AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN ARKANSAS 1103

1. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN ARKANSAS1103 Steven C Seideman Extension Food Processing Specialist Cooperative Extension Service University of Arkansas

2. HISTORY *The longevity of humans began to increase in about 1200 AD when mankind began to domesticate plants and animals. *This domestication was probably the single most important event in the history of the mankind. *In the latter half of the 1800s, many states established Land-Grant Colleges whose purpose was to conduct research and teach agriculture. *In the early 1900s, the Cooperative Extension Service was established to disseminate agriculture knowledge to producers.

3. History • The establishment of Land-Grant colleges, the Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service working with farmers has developed the most productive and economical food supply in the world. • We often take our food supply for granted until we go to other countries.

4. Agricultural Progress • In just the last 50 years; *Beef cattle and hogs-1/3 larger and far less fat. *Milk production per dairy cow has gone from 30 lbs per day to 115 lbs. *To grow a chicken from hatching of the egg to slaughter has decreased from 16 weeks to 6 weeks. *The amount of crops per acre has often quadrupled.

5. Photo courtesy of USDA

6. Arkansas Statistics • The next group of slides will go through; 1)Agricultural commodities in Arkansas. 2)The size and diversity of food processing in Arkansas.

7. AGRICULTURE COMMODITIES

8. Commodity Sales Value

9. ARKANSAS’ RANK AMONG STATES • CommodityRanking • Rice 1 • Broilers 2 • Turkeys 3 • Catfish 3 • Cotton 5 • Eggs 6 • Soybeans 9

10. Photo courtesy of USDA

11. Photo courtesy of USDA

12. Food Processing In Arkansas • Food processing in Arkansas is very large and diversified. • Food processing establishments in Arkansas are some of the most state-of-the-art, high tech plants in the world.

13. Photo courtesy of IFSE

14. Sales Value in Manufacturing

15. Number of Paid Employees

16. Manufacturing Payrolls

17. Manufacturing Establishments

18. FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS IN ARKANSAS

19. Photo courtesy of Renee Threlfall

20. SIZES OF FOOD PLANTS

21. FOOD PROCESSORS IN ARKANSAS

22. Photo courtesy of USDA

23. Photo courtesy of USDA

24. Photo courtesy of IFSE

25. Major Food Processors in Arkansas • Some of the major food processors in Arkansas include; Allen Canning Co, Boars Head Provision Co, Conagra Foods, Frito-Lay, Gerber, Nestles, Odom’s Sausage, Planters Peanuts, Pinnacle Foods, Post Cereals, Riceland Foods, Simmons and Tyson. • With the exception of rice and poultry, most other food processing companies are not in Arkansas due to the proximity to raw materials.

26. Why Food Processors are in Arkansas • Abundant, hard-working and economical labor force. • Centrally located in the US • Proximity to the Interstate road system • “Right to Work” state. • State and community support.

27. The Food Dollar • On average, the farmer gets about 17 cents of every dollar spent in food stores. The other 83 cents is spent by the food processor, distributor and the store. In 1980, farmers received about 31 cents of the dollar. • There is another presentation in the series by Dr Mike Thomsen in the Department of Agricultural Economics who discusses the causes and implications of this situation.

28. THE FOOD DOLLAR

29. COMPONENTS OF THE FOOD DOLLAR

30. SOME INTERESTING FARM FACTS • The average American farmer feeds 118 people. • Today it takes about 40 days for most Americans to earn enough income to pay for their food supply for the entire year. It takes the average American 124 days to earn enough money to pay federal, state and local taxes for the year.

31. CONCLUSIONS • Arkansas is rich in agricultural commodities ranking #1 and #2 in rice and poultry, respectively. • Food processing in Arkansas is a huge business with 232 food processing establishments, directly employing over 60,000 people with sales over $11B.