Utah city selected for new Tyson plant
Tyson Foods Inc. said Thursday that it plans to build its new meat-processing plant in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
After considering sites near Salt Lake City, Tyson chose to spend $300 million to build a processing plant in Eagle Mountain, a city northwest of Utah Lake, that prepares beef and pork cuts into steak, chops, roasts and ground beef.
"We're grateful for the invitation to come to Eagle Mountain and Utah County," Nate Hodne, senior vice president and general manager of case ready meats for Tyson Fresh Meats, said in prepared remarks.
"We've built some great relationships during the initial phases of this process, and we appreciate the strong support we've received from local leadership," he said.
The plant will create 800 jobs initially, then expand to 1,200 positions within three years after opening in 2021, according to Tyson and Utah officials.
The state's economic development group said the plant will generate an estimated $27 million in new state tax revenue over the next 10 years, and have more than a $1 billion economic impact attributed to construction, salaries, taxable sales and other local investments. Tyson may earn up to 20% of new taxes it pays over 10 years through a tax credit rebate, a news release said.
Starting hourly wages range from $14.40 to $20 for some skilled positions.
-- Nathan Owens
Farm-region banks losing confidence
OMAHA, Neb. -- A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows they're losing confidence in the region's farm economy.
The Rural Mainstreet survey for May, released Thursday, shows the survey's overall index dropping from 50 in April to 48.5 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss blamed trade tensions and tariffs, saying they're contributing to losses suffered by grain farmers -- although livestock producers are faring better. Still, Goss said, bankers believe "the negatives far outweighed the positives."
The survey's confidence index, which gauges bankers' expectations for the economy six months out, dropped from 50 to 38.2 -- its lowest level in almost two years.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
-- The Associated Press
Uniti, Car Mart gain; state index barely up
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 0.19 Thursday to 420.63.
Shares of Uniti Group rose 3.62%, followed by America's Car-Mart at 2.44%.
Dillard's Inc. fell 10.49%.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 05/17/2019