Gustav, Ike Impact Arkansas Rice Crop

First posted on 09-17-2008

Arkansas, the nation’s number one rice producer with about 1.3 million acres planted this year, could have up to a fourth of its crop damaged as remnants of hurricanes Gustav and Ike blew through the state.

Gustav affected large swaths of rice fields south of Interstate 40, while Ike seemed to save its worst impact north of that highway.

According to rice experts at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, winds and rains blew down some of the rice crop and actually blew off individual grains from other plants. But these experts also said that it was too early to determine the extent of the damage.

Rice that has been blown down can still be harvested, but the process is much more costly since machines used to take in the crop have to move at a slower pace. Individual grains lost from plants cannot be recovered.

Another problem complicating yields is that rice plantings occurred later than usual this year because of a cooler, wetter spring. Typically, according to the Extension Service, about half of the rice crop would already have been harvested by the time the storms hit.

The bottom line is that, although it is too early to say how much of the crop will be lost, it is certain that the storms caused enough damage to have a drastic affect on rice production this year.