centers in central Arkansas – a 60,000 square-foot one in Little Rock’s River Port and a 160,000 square-foot one on Pike Avenue in North Little Rock. From there Ben E. Keith sends products out to all of Arkansas, parts of Tennessee, northern Louisiana, eastern Mississippi, and eastern Missouri.

“Back in the early days when we were looking to build and looking at where we would build, from a logistical standpoint it made sense to build a little further east – maybe over in the Memphis market or northern Mississippi – and distribute back toward here, but as we studied economic incentives and things like that we decided to stay here in North Little Rock,” says Rusty Mathis, general manager of Ben E. Keith Foods Mid-South Division. “And of course the biggest part of the decision is that our employees live here. We have a lot of long-time employees and this is where they are. We decided to stay here because of them.”

There are plans to hire about 75 new employees, adding to the 275 employees who will be retained when the two existing distribution centers are closed and those two operations are combined into one in the new facility.

Ben E. Keith’s Mid-South Division was once known as Dillaha Fruit Company, which was purchased by the company in 1973. The Little Rock distribution center opened in 1974 and the company operated as Dillaha Fruit Company for about six years before officially being called Ben E. Keith.

“We moved over to the one in North Little Rock one as we were growing about 14 years ago and then we went back and reopened our facility in Little Rock during a growth phase but we had the need to be under one roof and so we started planning that four or five years ago,” Mathis says. “We acquired property and started building about a year and a half ago.”

The new campus – under construction just off Interstate 440, at the corner of Highway 70 and a street that was renamed Ben E. Keith Way in July – will be 430,000 square feet. The warehouse will make up 350,000 square feet of that space.

“In the warehouse the ceiling heights are much higher so the cubic square footage is, too,” says Mathis. “Back years ago when these warehouses were built they had lower ceiling heights so now the utilization is much better.”

The rest of the space will be used for administrative offices and a truck maintenance garage.

“We’re coming up on completion here at the first of October,” says Mathis. “We’re going to start receiving product in there then throughout the fall and early winter – have to build up the inventory. Our plans are to start distribution out of there the first of January.”

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the types of products Ben E. Keith Mid-South distributes, the year Ben E. Keith was established and the size of the new facility. The company is a food product distributor, it was established in 1906 and its new facility is 430,000 square feet.

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The Campbells – Arkansas Farm Families

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The Campbells • Harrison, Boone County • Northwest District Farm Family • Cattle

By Caleb Talley

Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest industry, contributing more than $21 billion to the state’s economy each year. Because of our diverse landscape and unique climate, Arkansas produces a wide array of agricultural products and is among the nation’s leaders in a number of commodities.

Arkansas leads the nation in rice production, churning out 50 percent of America’s rice. As a result, Arkansas is also home to the country’s largest rice exporter, Riceland Foods. Arkansas is second in the nation in poultry production, with more than 2,500 farms raising chickens across the state. The nation’s largest poultry processor, Tyson Foods, also calls Arkansas home.

According to Farm Bureau, Arkansas has more than 14 million acres of farmland. More than 6 million acres of that are crops, while livestock and hay production make up the remaining 8 million acres. And across all those acres, Arkansas excels in the production of the following commodities: beef cattle, cotton, dairy, aquaculture, pork, horticulture, poultry, rice, soybeans, wheat and so much more.

“Farm families are multigenerational, and that, to me, is what’s so important,” says Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “They’ve survived good times and bad times, tough economies, and they have been able to make a living for their family.

“They’re leaders,” he adds. “They’re survivors. And they’re hard workers. They’re community oriented. That’s the nature of a farm family. You help your neighbors, and that’s helping our communities.”

In honor of the state’s largest and most vibrant industry, Farm Bureau continues to highlight the people who make it all possible: the Arkansas Farm Family. Each year, Farm Bureau celebrates the men and women and their families who make up the state’s most important business sector through their Farm Family of the Year program.

little boy

Each spring, a family is chosen from each of the state’s 75 counties. Of those 75 families, eight are chosen to represent their district. Arkansas Money & Politics has joined forced with Arkansas Farm Bureau in showcasing these hardworking men and women and their families, honoring them for all they do for their state and their community.

These eight families are diverse in what they farm, how they farm and why they farm. They represent various commodities, backgrounds and trades. But they all have one thing in common. They’re all salt of the earth people who hold this state together, both economically and societally. Learn more about these families and how their farms contribute to the Arkansas ecosystem.

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Christie and Carl Campbell raise livestock on their 4,600-acre family farm in Boone County, south of Harrison. With the help of Melinda and Landon Logan, their daughter and son-in-law, the Campbells market thousands of cows a year at their own sale barn, Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction.

