Rice Farming

When the rice research verification programs began in Arkansas and Louisiana, specialists and county Extension agents had to seek out producers to participate. Today, waiting lists are a good representation of the programs’ success.

The theory behind the programs is to take the recommendations generated from small research plots and make sure they are applicable to farmers’ fields, says Brad Koen, a University of Arkansas Extension agronomist who’s coordinated Arkansas’ program for the past three years.
Not only do participating growers learn from the experts, but the participating Extension specialists and county agents learn from the growers.

The result is a better understanding of cultural practices that can be used by growers throughout the production area.

A two-year commitment
With project funding from the Arkansas Rice Promotion Board, Koen enlists volunteer farmers who agree to let him manage a field for two years.

“He agrees to give us all the financial records as far as costs and inputs, and he agrees that he will follow our recommendations,” says Koen, who’s based in Stuttgart.

To paint as realistic a picture as possible, Koen tries to use the same varieties that are popular with the state’s farmers and tries to plant about the same percentages, although only one variety is grown per field.
With an Extension specialist on the farm at least once a week, Koen says the program provides more communication among specialists, county agents and producers, which seems to benefit all three.

Arkansas’s verification program has set yield records the past three years, which Koen says is more impressive since the producer typically won’t enroll his best field.

“He’s going to put me in a field where I can help him out the most,” he says. “We were on some pretty marginal ground and still set a record this year with an average of 161 bushels per acre compared to the state average of 138 bushels.”

A rewarding partnership
Louisiana’s verification program is relatively new compared to Arkansas’, which started in 1983. Coordinated by Louisiana State University Extension specialist Johnny Saichuk, the project began in 1997 with no funding and only three fields.

The Louisiana Rice Research Board then approved funding, which allowed the program to expand to 10 fields—each in a different parish.

Saichuk was hesitant to take on the program initially due to time constraints, but has been pleased with its results.

“For the most part, it has been very rewarding to me and to the farmers and county agents who have been part of the program,” says Saichuk, who’s based in Crowley.

Howard Cormier, an LSU Extension agent in Vermilion Parish who’s been involved with the program since its inception, agrees.

“It really is a partnership between the farmers and us,” Cormier says.

Decisions are made together. But if the farmer repeatedly goes against university recommendations, he will be asked not to participate the following year.

“We try to find a cooperator who is willing to do what we want them to, even though it’s not what they normally would do,” Saichuk says. “We try to discuss that each time. We don’t force the program on anyone.”

A learning experience for all
Based on the LSU program’s results so far, following the recommendations has proven beneficial. Overall, yields have been significantly higher than the state average.

“We’ve had to make adjustments,” Cormier says. “At one time an herbicide treatment was going to be pretty expensive because there were a lot of weed escapes. The farmer decided to split the field in half.
“He did his half his way and we did the other half our way. We ended up with I believe 10 barrels more per acre.” (A barrel is 162 pounds or 3.6 bushels.)

The Vermilion Parish Extension agent notes that the research recommendations haven’t always been perfect, as there are occasional research gaps. Then, he, the specialist and the producer have to decide the best route.

‘Will it work for me?’
Terry Gray, a Delaplaine, Ark., producer, has participated in the program for two years and has learned from the results.

“You don’t sit around wondering if you are really doing things the way they should be done,” he says. “Everybody farms a little different. Everybody’s soil type is different. Everybody’s climate is different.
“You say, ‘maybe they’re doing this research in Stuttgart, but is it going to work for me?’ You get all that proven in a big field situation probably as scientifically and mathematically as possible to do it.”

Gray drill-seeded a field the first year in the program. The second year, he switched to a different field and a water-seeded production system.

“It helped me learn some things and hopefully I helped him learn some things that he can take back to other people,” he says.

Gray believes the biggest lesson learned from the program is when to apply nitrogen and at what rates.

A financial report card
He also notes that the program can help producers make better marketing decisions by keeping detailed financial records.

“You get to look at your particular operation and your cost structure in a variable cost situation vs. the other participants all over Arkansas,” he says. “I think that causes you to make a better-informed marketing decision.”

Maurice, La., producer Dane Herbert also enjoyed the detailed financial aspects of the program as a participant.

“It keeps track of records as far as inputs and costs of everything we were using,” he says. “At the end of the year, we’d sit down and tally up all the expenses—not only direct, but indirect as far as field work and plowing and water use, etc.”

The main reason Herbert got involved is he firmly believes in scouting the fields, giving the rice crop what it needs and trying to be as efficient possible to maximize yields.

Herbert enjoyed knowing when the Extension specialist and county agent were going to his fields and scouting with them.

“You made a management decision together,” he says. “It took a lot of the guesswork out of it. It gave me confidence that the management practices I was using were in line with what LSU was recommending.”
Herbert believes the program would be especially helpful for farmers who are not intense managers by helping them understand that the better they manage their crop, the better it will take care of them.

“I would recommend the verification program to anybody that is interested in being as efficient as they can and making the highest yields that they can,” he says.

Contact Jim Urbanek at jurbanek@sbcglobal.net or (214) 350-3236.