Meat costs hit eateries in brisket

Barbecue joints in state mostly swallowing higher prices

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

 As the price of a pound of pork and beef continues to rise, many Arkansas barbecue restaurant owners say they are eating the increase rather than passing it along to their customers.

Landon Curd, owner of Dink’s Barbeque in Bentonville, said that the rising cost has directly affected his business.

“Brisket is our No. 1 seller and we have seen a 70 percent increase on price,” Curd said. “It’s been a drastic hit and we’ve been hit hard,” he said.

Instead of raising the price of barbecue on his menu, Curd said he is absorbing the cost. If prices don’t level off by the end of summer, he will consider an increase.

“I can only charge so much for a barbecue sandwich. I have to eat the loss and hope that I can weather the storm” he said. “There are always peaks and valleys and eventually it will level out.”

“If I were to raise the prices I would definitely hear about it from my customers,” Curd said. “I’ve raised prices once in four years and am hesitant to raise the price again.”

The shortage is twofold.

The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus is a fast-moving coronavirus that is deadly to piglets. It has killed an estimated 5 million pigs across 30 states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

And the U.S. cattle population is still recovering after a stretch of drought that began in 2011. The conditions forced ranchers to sell large portions of their herds to compensate for high grain and corn prices. Because it takes years, roughly 30 months, to get cattle ready for slaughter, the rebuilding has been slow, which has driven up the price of beef because supply is low.

Steve Meyer, president of Paragon Economics, an agriculture marketing and consulting firm in Iowa, said that he does not see beef and pork prices dropping anytime soon.

“This is not something that will just blow over and it won’t pass in just a few months,” Meyer said. “Prices will get better. Instead of being ridiculously high, they will just be high.”

Meyer said smaller momand-pop barbecue businesses will be hit the hardest.

James Harold Jones, owner of Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, said he can’t shake the effects of high prices.

“My prices have done tripled, and that means that I am selling three and four times the barbecue, but I am not making any money,” he said. “But I refuse to jack up the price again and I will just have to live with what I get.”

Jones said in all the years he’s been in the business he has never seen prices so high. His family has operated the restaurant for more than 100 years.

“It’s not just the pork, beef is high. The drought has impacted me, too,” Jones said.

Though times are tough, Jones remains optimistic. “People come from all over the U.S. to eat my barbecue. I will be all right because I don’t have a high overhead.”

“It’s tough and it’s gonna stay tough. I’ve heard it will be two years before prices really go down,” he added. “All I can do is keep on keeping on.”

Mike Long, a commodities buyer, has been purchasing meat for 35 years. He said the effects of the pig virus are not just hard on the the restaurant business, but on producers and packers, too.

“We don’t have a handle on [the virus] and the drought has been a huge factor. This means that when ranchers sell their animals, they aren’t buying as many to replace them, which in turn cuts down on the capacity that packers can run,” Long said. “This creates a gap in the market and the pressure falls to other proteins. The low inventory for one raises prices for the products, the buyers, and then the consumer.”

On March 1, the last time the U.S. hog herd inventory statistics were released, there were 62.9 million head, down 3 percent from the same time a year ago, and 5 percent from the last quarter, ended Dec. 31, according the Quarterly Hog and Pigs report.

Market hogs — pigs that are sent for slaughter — were at 57 million, down 4 percent from the same time last year and 5 percent from the last quarter.

In January, the last time the cattle count was totaled, the inventory was 87.7 million head, down 2 percent from the same time a year ago. In that count, beef cattle accounted for 29 million head.

Allen Brumett, owner of Sassy’s Red House Bar and Grille in Fayetteville, said that his beef brisket is the cause of his stress.

“Brisket beef has gotten out of control, and it’s the one that is having more of an impact,” he said. “I tried to switch to whole brisket but it wasn’t the same quality as a brisket so I went back.”

“It’s $5.25 now and it used to be below $3. That’s the one that’s killing me,” he added.

He said he has been trying to adjust to the higher cost, but the only way to truly adjust would be to raise menu prices.

“You can only charge so much to the consumer so we have to grin and bear it,” Brumett said. “I just hope it comes down in the next few months. For now, I’ve quit looking at the prices. It’s disappointing”

When Brumett opened Sissy’s Red House in 2009, bonein pork was 90 cents a pound, but today it costs roughly $1.68 a pound. “It’s a big difference considering how many pounds we go through,” he said.

