Arkansas farmers are ahead of their rice-planting schedule -- a year after wet weather meant low rice yields.
About 96 percent of the state's planned rice acreage was planted as of mid-May, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the University of Arkansas System's Agriculture Division, said some farmers have purchased more rice and planted more rice acreage.
"The midseason weather has to cooperate, of course, but in the grand scheme of things, the majority of acreage being planted this early would suggest that the table is set for a very positive year," he said. "Our production could be very high this year."
Rice is an important crop for the state, ranking first in the country for rice production. Arkansas produces about half of the country's rice every year, according to the Arkansas Farm Bureau. About 60 percent of that rice is exported.
Hardke said that last year Arkansas farmers planted about 1.39 million acres of rice. This year he is predicting as many as 1.7 million acres.
"If we hit 1.7 million acres, it would be the second-largest rice acreage we've ever had in the state," he said. The largest was in 2010 at 1.785 million acres.
Joe Christian, a rice farmer who lives near Jonesboro and the Arkansas Farm Bureau's chairman of rice commodity division, said last year's rain meant he couldn't get all his rice planted.
He planted 1,400 acres last year. This year he has about 1,600 acres planted. He finished planting rice last week and is now working on soybeans.
"There's a lot of rice farmers, including me, that are struggling," he said. "We can't afford another low yield year."
Rice, like other crops, has a small window for planting. Bad weather or broken equipment can set a farmer's profits back.
"Last year if I hadn't gotten my rice in a 10-day window, I wouldn't have gotten anything," Christian said. "It's very critical how fine a line and how small a margin you got for error."
National rice production is forecast to hit the highest numbers since 2011, up about 19.7 percent from last year, according to USDA data.
Christian said low yields last year, combined with low prices, meant that rice farmers like him saw tight margins.
"Rice prices were pretty low," Christian said. "They're not where they need be."
Herb Ginn, Lawrence County staff chairman of UA's Agriculture Research and Extension Service, said rice farmers last year were waiting for enough dry weather to get rice in the ground. Lawrence County is one of the highest rice-producing counties in the state.
"Last year, we were really struggling," Ginn said. "We'll be up more than 10 percent, is my guesstimate. I am seeing a lot of rice."
Other Arkansas crops, including soybeans, wheat and corn, also are being planted on or ahead of schedule, according to the UA Cooperative Extension Service.
Business on 05/20/2016