[Timtheman]

Now this isn't meant as a joke post, but a serious question. What's up with chicken in Arkansas?

I mean Arkansas is suppose to be the chicken capital of the world, but you go to any major store and:

1. It's not cheap.

2. It's not particularly fresh.

3. And very often -- like at Walmart -- it's not even from Tyson.

What's up? Is all the good stuff exported? Seriously, does anyone have an answer? Now I'm talking about what's in the food stores -- not when you go out to eat.

Help me out here with an answer.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by Timtheman

Now this isn't meant as a joke post, but a serious question. What's up with chicken in Arkansas.

I mean Arkansas is suppose to be the chicken capital of the world, but you go to any major store and:

1. It's not cheap.

2. It's not particularly fresh.

3. And very often -- like at Walmart -- it's not even from Tyson.

What's up? Is all the good stuff exported? Seriously, does anyone have an answer? Now I'm talking about what's in the food stores -- not when you go out to eat.

Help me out here with an answer.

i am trying to remember my chicken experience in arkansas and its not jumping out at me, the food seemed to be fine. i did love kilroy arkansas
which has really good 1 act play festivals or at least did.
probably what i love most about arkansas are extrodinary flea mart sales.
stephen s
san diego ca

[Sam I Am]

Tim, we get processed chicken just like anyone else does. The only difference would be the transportation factor since ours doesn't have to be shipped anywhere, but in my mind chicken is just chicken. It still goes from the chicken farn to the processor and goes through the gazillion steps to be packaged and then to the retailer...not much cost-wise that can be lessened there. None of it is particularly fresh by the time it is processed. As far as cheap, I think it's relatively well priced when it's on sale....but no groceries are cheap anymore. And Wal Mart will sell out to the almighty dollar every chance they get, and that's the new and improved Wal Mart. Sam would roll over in his grave.

[DC at the Ridge]

Chicken doesn't necessarily have Tyson's name on the label to be Tyson's. They have acquired other brand names as well. So it may or may not be Tyson's. The cost probably has to do with transportation. Transportation costs to smaller population centers tend to be higher than to larger population centers because it's easier to get outbound loads from more urban places. Also, the more truckloads going in allow logistics managers to negotiate lower prices. When you get to even more rural places you sometimes have LTL (less than truckload) pricing that's even higher. The Wal-Marts here in Northwest Arkansas offer Tyson chicken almost exclusively, and about a month ago switched to chicken with no additives, no antibiotics.

DC

[Stormcrow73]

Chicken is about 50% cheaper in AR than in MD. Perdue, one of the major competitors with Tyson, is headquartered right across the bay too. Perdue chicken is roughly 2x the cost of Tyson chicken here, which is still much more expensive than in AR. Chicken just isn't the cheap meat it used to be.

[Greenmon]

Hello Folks, i dont understand why do dont raise your own chickens, it fresher and you know what your getting, you ocan even take them to a local Butcher to take care of it. Dont forget the Avian Flu thing is causing a lot more inspections etc.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by Greenmon

Hello Folks, i dont understand why do dont raise your own chickens, it fresher and you know what your getting, you ocan even take them to a local Butcher to take care of it. Dont forget the Avian Flu thing is causing a lot more inspections etc.

Can't speak for others, but for me? Because raising chickens in downtown Russellville, which is where I live, is against the law.

[defiance]

LOL - same in little rock

As a note, I actually worked at a tyson distribution center in pottsville for a while, stacking boxes, when I was 16, and the names on the boxes rarely said Tyson - I can't count how many different brand names they handle chicken for.