NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Agriculture is a dominant industry in Arkansas, generating more than $16 billion in revenue annually.
Soybeans and rice make up much of that revenue, but poultry also plays a significant role.
According to the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas is a nationwide leader in poultry production, with over 2,000 farms.
“One in four agricultural jobs are tied to the poultry industry," said Jade Thompson, assistant professor in agricultural economics at the University of Arkansas. "We're starting to understand how important the poultry industry is to Arkansas."
Thompson said numbers like that put Tyson Foods' decision to shut down its North Little Rock plant into perspective. The company announced the closure on Monday, citing financial struggles.
“When Tyson made their announcement, they're looking to really reduce about 10% of their production,” Thompson said. “We think about that... two of those plans are really related to Arkansas, and Arkansas farmers [are] impacted directly.”
Thompson said this could lead to a domino effect with unemployment at the forefront.
“We're going to have producers that are going to keep their contracts and stick with other facilities to utilize those better," Thompson said. "For the people who are losing their contracts, they're either going to have to hope for another contract, or they’re going to have to move into a different industry."
From there, that could impact consumers when they go to buy groceries.
“Supply change impacts... we might see a little bit of supplies going down, which means prices might go up,” Thompson said.
Right now, Thompson said there's no telling what will happen, including what this means for where Arkansas stands in the poultry industry.
“I don't know that we're going to drop substantially," Thompson said. "I think poultry will continue to be important for the state."
Time will only tell what happens next, so experts plan to keep a close eye on the situation.
“There are going to be economic impacts when prices are high," Thompson said. "We continue to see inflation and inflationary pressures."