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Agriculture Industry

 

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Chapter 2 - Study Area

Physiographic Regions & Description   |   Population   |   Agriculture Industry 

Agriculture Industry

 

While Carroll County has experienced moderate population growth over the past two decades, the agricultural economy has expanded dramatically. Carroll County’s total value of sales from agriculture products for 1997 was $146,376,000 dollars, fourth highest in the state out of 75 counties (Arkansas Agricultural Statistics, 1998). The growth of the agricultural economy in Carroll County is a result of substantial increases in broiler production and the number of head of cattle and calves on farms.

The number of head of cattle and calves on farms has increased 7,000 head between 1984 and 1999, up from 70,000 to 77,000 head (Arkansas Agricultural Statistics, 1998). (Figure 2.5) Cattle production in Carroll County is based on cow-calf operations, which is common practice throughout northwest Arkansas. Landowners keep brood cows on pastures that on average produce one calf per year. At about one year of age the calf is sold to the local sale barn and transported to large commercial feedlots in the

Figure 2.5

Source: Arkansas Agricultural Statistics, 1998.

 

neighboring states of Kansas and Oklahoma. Every couple of years, some of the heifer calves are kept as replacement breeding stock and the older cows are sold. Farmers and ranchers often combine cattle and poultry production by fertilizing cattle pastures with litter from chicken brood houses (Oliver, 2000).

The number of broilers produced annually in Carroll County has increased tremendously, an increase of 33,733,000 from 15,530,000 in 1984 to 49,233,000 in 1998, an increase of 217 percent (Arkansas Agricultural Statistics, 1998). (Figure 2.6)

Figure 2.6

Source:  Arkansas Agricultural Statistics, 1998.

 

A broiler is defined as a young chicken, about 8 weeks old, weighing about four pounds when marketed. Broilers are grown commercially in 400 foot long, silver, brood houses that dot the landscape throughout northwest Arkansas. Each houses about 20,000 broiler chickens (Loeb, 1998). Based upon the 1998 broiler production numbers, 49,233,000 broilers (Arkansas Agricultural Statistics, 1998), that equals roughly 2,462 brood houses in Carroll County. Mathematically, that is an increase of 1,685 brood houses over the past 15 years, up from 777 brood houses in 1984 at an average of roughly 112 brood houses per year. However, it should be noted that these figures are not documented. The actual number of brood houses is not public domain information. Nonetheless, this is a startling phenomenon. If these numbers are close to being accurate, even 1,600 brood houses requires a fairly large amount of cleared, level land.

Patterns of landuse and landcover are changing in this rural county in northwest Arkansas as a result of increasing socioeconomic, agricultural activity. The extent of forests in Carroll County is declining while areas comprised of agricultural pastures are expanding as small-scale farmers and ranchers try to keep pace with a rapidly growing agricultural economy. More important, is the fact that much of this land use conversion is occurring on environmentally sensitive lands, Chapter Five, Results and Analysis.