Herbicide drift on rice prompts replanting in Mississippi

We'll have more on the subject tonight when we send out this week's RiceFax, but a couple of people emailed me this morning to find out the range of herbicide drift issues and probable replantings in Mississippi due to drift. Here are a couple of quick points:

• Mississippi will have at least 10,000 acres of rice replanted, and the figure could go as high as 15,000. That's from Nathan Buehring, Mississippi Extension Rice Specialist. Buehring said that, based on what he's seen and comments from other Extension workers, this probably is the worst year in terms of herbicide drift onto rice that the state has had. The state ag department dispatched extra personnel to the Delta last week, and Lester Spell, the state's ag commissioner, was in Cleveland on Saturday.
• Arkansas Rice Specialist Chuck Wilson said he is receiving drift reports there, too, but the scope of the problem doesn't seem to be anywhere close to what is turning up in Mississipp.