Rich Cosgrove, franchise-owner of a North Little Rock Whole Hog Cafe, a Little Rock-based chain, is betting on the prices declining in the coming months and isn’t planning to make changes in his business model.

“Right now we are stuck with high prices, but it will be OK once the market comes down,” he said. “We already did a price increase to address the shortage and if we have to raise prices again to make a profit, people would find it offensive.”

He said the best way to combat the cost and to see his profit-and-loss margin is his constant upkeep of inventory.

“We monitor everything daily and take weekly inventory and compare what was sold. I can tell on a daily basis our yield for the average day,” Cosgrove said.

“Right now we sell 3.5 tons of meat a week just out of the North Little Rock location,” he said. “When I can see my food costs go up consistently I know the general price has risen.”

He said Whole Hog’s ability to remain profitable has eroded, but because he has locked in pricing on his meat cost for a year, he thinks he is better off than some in the industry.

“Because we buy so much we have negotiated the guaranteed delivery of meats at a set price, so that means we’re probably paying less than anyone around,” Cosgrove said. “We have locked in prices for the rest of the year, but there could be a huge spike by next year, and I will be locked in at that price.”

“Our product and our sales are incredible, so we’re not going to change anything anytime soon,” Cosgrove said.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/TINA PARKER Allen Brumett, owner of Sassy’s Red House Bar and Grille in Fayetteville, flips meat on the smoker. He said the cost of beef brisket is “killing me.”

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;

Date: May 25, 2014;

Section: Business;

Page: 75

Tyson’s exiting bio-fuel venture

Iowa firm to buy stake in idle plant

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group Inc. has reached an agreement with Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. to acquire its portion of Dynamic Fuels LLC., a bio-diesel plant that makes fuel from animal byproducts.

Created in 2007, Dynamic Fuels was a joint venture between Tyson and Syntroleum Corp. of Tulsa. Each company owns a 50 percent share of the plant, which is located in Geismar, La.

As the first large-scale renewable diesel plant, Dynamic Fuels was capable of producing upwards of 75 million gallons of synthetic fuel per year, according to a statement on the company’s website.

Under the terms of the agreement, Renewable Energy Group, or REG, will acquire Tyson’s 50 percent interest, pay $18 million in closing costs on top of refunding $12 million of Dynamic Fuel’s debt. Tyson also will receive future production payments of up to $35 million over the next 11.5 years.

Andrew Rojeski, vice president of renewable energy for Tyson Foods, said that selling its stake will allow Ty- son to channel its capital into other opportunities.

“REG is a long-term customer of ours, buying fats, oils and greases to make renewable fuel, and we hope to continue that relationship,” Rojeski said in a news release.

The plant, which opened in October 2010, has faced an uncertain future since it ceased operations in October 2012. Because the plant has been idle for so long, it incurred net losses of $38 million, according to Tyson’s annual earnings report in 2013.

Operations ceased initially for mechanical upgrades but remained closed because of an unsteady market.

Tyson warned in a 2010 SEC filing that its renewable energy ventures and other initiatives might not be as financially successful as it initially announced because of factors “that include, but are not limited to, availability of tax credits, competing energy prices, failure to operate at the volumes anticipated, abilities of our joint venture partners and our limited experience in some of these new areas.”

Although Tyson didn’t report its net loss in the venture, Syntroleum’s quarterly report did. For the first quarter of 2014, Syntroleum’s net loss was $6.5 million. The company reported an operating loss of $2.5 million and operating expenses of $2.8 million for the quarter ending March 31.

“We will continue to explore other ways to commercialize opportunities outside our core business, such as renewable energy and other technologically-advanced platforms,” according to Tyson’s SEC filing.

After the deal is finalized with Tyson, it would give the company full ownership of Dynamic Fuels. In December, REG announced that it was acquiring Syntroleum and all its assets.

“Upon closing, this is another milestone for REG in growing our core advanced bio-fuels business,” Daniel J. Oh, REG president and CEO, said in the release. “It gives us the opportunity to further expand our production capacity into new product lines, while growing our overall advanced bio-fuel manufacturing capability, and bringing on other renewable chemical applications.”

