Heavy rains will likely take a toll on Missouri, NE Arkansas rice

We posted an item yesterday regarding the overwhelming amounts of rain that have fallen in parts of Missouri's bootheel and in northeast Arkansas. Comments sent to us for our RiceFax Harvest Survey indicate that rice is down in many areas, and fields are flooded.

Brian Ottis, Rice Agronomist at the Delta REC in Portageville, Mo., sent me an email this morning with the following account:

"New Madrid County received similar damage to what you reported about the cotton. More rice has lodged in areas and the panicles are submerged in floodwater. The remaining standing rice has water up to the panicles. As of Tuesday morning, there are still roads with water over them and many fields flooded out. After the great year we’ve had, it sickens me to see this happening now. We were on pace for a record crop this year. I heard reports that Neelyville had 18 inches of rain in that area, and they are under similar conditions. More rain is expected Wednesday night and Thursday."

A grower in Jackson County, Arkanasas - responding to our Harvest Survey request - said that some fields in his area would likely be lost to river flooding associated with the rain.

Another grower, this one in Stoddard County, Mo., reported that his area received more than 10 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday, along with winds in excess of 40 mph, which caused considerable lodging. "Water is over the top of lower levees, and zero-grade fields are running over with water," he reported. "Roads and the tops of some rice are submerged."

And this from an Extension worker in New Madrid County, Mo.: "Harvest has ground to a screeching halt. We recieved over 10 inches of rain over the weekend. A lot of rice isdown, most into the water. What isn't down just barely has its head above water. While some areas are draining fast, most are not. Only time will tell if much of this harvest will get to be cut." As of today, only 25-30% of the county's crop has been harvested, he reported.