For the sake of contemporary comparison, check Arkansas county entries on the Social Schedule, 1860 Federal census. It will include figures on crops, schools, libraries, newspapers, churches, average wages (skilled and unskilled labor), taxes paid, paupers, and criminals. The average day wage paid to a common day laborer provides a useful point of comparison for other values, such as land, slaves and other items. For instance, in 1860 the average day wage for unskilled labor in Desha County was $1.50 --
http://faculty.nwacc.edu/dvinzant/documents/Hammond.pdf
Average day wage for a skilled carpenter in this county was $2.50. See page 208 on this useful article on the town of Napoleon.
For what it's worth, census takers were instructed to use the occupation description 'farm laborer' for anyone working for wages on a farm.
Surely some library has a newspaper published in the Trans-Mississippi during the 1863-64 period. No repectable newspaper would have failed to include advertisements for market produce and other staples with prices &c.