Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. has announced plans to close its Batesville, Ark., processing plant in the next 60 days. The plant employs 470 people, reports the Associated Press. Pilgrim’s spokesman Cameron Bruett says the closure of the Batesville plant is part of the company's broader corporate strategy.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/14m0CmU -- subscription required) that Rogers-based poultry company OMP Foods is in discussions to purchase the Batesville facility. An OMP Foods spokesman declined to comment on the deal but said representatives from its subsidiary, Ozark Mountain Poultry, would be visiting Batesville next week to distribute job applications.

Sources: AP, Miami Herald