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;

Date: May 22, 2014;

Section: Business;

Page: 27

Houses keep fowl in fine feather

Computers adjust feed, water, lights, temperature

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Unlike older poultry houses where farmers had to manually open side tarp-like curtains if the buildings got too hot, today’s chickens are cooled by computer.

Converting to climatecontrolled chicken houses helps keep farmers competitive by saving money and producing better birds, said Worth Sparkman, spokesman for Tyson Foods Inc.

“They’ve moved from conventional barns with open, curtain-covered side walls to premium housing with solid side walls and computer-controlled ventilation and heating,” Sparkman said. “The benefits of modern housing include a more comfortable living environment for the birds with improved ventilation and more uniform temperatures through the barn, as well as energy savings.”

Kirk Houtchens, who has raised chickens for the past 24 years, is a contract grower for George’s Inc., a Springdale-based chicken processor. At Buena Vista Farms in Decatur, Houtchens has four state-of-the-art chicken houses that cost him close to $1 million to build.

Each house is run from a control room that electronically monitors temperature, ventilation, water, feed and lighting. The computerized system aids in production. Before he invested in the new houses, he raised 92,000 chickens in a little over a month. Now, he can produce 140,000 chickens in that time.

“It raises a lot better bird,” Houtchens said. “There is a lot more monitoring than there used to be, but it allows farmers not to be out there [all the time].”

Johnny Williams, coowner of Reliable Poultry, a poultry supply company, said most people don’t know how modern-day chicken houses operate.

“When people hear about poultry houses, they tend to think about the negatives with curtain-sided chicken houses, but with the new technology they have a good life,” he said of the birds. “It’s totally different now.”

“It’s about creating a more even temperature so the birds aren’t stressed,” Williams said. “In the curtain-ventilated houses the birds weren’t comfortable. If it was 80 to 90 degrees outside, it was that hot inside, but now it is environmentally controlled.”

COMFORTABLE CHICKS

In the control room for one of Houtchens’ chicken houses, three boxes control a range of features. Nine sensors, one per heat zone, are strung throughout the 520-foot structure and send information back to the control room where a computer interprets the data and makes changes.

“In your home you only have one thermostat that controls the entire house — one room might be cold and one might be hot — it’s hard to regulate,” Houtchens said. “In the [poultry] houses, having more sensors in zones allows me to keep the temperature uniform.”

If cool air is needed, the computer can automatically open side vents and tunnel doors so air can be pulled from one end of the house. The side vents have cool cells, which are black pads that have water trickling through them. The air can be pulled through the cells into the house, creating cool air even in high temperatures. Automated sprinklers can spray a small amount of water onto the birds’ feathers when the vents and doors are opened, which helps cool the chickens.

“To cool a chicken house with an air conditioner would be expensive,” Houtchens said. “We rely on wind speed to cool the birds and keep the birds comfortable. Sprinklers, foggers, cool pads and evaporative cooling are the only options available that are economical.”

If the house is too cold, the computer can open attic vents to pull in air that’s been warmed by the sun.

“We try to bring in as much preheated air as possible,” Houtchens said. “The technology helps me with saving fuel.”

Dennis Brothers, a poultry housing specialist with the National Poultry Technology Center, said using the new cooling and heating methods saves on energy costs.

“It’s the most beneficial for gas savings — you don’t have the heating cost and there is better bird performance,” Brothers said. “If we can remove or give the birds heat, it makes them more comfortable in their environment.”

MOOD LIGHTING

Lighting is essential in chicken production. It is used to get the birds to put on weight and can determine how they interact with one another, growers said.

After chicks hatch, they are moved into chicken houses. Houtchens uses compact fluorescent lights until the birds learn about their new environment. “I start the lights as bright as I can get them to help them learn where to feed and water,” he said.

It is the brightest light they will see during their 30-plus days on the farm. Once the birds are a few days old, Houtchens switches from fluorescent lighting to lightemitting diodes. The LED lights are spaced in two rows, one every 20 feet. The computer controls the lights and dims them over time. By day 18, the LED lights are at their lowest setting.

“We use lower light to keep them [the birds] calm so they don’t run around a lot and play,” Houtchens said. “Low light lowers their stress and keeps the chickens from pecking on each other.”

Brothers said chicken behavior isn’t the only reason for using LED dimmers. They also reduce electricity, which reduces the overall cost to raise the birds.

