Deadline extended
on land conservation
Landowners with expiring contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Stewardship Program now have until March 31 to apply for a contract renewal, the Natural Resources Conservation Service said.
Farmers, ranchers and forest managers seeking an extension would have to implement additional practices to produce higher levels of conservation compared with the existing contract, the service said.
The USDA also extended the deadline for general program applications, giving farmers, ranchers and private forest managers until March 13 to seek a share of $100 million being made available nationally for the program's latest funding round. The program helps pay for conservation practices that improve soil health or water quality, such as cover crops and rotational grazing, as well as wildlife habitat, such as wildlife-friendly fencing.
The conservation service said 417,293 acres were enrolled in the program in fiscal 2014, with 428 new projects expected to receive $12.4 million in assistance over five-year contracts.
More information is available at conservation service offices or online at nrcs.usda.gov.
-- Glen Chase
State index off 0.78;
Windstream up 1.5%
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 0.78 to 398.14 Friday.
Windstream rose 1.5 percent in average volume.
Acxiom and Tyson Foods each gained 1.1 percent.
America's Car-Mart lost 1.9 percent in light trading.
For the week, 10 stocks advanced and seven declined.
Dillard's gained 6.1 percent for the week.
Windstream fell 8.6 percent for the week.
Volume of the index on Friday was 20.2 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 24.9 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 02/28/2015