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Seven years after the National Agricultural Aviation Association conducted its last comprehensive industry survey, new insights about the U.S. aerial application industry have emerged, thanks to a landmark survey of Part 137 operators and pilots conducting agricultural operations. The 2019 NAAA Aerial Application Industry Survey confirms aerial application is as vital to modern agriculture as it has ever been—and the ... Read More »

• By Bruce Linquist • Rain in May, especially in the amounts we have seen this year, are far from ideal for rice growers. It makes establishing seedling, nitrogen management and weed control extra challenging. Rain in May is not new. In 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2005, average May rainfall in the Sacramento Valley was 2.3 inches and average statewide ... Read More »

• By Yeshi Wamishe • Field history is a major factor when considering to use fungicide seed treatments. If your field has a history of seed rot and seedling diseases (mostly blight and seedling death), it is highly possible you’re dealing with a seedling disease complex caused by fungi and other microbes, of which Rhizoctonia solani is part of. Remember ... Read More »

The 2019 rice planting season seems like it’s running in slow motion. Nationwide, slightly more than half of the anticipated acres had been planted as of May 12, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop Progress report. That compares to 81 percent at the same time in 2018. Bobby Golden, Mississippi State University Extension rice agronomist, says growers in ... Read More »

State Legislature mulls bill that addresses mislabeling of ag products. • By Vicky Boyd, Editor • Louisiana lawmakers are following their Arkansas counterparts and are taking up a bipartisan truth-in-labeling proposal for agricultural products. Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, introduced Senate Bill 152, the “Truth in Labeling of Agricultural Products Act,” into the Louisiana Senate April 8. Rep. John Stefanski, R-Crowley, ... Read More »

Fungicide-resistant sheath blight should be a wake-up call to follow resistance management rules regardless of where you farm. • By Vicky Boyd, Editor •  Resistance of the sheath blight pathogen to the popular strobilurin fungicides continues to increase, encompassing roughly half of Louisiana’s rice acres as well as one confirmed field in Mississippi. Although strobilurins still provide good sheath blight ... Read More »

Combination seed treatments may kill two weevils with one blow. • By Vicky Boyd, Editor • A weevil that prefers drier ground and typically frequents rice levees has begun damaging furrow-irrigated rice, thanks in part to a lack of permanent flood in the upper portions of the fields. At the same time, producers of row rice — as the system ... Read More »

Arkansas appears headed toward a further increase in furrow-irrigated rice acres in 2019. This production practice is finding a substantial rotational fit for growers to save on land management costs, primarily associated with expenses related to tillage. Ultimately, there are some important management considerations that go with this unique and evolving production practice compared to our traditional delayed-flood rice management. ... Read More »

The annual USA Rice Outlook Conference may last only a few days every December, but for us, it’s a year-round job. While the exhibitors are packing up their booths and the attendees are heading home to prepare for the holidays, we’re crouching at the starting gate for the next Outlook. We hit the ground running every January, integrating the lessons ... Read More »

Three factors influence prices and could help move rice markets from their current doldrums. • By Kurt Guidry • There has been very little positive momentum in the rice market over the past several months. Cash prices in Louisiana are still being reported in the $17 per-barrel range (roughly $10.50 per hundredweight) and have been at that level for much ... Read More »