“It’s longer lasting, and it costs less to operate,” he said.

The computer also monitors water pressure and feed levels. If Houtchens’ houses lose electricity or water pressure, run out of feed, or get too hot or cold, the system sends him text-message alerts.

He can use his smartphone or computer to monitor the houses and make small ventilation or temperature changes in them, allowing him to spend less time physically at the houses.

“I can control it from anywhere,” he said. “It allows me to be a more competitive producer.”

Arkansas Democrat Gazette/TINA PARKER Chicks gather near feeders in a computer-controlled chicken house at Kirk Houtchens’ Buena Vista Farms in Decatur.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette/TINA PARKER Kirk Houtchens points to a control box that manages heat zones, fans, air inlets, water and feed clocks in one of his high-tech chicken houses.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette/TINA PARKER Many poultry farmers now have computerized chicken houses like this one at Buena Vista Farms in Decatur that save on energy costs and help in poultry production.

 

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;

Date: May 18, 2014;

Section: Business;

Page: 73

 

Tyson’s net income doubles in quarter, revenue rises 7.74%

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

 SPRINGDALE — Tyson Foods Inc. more than doubled its net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 despite hurdles in pork, beef and international segments.

On Monday, Tyson reported $9 billion in revenue in the second quarter, up 7.74 percent compared with a year ago. Tyson exceeded revenue estimates by $16 million, according to eight analysts with Yahoo Finance.

The company reported net income of $213 million, or 60 cents a share, up from $95 million, or 43 cents a share, for the same quarter a year ago. Although the company exceeded analyst revenue estimates, it missed by 3 cents the earnings predicted by 10 analysts with Yahoo Finance.

International business was down for the second consecutive quarter, and Tyson lost $30 million, down 9.1 percent. Despite the negative return, production increased by 13.8 percent.

“China is still the biggest portion of the loss due to the demand destruction,” said Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer. “Our operations in Brazil also struggled in quarter two, but we’ve restructured our team to improve operational focus.”

Winter weather had a significant effect on Tyson’s second quarter, Smith said. “Although we saw a dip in our sales to school cafeterias from weather-related closings, we saw an increase in our retail sales,” he said.

By sector, Tyson’s chicken segment generated $234 million in operating income, up 8.2 percent. Production increased by 4.3 percent. Although volume was up, Smith said he only expects a 2 percent to 3 percent increase in chicken production for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The beef segment generated $35 million in operating income, up 0.9 percent. Production decreased by 1.8 percent, which is attributed to lower cattle numbers and higher cattle prices.

The pork segment generated $107 million in operating income, up 7.2 percent. Although production increased by 0.7 percent, the effects of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, which is lethal to piglets, are expected to affect later quarters, Smith said.

“Hog weights are expected to be higher and offset some of the head reductions,” Smith said. “So we anticipate industry pork production to be down as much as 4 percent for the year.”

The prepared foods segment generated $21 million in operating income. Volume rose by 8.1 percent.

Tyson repurchased more than 2.5 million shares for $100 million under the share repurchase program during the second quarter, Chief Financial Officer Dennis Leatherby said.

During trading Monday, Tyson’s stock closed at $38.44, down $4.21, or 9.8 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $23.39 and $40.69 in the past year.

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;

Date: May 6, 2014;

Section: Business;

Page: 23

Women, youths take farms tour

They get close look at milk, chicken, beef production

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A dripping sound echoed through the tank room at the Anglin Dairy in Bentonville.

“That’s milk,” owner Susan Anglin told a group of visitors.

Tuesday’s “Moms on the Farm Tour” took about 30 women and some of their children to a dairy, a chicken farm and a cattle ranch.

“What better way to find out about how [your food] is produced than by getting on the farm and seeing it firsthand,” said organizer and University of Arkansas at Fayetteville meat science professor Janeal Yancey.

The free program is sponsored by the UA Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. The tour provides an opportunity for participants to learn about the farms that supply the grocers in their areas.

After leaving the tank room, which was the first stop on the tour, visitors were separated into two groups to go into the milking parlor where cows were aligned herringbonestyle. Dairy workers sprayed the cows’ udders with disinfectant, which Anglin said helps stop the potential spread of infection such as mastitis, an inflation of the teat. Afterward, milking pumps were attached to the udders, and milk began to hiss through the lines that lead to the tank room.

