Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
By Ryan McGeeneyThe Cooperative Extension ServiceU of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
(535 words)
LITTLE ROCK — Continuing spring rains throughout Arkansas have put rice growers behind their planting schedule, particularly in the northern half of the state, experts with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said this week.
For the week ending April 19, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that planting for five Arkansas crops — corn, cotton, rice, sorghum and soybeans — are all behind their respective five-year averages in terms of completion. The state’s rice crop, which would typically be 44 percent planted by mid-April, was only 28 percent planted as of last week.
Sorghum was reported as similarly behind, with only 27 percent on planting completed, compared to the five-year average of 45 percent for mid-April. Other crops, including corn, cotton and soybeans, were only slightly behind schedule, according to the report.
Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said that this year’s rains are less severe — to date — than what the state experienced during the past two years’ planting seasons, but that the rains have been more concentrated in the northern half of the state.
“Last year, while everybody had some difficulty [with planting] early, it was somewhat more democratic, a little more state-wide,” Hardke said. “We had these little windows of time where everyone was planting up and down the state. Everybody was wet.”
Hardke said that this year, although rice plantings are only 1 percent behind last year’s, state-wide, almost all of the planting that has been done has occurred south of Interstate 40, the federal highway that bisects the state, dividing north from south.
Arkansas rice farming — most of which occurs in the eastern half of the state — in areas south of I-40 accounts for only about 35 percent of total production, Hardke said. The remaining two-thirds is farmed north of the highway — where most of this spring’s rains have hit hardest — and only about 15 percent of that rice is now in the ground.
Most rice grown in Arkansas is grown in a continuous flood, in which knee-high levees are formed with soil around rice paddies and the plants are kept submerged through most of the growing process. When heavy rains occur early in the season, levees can sometimes be compromised because the soil is still somewhat loose. But such “blowouts” are less of a concern early in the season, prior to grower-established flooding, than those occurring after flooding, when the plants are subjected to additional heat stress and other factors.
Hardke said that the planting delays may not ultimately affect the state’s total rice harvest, provided growers can plant their seed within the next week.
“Based on 10 years of planting date studies, we’ve found that if everything’s in the ground by the end of April, we can still have a harvest that’s 100 percent of optimum,” he said. “Once you slide into May, it immediately slides down into the 70-80 percent range pretty clearly, and continues down into June, when the best you can expect is about 60 percent of optimum.
“It’s all about the economics,” Hardke said. “We still make good rice in May, but once we start getting that late, luck starts to outweigh preparation. And that’s never where we want to be.”
The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact your County Extension office (or other appropriate office) as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
# # #
Media Contact: Mary HightowerDir. of Communication ServicesU of A Division of AgricultureCooperative Extension Service(501) 671-2126mhightower@uada.edu
Related Links