Raising livestock is in Carl’s blood. His grandparents, Cozette and Charlie Campbell of Witt Springs, farmed 400 acres when Carl was a child, and he spent his early years helping out. When he was a teenager, his grandparents gave him 10 cows.

Carl later purchased 100 acres of land in Boone County and began his own farm in 1989, milking 70 cows while simultaneously working for a sheetrock company.

On his way to building a much larger, successful operation, Carl overcame a number of challenges early on. He says he started small, making mistakes with fewer animals to contend with. As his operation grew, Carl realized the challenge of having cattle ready to sell with little demand. He learned to produce cattle to market demands.

Over the years, he’s continued to set and achieve his marketing goals, identifying specific strategies and tools to help reach objectives and to evaluate plans and backup plans if prices differ from original expectations.

Three years ago, Campbell purchased Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction of Harrison. The opportunity allowed him to better market his cattle while also creating a way in which his family can work alongside him.

His son-in-law Landon, who also raises cattle in nearby Carroll County, works at the auction barn conducting market research and setting prices during the sale. His daughter, Melinda, is the office manager.

man at gate on a farm

The Campbells, of Harrison, raise cattle on roughly 4,600 acres of property.

“One of the reasons I purchased the sale barn is to be able to include my family in the business and help build an ongoing successful opportunity in agriculture for them and generations to come,” says Carl.

In addition to bringing Campbell’s family together, the auction barn is also vital to fellow ranchers in the community. With over 100 acres, five of which are roofed, Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction is the largest sale barn in Arkansas. The barn also features grass traps, hay and water pens for customers who utilize the venue.

“Having a successful sale barn in our community is vital for my neighbors, friends and family,” says Carl.

The Campbells also produce custom hay baling and fertilizer application.

In addition to ranching, Carl is active in the community and local agricultural programs. He sponsors monthly Cattlemen’s Association meetings for the Boone County Cattlemen’s Association, as well as surrounding counties, to “help gain recognition to the importance of agriculture in the community and state.”

Carl also donates regularly to area FFA and 4-H organizations, which he has been involved with since youth. He has also served on the Crooked Creek Water Board for four years and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency for eight years.

The Campbells attend First Baptist Church of Harrison.

Read more farm families: The Hewitts

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The Hewitts – Arkansas Farm Families

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The Hewitts • Fouke, Miller County  • Southwest District Farm Family • Cattle

By Caleb Talley

Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest industry, contributing more than $21 billion to the state’s economy each year. Because of our diverse landscape and unique climate, Arkansas produces a wide array of agricultural products and is among the nation’s leaders in a number of commodities.

Arkansas leads the nation in rice production, churning out 50 percent of America’s rice. As a result, Arkansas is also home to the country’s largest rice exporter, Riceland Foods. Arkansas is second in the nation in poultry production, with more than 2,500 farms raising chickens across the state. The nation’s largest poultry processor, Tyson Foods, also calls Arkansas home.

According to Farm Bureau, Arkansas has more than 14 million acres of farmland. More than 6 million acres of that are crops, while livestock and hay production make up the remaining 8 million acres. And across all those acres, Arkansas excels in the production of the following commodities: beef cattle, cotton, dairy, aquaculture, pork, horticulture, poultry, rice, soybeans, wheat and so much more.

“Farm families are multigenerational, and that, to me, is what’s so important,” says Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “They’ve survived good times and bad times, tough economies, and they have been able to make a living for their family.

“They’re leaders,” he adds. “They’re survivors. And they’re hard workers. They’re community oriented. That’s the nature of a farm family. You help your neighbors, and that’s helping our communities.”

In honor of the state’s largest and most vibrant industry, Farm Bureau continues to highlight the people who make it all possible: the Arkansas Farm Family. Each year, Farm Bureau celebrates the men and women and their families who make up the state’s most important business sector through their Farm Family of the Year program.

Each spring, a family is chosen from each of the state’s 75 counties. Of those 75 families, eight are chosen to represent their district. Arkansas Money & Politics has joined forced with Arkansas Farm Bureau in showcasing these hardworking men and women and their families, honoring them for all they do for their state and their community.

These eight families are diverse in what they farm, how they farm and why they farm. They represent various commodities, backgrounds and trades. But they all have one thing in common. They’re all salt of the earth people who hold this state together, both economically and societally. Learn more about these families and how their farms contribute to the Arkansas ecosystem.

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family with cows

The Hewitts, of Fouke, raise registered Simbrah cattle.

