Arkansas on the verge of agricultural disaster

One in three or more farms in Arkansas could be shuttered by next spring if the federal government doesn’t provide some type of supplemental assistance to farmers this fall, Agriculture Council of Arkansas President Joe Mencer told Talk Business & Politics. Commodity prices continue to plunge and as of mid-August the state’s ag sector was projected to lose $1.145 billion this season and that number has ballooned by another $300 million by the end of the month to $1.4 billion as rice prices spiraled downward to an eight-year low. And, the overall losses will almost certainly continue to rise, Mencer...