NEWS IN BRIEF

Agriculture Hall of Fame inducting 5

Five inductees to the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame were announced Wednesday by the Arkansas Farm Bureau.

They include: Ellis Bell of Forrest City, a fourth-generation minority farmer, philanthropist and owner and operator of an Arkansas Century Farm.

Arkansas State University professor of agricultural economics Bert Greenwalt of Jonesboro, who co-founded and directs the university’s annual Agribusiness Conference and sponsors the Agribusiness Club.

Rice farmer Chris Isbell of Humnoke, whose farm focuses on sustainability practices.

Cotton farmer Steve Stevens of Tillar, who has participated in extensive sustainability research in cotton.

The late Jessie (J.D.) Vaught of Horatio, who had a significant role in contract livestock production.

The induction ceremony is Friday, March 3 at 11:30 a.m. at the Little Rock Convention Center.

Individual tickets and tickets for tables of 10 may be reserved by via email to [email protected] or online at https://bit.ly/3vzxeM1.

— Cristina LaRue

Moratorium denied on gas wells, testing

LIVINGSTON, La. — A south Louisiana parish cannot enforce a moratorium blocking a global gas supply company from conducting seismic tests or building test wells in Lake Maurepas, a federal judge has ruled.

Air Products sued Livingston Parish’s government in October for adopting a 12-month moratorium on Class V injection wells, which are used to inject nonhazardous materials underground, and “detonation of charges for seismic testing,” even though it had received permits from the state to perform both in the lake, The Advocate reported.

U. S. District Judge Shelly Dick of the Middle District Court of Louisiana ruled Dec. 26 in favor of a motion for a preliminary injunction against the moratorium and denied Livingston Parish’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Air Products plans to open a $4.5 billion hydrogen manufacturing complex in Ascension Parish that would store its carbon output a mile below Lake Maurepas. State officials have welcomed carbon capture and sequestration projects as a way to meet net-zero carbon emissions goals.

— The Associated Press

Day’s 6.04 gain puts state index at 772.56

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Wednesday at 772.56, up 6.04.

“Equities closed moderately higher but faded in afternoon trading following Federal Reserve minutes from the December 2022 meeting reiterating their vigilance to fight inflation as the energy and health care sectors underperformed,” said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

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