Crystal and Jimmy Hewitt and their children, 15-year-old Kyleen and 13-year-old Colton, raise cattle on their ranch off of Highway 71 south of Fouke. The family specializes in Simbrah cattle, a composite breed combining Simmental and Brahman cow breeds. The Hewitts travel the country showing and marketing their cattle, while also developing relationships with fellow cattle breeders from Texas to Minnesota.

Jimmy was raised on a poultry farm but began showing and raising cattle in high school. With money borrowed from his local USDA Farm Service Agent, he started his own herd before heading off to college at Oklahoma State University. His parents took care of his cattle while he was away.

While earning a degree in agricultural economics, Jimmy met Crystal, an Oklahoma native. Crystal was also raised on a farm, having spent her youth showing pigs in high school. Her father ran a customer hay baling operation, and Crystal learned to drive a tractor at a very young age. They married, and purchased their first registered Simbrah cow in 2000.

In the years that followed, Jimmy and Crystal grew their cattle operation and converted much of their herd to Simbrah, due to the breed’s ability to withstand high temperatures and insects.

Though ranching isn’t their day job, the Hewitts work hard to breed and market their cattle in Arkansas and beyond. But their efforts to share their trade and cultivate a love of ranching in the next generation of cattlemen is worthy of much appreciation.

Over the years, the Hewitts have developed a valuable relationship with their local Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter and 4-H. Through those relationships, they have introduced a number of students to cattle. The Hewitts provide students with the opportunity to raise a cow regardless of whether or not they have the facilities to house it.

man feeding cows

“They house their animals on our property, and we help with care and instruction,” says Jimmy. “Once the student is comfortable and the family has built facilities at home, the animal can be transitioned to their location. Or it can remain at our operation throughout the duration of their show career.

“From a cattle and agricultural stewardship standpoint, this practice allows us to help others fall in love with agriculture and this lifestyle,” he says. “During the past year, we have helped three students and their families get started with Simbrah cattle this way.”

In fact, Crystal started their local 4-H in 2015 after discovering that there was no active chapter in the community. Since then, the club has maintained an average of 30 members, all of whom have contributed to a number of community service projects to promote conservation and protect the environment.

The Hewitts began their independent operation on 80 acres of rented property. Today, they have 146 acres of private and family owned property.

The Hewitt children are following in their parents’ footsteps, quickly learning the ins and outs of ranching and falling in love with the family trade. Kyleen began showing cattle at age 12 and serves on both the 4-H and FFA livestock judging teams. She’s also president of both chapters, as well as vice president of her high school class.

Kyleen also participates in a number of public speaking competitions, having qualified for both the 4-H and FFA state speech contests this year. She was recently selected as the 4-H Teen Star for the Ouachita District and was recognized at the state 4-H banquet in June.

Likewise, younger brother Colton is a member of the local FFA and an officer in the local chapter of 4-H. He serves on the livestock judging team for both organizations. Despite all their extracurricular activities and work on the family farm, both Kyleen and Colton have never let their GPAs drop below a 4.0.

Some of the organizations the Hewitts are involved with are the Southwest Arkansas Livestock Events (Jimmy, Board Member), American Simmental Association, Two Rivers 4-H Club, Fouke FFA, Arkansas Leadership Academy (Crystal), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (Crystal).

Read more farm families: The Standridges

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The Standridges – Arkansas Farm Families

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The Standridges

The Standridges • Dennard, • Van Buren County 

North Central District Farm Family • Cattle

By Caleb Talley

Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest industry, contributing more than $21 billion to the state’s economy each year. Because of our diverse landscape and unique climate, Arkansas produces a wide array of agricultural products and is among the nation’s leaders in a number of commodities.

Arkansas leads the nation in rice production, churning out 50 percent of America’s rice. As a result, Arkansas is also home to the country’s largest rice exporter, Riceland Foods. Arkansas is second in the nation in poultry production, with more than 2,500 farms raising chickens across the state. The nation’s largest poultry processor, Tyson Foods, also calls Arkansas home.

According to Farm Bureau, Arkansas has more than 14 million acres of farmland. More than 6 million acres of that are crops, while livestock and hay production make up the remaining 8 million acres. And across all those acres, Arkansas excels in the production of the following commodities: beef cattle, cotton, dairy, aquaculture, pork, horticulture, poultry, rice, soybeans, wheat and so much more.

“Farm families are multigenerational, and that, to me, is what’s so important,” says Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “They’ve survived good times and bad times, tough economies, and they have been able to make a living for their family.

