Rice Harvest Field Report

by Michael Fruge, District Field Representative, Horizon Ag

Rice harvest has kicked off in South Louisiana and by the end of this week we should be wide open. Based on what I’ve heard to date, we won’t have the yields obtained in the excellent 2014 crop. We are still a bit early to tell how we compare to 2015, but we encountered similar weather patterns in 2015 and 2016. Across all varieties/hybrids, yields have ranged between the mid-30 to low-50 barrels per acre which indicates the early-planted crop will most likely be highly variable. I’m hopeful that once we move into rice that was planted in the last half of March, yields will improve. CL111, still a favorite Clearfield® variety in South Louisiana has reportedly harvested between 42 and 51 barrels per acre, thus far. I am also pleased to report that the first field of CL172 has been harvested in South Louisiana, and it was very similar to the CL111 on the same farm. I have not talked to any farmers who are completely disappointed with their crop, as they knew going into it that the yields would most likely be affected by the cloudy and rainy weather we had during the growing season. Unfortunately, we are still in a wet pattern as afternoon rains continue to persist. Now that harvest is in full swing, we would really like to have some uninterrupted runs.   
 
The Texas rice harvest is slowly getting started. Very early reports suggest that some CL151 fields are yielding in the high 50 to low 60 barrel per acre range, which is fantastic. Hopefully these types of yields will continue. Good luck to all the farmers out there who are trying to bring in their crop. Be safe and if you need anything please give me a call.  

Michael Fruge
District Field Representative