Stacey Ausherman of Siloam Springs said she was intrigued by the milking process and felt that the tour provided a good field-trip opportunity for her home-schooled daughter, Eryn, 14. “We learned a lot — where it comes from — I mean, the cycle of how and where it goes,” Ausherman said.

However, learning about milk wasn’t Eryn’s favorite part of the tour. Her favorite part was when a 3-day-old calf suckled her fingers.

The milk produced at Anglin Dairy is taken to Fayetteville, where it is bottled and sold to Hiland Dairy Foods and several other dairy providers, Anglin said.

The next stop on the tour was Buena Vista Farms in Decatur, where every visitor was provided with a jumpsuit, boot covers and a hairnet.

“Bio-security is a priority here,” said Kirk Houtchens , a contract farmer for George’s, a Springdale-based poultry processor.

After everyone was suited up, Houtchens and neighbor Danny Alsup began the tour of chicken houses.

The first stop was the control room in the houses. Digital controls allow Houtchens to regulate the temperature, change lighting, monitor sensors and regulate water to his birds. “If anything happens, we lose power, it’s too hot or too cold, or it’s close to running out of water, I get an text alert,” he said.

Once inside the chicken house, standing among hundreds of 2-week-old birds, Houtchens explained how the lighting can affect the flock.

“In each of the seven houses we have LED lights that use little electricity,” he said. “We can lower the lights to keep them calm so they don’t run around a lot, spar, or play. The low light lowers their stress, and they are less likely to pick on each other.”

The use of lights surprised Ausherman.

“I took a survey at the beginning of the day that asked what I expected at each location. I thought the chicken houses would be dark, but that wasn’t the case,” she said. “I didn’t realize the progression with the lights, but it makes a lot of sense.”

After the group shed their bio-secure garb, they loaded onto a bus and headed for the final tour stop: Blossom Hill Ranch in Gravette, owned by Alsup’s uncle, Gomer Alsup.

Danny Alsup spoke about the cattle herd’s pedigree, meat quality and reproduction.

“The beef cattle farm was interesting,” Ausherman said. “When I heard about artificial insemination, I thought it was solely based on the bull, but to find out they use surrogate mothers was something I didn’t know before.”

At the tour’s end, the Arkansas Cattlewomen Association sponsored a luncheon at the Benton County Extension Office.

Even the association’s existence surprised some tour participants.

“I am a hobby farmer, and I joined the association today,” said Mechel Wall of Pea Ridge. “I wouldn’t have found out about it if I hadn’t gone today.”

 Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Apr 30, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 27

Alternative-burial options grow; state still traditional

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Ecofriendly burial and cremation alternatives are creating a way to continue life after death.

Natural or green burial is a nontraditional and earthfriendly option that uses biodegradable shrouds, caskets and coffins. Because embalming and nontoxic embalming methods are not used, the body breaks down faster and the entire process is more ecologically sound, said Joe Sehee of Australia, founder of the Green Burial Council, an international organization based in Ojai, Calif.

“There is a movement nationally for green burials and cremation,” Sehee said. “Right now, we are engaging the industry to help retrain it, and we are acting as stewards of this movement.”

Arkansas does not have any certified “green” cemeteries, but Vickie Kelley wants to change that by creating a natural burial conservation cemetery at Fayetteville atop Robinson Mountain.

“I want to open the first conservation cemetery in Northwest Arkansas, which would be protected from development,” Kelley said. “Regular burial has a huge detrimental impact on the planet. Mostly, regular cemeteries are not the best use of green space — trees have to go and the area cannot be used for anything else.”

Creating a natural burial park would make use of the “green space” for nature hikes, celebrations, music and rituals. It would not have any headstones but would allow use of natural markers with GPS locators, she said.

There are more than 50 green cemeteries spread across 31 states. To be labeled green requires certification by the Green Burial Council, which has three designations:

Hybrid — Vault-free spaces offered in traditional cemeteries.

Natural — Uses nontoxic products, vault-free spaces and natural or plant-derived caskets or coffins.

Conservation — Meets all the requirements of a natural burial ground, but the land is designated for conservation and does not have any upright grave markers.

