Nowadays, when you google something, you get an “AI Overview” at the top of the screen of results. If you google “Preparing for the unexpected,” you get the following: “To prepare for the unexpected, identify potential risks, develop contingency...

My journey into agriculture, particularly rice in the Mid-South, is anything but conventional. I grew up in the heart of Dallas, Texas. That’s not to say I didn’t have a connection to agriculture. Like a lot of folks post...

Insect Defense Insect control in Arkansas rice starts up front before the seed hits the ground. Rice water weevil and grape colaspis are our worrisome early season insect pests, and the below-ground damage they cause is difficult to combat. For years,...

Ongoing Study Explores Alternative Method to Managing Field Margins ⋅ BY WHITNEY BRIM-DeFOREST ⋅ CONTRIBUTIONS BY TAIYU GUAN, LUIS A. ESPINO, AND SARAH E. LIGH  University of California Cooperative Extension Incorporating hedgerows in rice could provide growers with an alternative method for managing...

A New Weed Science Society of America Article Shows the Need to Deploy Multiple Control Measures to Protect Rice Grain Production in a Furrow-irrigated System A recently published article in the journal Weed Science demonstrates just how devastating Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) can...

Integrated Approach Aims to Preserve the Provisia and Max-Ace Technologies ⋅ BY FORD BALDWIN ⋅ My career as a rice weed scientist began at the University of Arkansas in 1974. While barnyardgrass was the No. 1 weed problem in rice, weedy...

Report from Missouri Rice Council Annual Meeting  Last week, Bootheel rice farmers gathered here for the Missouri Rice Council annual meeting that had been rescheduled due to a February snow storm. Following a short reception, attendees heard from several speakers focused...

⋅ BY MARY HIGHTOWER ⋅ U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture The Rice Technical Working Group — RTWG — has bestowed a distinguished award on a distinguished professor. Jason Norsworthy, distinguished professor and Elms Farming Chair of Weed Science at the University...

What It Is USDA’s Farm Service Agency is issuing up to $10 billion in direct payments to eligible agricultural producers of eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP). These one-time economic assistance payments will...

Two researchers with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will be part of a three-year study examining how farmers’ risk preferences impact water use during drought. Mike Daniels, professor and Extension soil and water conservation scientist, and John...

By now, you have probably heard the details on USDA’s Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP), backed by $10 billion from the American Relief Act of 2025, but if you haven’t, I’ll share them, and how to apply for the...

What It Is USDA’s Farm Service Agency is issuing up to $10 billion in direct payments to eligible agricultural producers of eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP). These one-time economic assistance payments will...

It’s that time of year again! Planting is just beginning, if not already well underway, and the speed of the year seems to be picking up. In keeping with the busy time of year, this month’s issue has a...

I grew up in the small community of McGehee on our family farm. I was 10 years old when the historic 1980 drought happened, and I can remember my dad trying desperately to irrigate what we could but losing most of...

Gene for Cold Tolerance in Rice Offers New Opportunities for Breeding Resilient Varieties A gene called COLD6 contributes to cold tolerance in rice, potentially offering a pathway to use molecular design to breed a rice variety with higher resistance to...