“They’re leaders,” he adds. “They’re survivors. And they’re hard workers. They’re community oriented. That’s the nature of a farm family. You help your neighbors, and that’s helping our communities.”

In honor of the state’s largest and most vibrant industry, Farm Bureau continues to highlight the people who make it all possible: the Arkansas Farm Family. Each year, Farm Bureau celebrates the men and women and their families who make up the state’s most important business sector through their Farm Family of the Year program.

Each spring, a family is chosen from each of the state’s 75 counties. Of those 75 families, eight are chosen to represent their district. Arkansas Money & Politics has joined forced with Arkansas Farm Bureau in showcasing these hardworking men and women and their families, honoring them for all they do for their state and their community.

cows in a field

These eight families are diverse in what they farm, how they farm and why they farm. They represent various commodities, backgrounds and trades. But they all have one thing in common. They’re all salt of the earth people who hold this state together, both economically and societally. Learn more about these families and how their farms contribute to the Arkansas ecosystem.

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Lacey and Jared Standridge, along with their three children, 13-year-old Sydney, 11-year-old Sam and 9-year-old Shelby, own an assortment of livestock at their ranch on Highway 65 in Dennard, just north of Clinton. At Standridge Ranch, also known as Hartsugg Cattle Company, these independent operators raise top-quality cattle that work for them as well as the people they sell to.

Lacey and Jared come by ranching honestly; both are the fifth generation of their families involved in the beef cattle industry. Like most people involved in agriculture, the Standridges “started with a dream and passion of loving the land and what the land can produce,” Lacey says. “To be honest, it’s all we’ve both ever known, in one way or another.”

The pair moved to Dennard with the intentions of pursing equine interests. Jared is a world-champion roper and the pair owned several well-trained horses. But their interests were soon diverted to backgrounding calves. Backgrounding is the process of growing steers and heifers from weaning until they enter the feedlot, a system that uses pasture and other forages.

As their children got older, Lacey and Jared designed a way to incorporate the young Standridges into the family farm through a show cattle program. The program allows individuals or organizations to lease their longhorn and Corriente cattle for various purposes. The show cattle are leased by stock contractors, rodeo event organizers and roping clubs. The family has leased out as many as 300 heads of cattle out at a time at the local, state and even national level.

“[The program] has allowed our children to be involved at an age-appropriate level and teach them things they could learn nowhere else,” says Lacey. “Responsibility, sacrifice, determination, building confidence and, sadly, loss at times… Introducing our children to the ranching way of life could prepare them for their future in the best way possible, in our opinion.”

Their show barn, located at the family ranch, is also used by local Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters to train for livestock competitions. In addition to their show cattle, the Standridges have a 100-head commercial cow herd that is used primarily in their embryo program to produce calves that are marketed after backgrounding.

While membership in their show cattle program continues to grow, the Standridge family is always looking for ways in which to better market their product. They’re active participants in local livestock markets, selling cattle at area sale barns. The family also utilizes social media when marketing their livestock.

Unlike most professional ranchers, both Jared and Lacey maintain full-time jobs outside of their ranch. They own S&P Insurance Partners in Clinton, where Jared serves as president. As a result, time management has been a major challenge in accomplishing their goals as ranchers. “We have learned to get up early and go to bed many nights later than we’d like. We have been able to hire a full-time employee at the ranch, and our children help more and more every day.”

In addition to helping out on the ranch, the Standridge children are active in and outside of school, too. The oldest, Sydney, will be entering eighth grade. She’s active in Beta Club, basketball and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is a student council leader. Sam, who’s entering fifth grade, plays baseball, football and basketball, but his passion is fishing. Sam also takes care of 20 laying hens and sells their eggs locally. Shelby, who will be in fourth grade, also plays basketball, sings and acts. She spends much of her time riding her horse, though.

The Standridges hope to expand their ranching operation by allowing consumers the opportunity to purchase cattle through

online bidding. They also aim to create a better relationship between ranchers and the general public, helping others understand where their food comes from. “We want to make our children and others aware that feeding the world is a big responsibility, one that should never be taken lightly. And that’s exactly what American farmers and ranchers do every day.”

Lacey and Jared Standridge are members of the Van Buren County Cattlemen’s Association, American Junior Simmental Association, American Maine-Anjou Association, American Chianina Association, American Charolais Association and American Hereford Association. Jared serves on the FFA Foundation Board, and Lacey is a former chamber of commerce board member. The Standridges are members of the First Baptist Church of Clinton.

Read more farm families: The Watsons

The post The Standridges – Arkansas Farm Families appeared first on AMP.

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