“They need to blend in [with the environment]; this way cemeteries can function as a natural habitat because it is a conservation burial ground,” Sehee said. “There are more stringent requirements for ecological use, but the purpose is that the burial will never deteriorate the ecosystem.”

Kelley’s “dream” green cemetery would also be used for celebrations. She is currently raising money to buy the Robinson Mountain property, which has an observatory.

“I see this place as the most spiritual and unique way to process grief — by looking to the heavens — to release us back to stardust,” she said.

ASHES TO ASHES

Although cremation is not necessarily the greenest option, it is generally a cheaper alternative. And ashes aren’t just left in urns or scattered into the sea.

“There are just so many different options to bury, scatter or keep,” said Craig Johnson of Little Rock, director of Cremations Arkansas.

A person’s ashes can be placed in a biodegradable urn that contains a tree sapling or wildflower seeds. The remains can be molded into a coral reef, compressed into diamonds or jewels, made into blown-glass art pieces or jewelry, or they can be placed in salt urns, which dissolve into water.

“When it comes down to economics, the cost of burial is high and there are many more options with cremation,” Johnson said.

Nelson Funeral Services Inc. in Berryville offers several options. Its top seller is a biodegradable urn that can be buried to grow into a tree, said office manager Jenny Morris.

The Green Burial Council certifies many of the options, including Eternal Reefs. Ashes are molded with concrete to create a reef that is sent into the sea, and it includes a plaque that provides the longitude and latitude so it can be found again. Nelson Funeral Services has offered Eternal Reefs for five years, but it still hasn’t sold one.

Johnson said he has seen the number of cremations increase in recent years.

“Cremation has always been around, but Arkansas is steeped with traditional burials,” he said. “But, the more educated someone is [regarding options], the more they tend to go in that direction.”

When Kelley lost her son in 1999, she had him cremated despite opposition from family members.

“My family was horrified, but I was hearing that it was more environmentally conscious to move toward cremation,” she said.

Later, she learned of natural burials.

“I always thought if I die, cremate me and put my ashes into an Etch A Sketch, but as I looked more into cremation I realized it had a huge carbon footprint,” she said. “It uses a lot of heat and energy, and you take all the nutrients out of your body that the earth could use and turn it into air pollution; that’s when I had a huge change of thought about cremation.”

And that’s when she began focusing her energy on creating a coalition for green burial.

“I think regular cemeteries are too chemically dependent. The formaldehyde-embalming process is not safe for the environment,” Kelley said.

There are alternatives to embalming, but Arkansas law requires the deceased to be embalmed within 24 hours of death or stored in refrigeration as determined by the state.

“By rule, the [Arkansas Board of Health] does allow 48 hours if cremation is desired,” said Amy Goode, a representative for the Arkansas Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

Although cremation has been around for centuries, burial is still the most common form of disposition. About 35 percent of deceased people in Arkansas are cremated, Johnson said.

“Cremations still have a ways to go before it gets picked up in Arkansas,” he said.

“People need assurance that they’re doing the right thing — we’re talking about people’s last acts, which are associated with their legacy,” Sehee said. “All of these options connect death with life, which provides people with solace.”

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/TINA PARKER This bio-urn is made of recycled cotton and 12 perennial wildflower seeds.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/TINA PARKER A salt urn, shown at Epting Funeral Home in Bentonville, can be used for water burials.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/TINA PARKER Ashes of a deceased person can be placed in hollow pendants, such as these at Epting Funeral Home in Bentonville, and can be worn or kept as keepsakes.

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Apr 20, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 69

Price tag for meat expected to grow

Virus in 28 states culling pig herds
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Consumers can expect to pay more for meat at the grocery store as low supplies drive up prices.

Pork prices are expected to increase between 4 cents and 8 cents per pound during the next three months as the U.S. hog herd dwindles from prolonged exposure to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDV. So far, 28 states have confirmed cases of the virus, which has diminshed the national herd, according to the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.

In March, total pork supply declined by 575 million pounds from February, and exports decreased by 235 million pounds, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report.

“The hog price forecast is [based] on current prices and expected tight supplies of market hogs,” Acting Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden said in the report.

“Looking at the price of pork, we’re expecting it to be high because of PEDV, and when you look at the overall price of protein, meat will rise because beef is also in short supply,” said Jerry Masters, Arkansas Pork Producers executive vice president.

