Arkansas Rice Update 4-18-25

by Jarrod Hardke, Rice Extension Agronomist - April 18, 2025

Arkansas Rice Update 2025-05

April 18, 2025

Jarrod Hardke, Scott Stiles, & Bob Scott

“Help!  I need somebody, help!”

Haves and Have Nots

You have a flood on fields and can’t do anything, or you have not.  For fields that began drying up last weekend, we’re now very much in need of a rain, which is wild considering the flooding that still going on around the state.  “Never more than 7 days away from a drought in Arkansas” as they say, and we’re living it now.

The outlook for the next 7 days indicates we’re going to get rain, but it will be on an interesting line so it’s difficult to say just how much and where (Fig. 1).  Between Sunday and a follow-up event on Thursday and Friday, we may have a pause in our progress but a huge help to all that was planted this week.  Speaking of, where fields were clear, tremendous planting progress was made around the state this week so we should see a climb north of 40% planted in next week’s crop progress report but as of 4/13 we were at 24% (Fig. 2).

With these very dry and windy conditions, we’re still struggling to establish stands on rice that was planted early.  Based on some of our research trials this does not appear related to a seed issue, just the conditions.  We have planting date studies at Stuttgart and Harrisburg on similar soils planted with the same equipment and seed from the same bags.  Stuttgart planting dates from March 18 and April 1 have good stands (though plants are stressed) while Harrisburg planting dates from March 20 and April 1 are struggling mightily.  The difference is the rainfall amounts and overall environmental conditions between the two.  Some rice being planted right now seemingly into the moisture is quickly turning into laying on top of the moisture, creating inconsistencies in imbibing moisture for germination.

There have been fields flushed this week where possible as the rain chances were being pushed back.  Others with fresh levees have not as we know those levees can’t take it, we need a settling rain.  Rice is resilient and will fight, but we definitely need conditions to change to help us out.

We knew the 2025 season was going to be a struggle from the start, but I don’t think any of us were quite prepared for this many swift kicks right out of the gate.  Reach out if you have any questions.

Read on below for more information on stand counts, weed control in furrow-irrigated rice, and rice markets.

Let us know if we can help.

Fig. 1.  NOAA 7-day precipitation forecast.

Fig. 2.  Arkansas rice planting progress as of 4-13-25 (USDA-NASS).

Stand Counts to Keep

Jarrod Hardke

After the rain event, many questions have turned to “what stand should I keep?”  Between standing water on fields, severe crusting after the soil dried, and issues like bird damage after the fact, some fields are in questionable shape.  With the upcoming rain in the forecast it appears most of these keep or don’t questions will be made closer to May.

As a general rule when making replant decisions at the end of April or beginning of May, we recommend keeping a stand of 5 plants/ft² for pureline varieties (e.g. Ozark, CLL18, etc.); and keeping a stand of 3 plants/ft² for hybrids (e.g. RT7302, RT7521FP, etc.).  We have data from several years ago where we really teased out some of the lower stand counts but that data utilized LaKast and RTXP753.  So instead of rehashing that data, Fig. 3 and 4 below show the summarized data for 2023 and 2024 from standard seeding rate studies.  Fig. 3 is for pureline varieties and includes data from CLL18, CLM04, PVL04, Ozark, Taurus, and ProGold M3.  Fig. 4 is for hybrids and includes data from RT 7321 FP, RT 7421 FP, RT 7521 FP, RT 7302, RT 7331 MA, and RT 3202.

To me the data is pretty clear for varieties that we can still achieve 90% of our optimal yield when we have 5 plants/ft² or more.  This matches the previous data.  A 10% yield decline sounds like a lot, but by this time of year we’ve already lost some yield potential just by the later planting date, then have to consider the added costs of replanting.

For hybrids, I think the trends follow the previous data, but our standard trials clearly don’t end up below 3 plants/ft² very often.  However, the trend appears to match previous data and says again that we can achieve 90% of our optimal yield at these levels.  Hybrids don’t always decline in yield that dramatically with later planting dates, but they also respond very well at these low stands.

Fig. 3.  Optimal yield by plant stand for pureline rice varieties in seeding rate trials, 2023-2024.

Fig. 4.  Optimal yield by plant stand for rice hybrids in seeding rate trials, 2023-2024.

Bobbing and Weeding

Bob Scott

We had a good agent training on row rice early last week and I thought I would summarize some weed control considerations from that training.

