The Arkansas rice harvest is essentially complete, and a University of Arkansas agronomist said Monday that he expects the final yield will fall well below last year's record.
"I'm still thinking 155 to 160 [bushels per acre] is where we belong," said Jarrod Hardke, extension agronomist for the UA System Division of Agriculture.
Last year's yield, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was 168 bushels per acre.
Hardke noted that yields vary by location and rice variety, and he said individual growers could see sharply different results.
Arkansas growers planted about 1.1 million acres of long-grain rice this year, Hardke said, down from almost 1.3 million acres in in 2014. Economists have said low rice futures prices in May probably caused the decline. Since then, unfavorable weather in several rice exporting countries has reduced the global supply and pushed prices higher.
Hardke said many farmers were holding onto their rice in hopes that prices will continue to rise through the remainder of year.
Tough growing conditions were to blame for lower rice yields in Arkansas, he said, especially in the southern half of the state. Planting was delayed by cold, wet weather that extended through May, Hardke said. Some farmers were able to plant during brief periods in March and early April, he said, but many put in their rice between late April and late May. Farmers then saw their crop stressed by cloudy days and cool nights in June, Hardke said.
"There just was not a lot of direct sunlight in June, and that's a serious problem," he said. "And then it turned hot in July."
In the end, growers in northern Arkansas fared better, with yields that are generally down 5 percent or less, Hardke said. In the south, he said, yields were off by as much as 10 percent.
The USDA currently projects that this year's rice yield will be 164 bushels per acre, based on its surveys of growers. But Hardke noted the USDA estimate typically fluctuates during the year. The agency will report the state's official 2015 yield in January.
The soybean harvest, meanwhile, is nearing completion. The USDA said in a report published Monday that about 82 percent of Arkansas' soybeans had been harvested by the week ending Oct. 25.
The USDA currently projects soybean yields of 52 bushels per acre in Arkansas, up from 49.5 last year, according to University of Arkansas extension agronomist Jeremy Ross.
"The reports I'm getting from farmers are all across the board," Ross said. "Some farmers are saying it's as good as last year. Others are saying they're off by 10 to 15 percent. And some are saying it's better than last year."
In general, he said, this summer's dry weather caused the soybean crop to mature more rapidly than usual, which may result in smaller beans. Since growers are paid per 60-pound bushel, smaller beans can mean less income for farmers, he said.
Ross said the soybean harvest likely would be completed in about three weeks, unless persistent rain causes delays.
Business on 10/27/2015