The herd numbers in Arkansas have remained unchanged largely because the virus hasn’t reached the state, Masters said.

Beef production increased by 250 million pounds from February to March, with a rise in the total supply of 80 million pounds, according to the report.

Beef prices are expected to rise between 2 cents and 9 cents per pound during the next three months, with an expected decrease in price as supply increases.

“Arkansas had a good year and was one of the only states that had an increase in cattle going back into production,” said Arkansas Cattleman Association Executive Director Adam McClung. “We have a demand for beef and a supply that is slowly increasing.”

The upfront cost to raise livestock is still high because of high corn prices, which in part will drive chicken and turkey prices at the grocery store, as will supply and demand.

“When proteins are high it raises the price of all of them because the consumer won’t have as much to choose from,” Masters said. “Less product drives the price higher.”

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Apr 15, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 25

FDA opens livestock feed-safety portal

TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has opened a new online service for consumers, producers and veterinarians to report problems with livestock feed.

The alert system, the Livestock Food Reporting portal, will send the reports directly to the FDA.

FDA spokesman Juli Putnam said that although the FDA does not receive many complaints about feed for livestock animals, the tool is designed to harmonize reporting to federal agencies in case a problem does arise.

“The safety reporting portal provides anyone with internet access the ability to report a safety concern about medical products as well as foods, cosmetics, animal feed, pet food and veterinary products,” she said in an email.

The portal is aimed at producers who raise horses, cattle, swine, poultry and fish. Reports are urged if there is a problem with a feed product, such as a defect that could potentially harm animals, or an animal has an adverse reaction to feed.

Before the website, the only way to file a complaint was by telephone.

Despite the website’s easy accessibility, Buddy Guyot, manager of the Beebe Sale Barn, said that he would contact the Arkansas State Plant Board if any problems were to arise.

“They inspect all my feed. They check the ingredients, tag and weigh it,” Guyot said. “If I had a problem I would call them.”

While officials with the Arkansas State Plant Board said the only issues they see are fairly routine, having a tool the general public can use could prevent a disease from spreading.

“Anything that can be done and the faster it is known about could help prevent a major tragedy,” said Jamey Johnson, director of the feed and fertilizer division at the Plant Board. “The faster the news gets out, the sooner a solution can be rectified.”

Johnson said his only concern is that people don’t know about the new filing procedure.

“I’m sure the general public doesn’t know about it and because of that I think if there was a problem [in the state] we would get a call first,” he said.

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 26, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 26

Tyson puts lunches to the test to ensure they’re kid-friendly

If taste-testers object, no menu spot
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

When it comes to school lunches, Tyson Inc. takes kids seriously.

So seriously that if one of its products gets less than a 78.5 percent approval rating from a jury of young tastetesters, it is pulled from the menu.

Before a product appears on the lunch line, it is tastetested by as many as 1,000 school-age children. If it gets a thumb’s down from 21.5 percent of the children, the company’s chefs and dietitians are sent back to the kitchen.

“If we don’t get 78.5 percent, we don’t take it to the next phase. We figure out why and see how we can do better,” said Michael Turley, vice president and general manager of government sales for the company. “Flavor is so important. If kids don’t eat it, we haven’t accomplished anything.”

For 30 years, Tyson has been providing products to the National School Lunch program. Tyson sells its school-lunch products to 41 of the 238 Arkansas school districts, as well as about 6,000 districts nationally.

Four years ago, the U.S. Agriculture Department set new meal requirements called the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which included more lower calorie items with whole grainrich foods, reduced fat and reduced sodium items in school lunchrooms.

“We were headed down that route well before there was a requirement to do so,” said Turley, adding Tyson began research and development into creating wholegrain products in 2009. “We knew it was the right thing to do.”

Robert Ginder, general manager of nutrition services for Bentonville schools, said that the district uses only Tyson products, unless items are sold out.

“Occasionally we don’t have enough of Tyson’s foods, then Sysco [a food-service company] offers substitutes,” he said. “Ninety percent of Tyson products are sold in our schools.”

Ginder said the children like most of the lunch items created by Tyson, with the exception of its newest item, Peruvian chicken. The white meat chunks look like popcorn chicken, but instead of a grain-battered outer crust, it is glazed with a spicy sauce.

“We served the spicy chicken in elementary schools last week, and it was a quite bit spicier than we expected,” Ginder said. “The children do want spicy, but they don’t want it to be too hot.”

Finding a happy medium is a delicate situation because “the younger kids are finicky,” Ginder said.

Tyson also works with some schools to design complete meals.

“We take things that schools commonly purchase and find commonality across the schools to create a meal design,” Turley said. “We like to focus on things the school can actually execute with items they already buy.”

For instance, the company suggests fresh spinach atop whole grain-breaded chicken patties with a light cream sauce.

Melinda Losey, food service director for the Jessieville School District, said that any chicken item, especially a breaded one, is accepted by the children.

“The kids love anything that is a chicken patty, nugget or strip, but chicken strip day is always the biggest sales day,” she said. “If it doesn’t crunch, they don’t really want to eat it.”

She said that the new whole grain-breaded patties offered by Tyson are consumed without a second thought.

“They haven’t noticed the difference in the breading; I don’t think they know,” Losey said with a giggle.

Next year, the USDA will require that all bread and breaded products are whole grain.

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 23, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 73

 

Cattle-breeding disease prompts rules

Publication: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette;     Date: Mar 20, 2014;     Section: Business;     Page: 27

Cattle-breeding disease prompts rules
TINA PARKER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Trichomoniasis, a venereal disease in cattle that causes infertility and embryonic deaths, is spreading across the country, despite testing regulations in 25 states including Arkansas.

The U.S. Animal Health Association is seeking ways to standardize testing and prevent the further spreading or introduction of the disease into cattle herds, said Executive Director Ben Richey. On April 3, the association will co-host a symposium with the National Institute for Animal Agriculture in Omaha, Neb., to discuss the standardizing process.

“At our meeting, we are looking to get a proceeding that can apply to multiple states,” Richey said. “That way if a breeder is having bull-sale buyers coming from different states, we will have a simple process and standards to abide by to satisfy import requirements by other states.”

The sexually transmitted disease causes significant cattle loss in cow-calf operations and is difficult to remove from a herd once it is introduced. Trichomoniasis only affects cattle and does not infect meat, as it is not zoonotic — it can’t be transmitted to people.

Many states have testing regulations regarding the transport and slaughter of bulls with known cases of trichomoniasis, including Arkansas, Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Tennessee.

Arkansas had its first bout with trichomoniasis in 2011 after it was diagnosed in Madison County. It spread to 20 herds before the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission instituted a set of guidelines, called the Arkansas Regulation For Trichomoniasis Testing and Movement Requirements For Cattle, in hopes of halting the spread of the disease. The regulations went into effect in June 2011.

“Now, there are two or three areas where trichomoniasis is more prevalent — Northwest Arkansas and southwest Arkansas are the problem areas,” said Pat Badley, the state veterinarian.

Southwest Arkansas has the most cases because the disease has made its way into purebred herds, Badley said.

To control it, any bull that tests positive for trichomoniasis must be sent for slaughter. The rules do not allow bulls that test positive into the state, and all bulls imported over state lines must be accompanied by proof of a negative test. The exception is bulls that have never been used for breeding, rodeo bulls or bulls raised solely for slaughter.

There is testing available only for bulls, as they are the common carrier, but both bulls and cows can transmit the disease. Cows that originate from positive herds can’t enter the state unless they are at least 120 days pregnant, according to the regulations.

“If you buy a cow that has mated with a positive bull, it takes four months for trich to clear from the sexual organs,” Badley said. Once pregnant for four months, a cow is unlikely to have the disease, he said.

Because the disease is protozoan (found in the reproductive tracts of a cow or bull), it is difficult to diagnose without testing, as there are no outward symptoms.

In Arkansas, the disease has been on a steady decline, with fewer cases each year, despite an upward trend through much of the U.S.

So far this year, only eight bulls in the state have tested positive for trichomoniasis, but officials warned that it was still too early to tell how many could be infected.

In 2013, 70 bulls tested positive compared with 83 in 2012 and 97 in 2011.

“I think we’ve got pretty good control on it right now,” said Preston Scroggin, director of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission.

Scroggin said swift action by the commission is the reason for the downward trend.

“Arkansas jumped on it before it became a national issue,” he said.

Though stiff regulations across the U.S. are being implement to control the disease, it will not be eradicated until there are better testing procedures, Badley said.