First and foremost, the reason that we flood rice is mostly for weed control.  There are other factors that are just as important such as fertility management, disease management, and even the fact that most of our varieties were bred to be grown in flooded environments.  However, giving up the flood as well as a few herbicide options are a part of the tradeoff with row rice.  In my opinion, hybrid rice and to some degree the Clearfield® technology are what initially made row rice possible, at least on more acres of rice.  However, today with improved knowledge and techniques growers are effectively growing row rice in any number of scenarios.  But this does increase our reliance on herbicides, much like with no-till crops.

Hybrids do offer an advantage in row rice, because instead of trying to get a clean crop to flood, we are now trying to get a clean crop to canopy closure, just like in soybeans and other crops.  Hybrids will typically grow and tiller more aggressively and therefore, get canopy closure faster.

From a herbicide standpoint, overlapping residual herbicides is critical.  You need to start with a strong residual program upfront and hope for an activating rainfall or irrigate it in.  I would then follow that up with another residual application before weeds even emerge, hopefully 2-3 weeks later.  For this second shot, do not waste an irrigation event if its dry and the field is clean, spray and then water down the rows to activate that PRE.

Finally, I would say be prepared to see some weeds that are not normally a problem.  Pigweed is the one I get calls on the most.  There are several options for pigweed, starting with the first residual application you can use something like Sharpen and then all the way through a post application with the phenoxies and Brake herbicide.  There is also an option for a delayed pre application of Prowl, which in addition to being one of our best options for crabgrass can have some activity on pigweed.  Another weed I get calls on in row rice is johnsongrass, which is another weed that the flood would normally take care of – there are options for that too including Clincher, Provisia/Highcard, Newpath, and Regiment.  Essentially without the flood you have eliminated many aquatics but opened the door for all other weeds.

One thing about row rice fields that I have observed is that every one of them seems to be different and presents its own set of unique challenges.  For many fields the bottom ends up flooded, the middle wet, and the top dry, this can almost create three fields in one from a weed management standpoint… good luck.  Consult the MP-44 and Rice Management Guide for specific rice herbicide recommendations or as always call your county agent to discuss specifics and options.

Market Update

Scott Stiles

Reminder:  Most commodity markets, including grains, will be closed on Good Friday (4/18) and will reopen at 7:00 pm on Sunday evening.

In a shortened trading week, Chicago May rice futures settled Thursday at $13.47; down 3 cents from last Friday’s close.  September rice futures settled at $13.54 1/2 ; down 12 cents on the week.  The September contract has largely been locked in a trading range from $13.30 to $13.80.  After Wednesday’s gap lower, there is the potential for some back-and-fill trading between $13.67 and $13.75.  The rice market is closely following planting progress and trade negotiations.  Thus far, the weakness in the U.S. Dollar is not offering a boost to the rice market yet.  The 24/25 long-grain balance sheet is well supplied going into the 2025 crop year.

In the cash market, old and new crop basis has been very steady for the past month.  For the week ending April 17, old crop cash bids at dryers around eastern Arkansas were mostly in the $5.65 to $5.72/bu. range.  Mill bids for old crop were $5.79 per bushel.  For new crop, dryer bids for fall delivery were $5.71 to $5.78/bu.  Mill bids for new crop were $5.85.  Mill bids for Jan/Mar 2026 delivery were generally at zero basis with bids at $6.10 per bushel.

Thursday’s Export Sales report showed lower long-grain sales and better shipments for the week ending April 10th.  Mexico was the largest buyer of rough rice last week at 9,600 tons.  Haiti bought 7,050 tons of milled.  Year-to-date, long-grain milled sales are similar to last year.  Rough rice sales are 26% below last year on lower volume to Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Source:  USDA Foreign Ag Service, April 10, 2025.

In Monday’s Crop Progress, NASS reported U.S. rice planting progress had reached 32% complete; slightly ahead of the 5-year average of 28 percent.  LA was 82% planted, TX 70%, MS 25%, MO 6%, and AR was 24% complete, with all states except MO still ahead of the 5-year average.  No planting was reported in CA.

Looking ahead, next Monday’s Crop Progress will be the next fundamental for the rice market to study.  This week’s return to the field may be cut short by weekend rains that could extend into next week.  The Delta counties are expected to see the lowest rainfall totals in this weekend system.  Historically, Arkansas rice planting should be about 30% complete by April 20th.

Continue to watch for opportunities to get fuel locked up at an acceptable price.  After making a sharp “spike” down to $1.9373 on April 9^th, diesel futures have closed higher in 5 of the last 6 sessions.  The NYMEX May futures contract settled at $2.1523 on Thursday (4/17).  The majority of trading volume has moved into the June contract, which settled at $2.1123 in Thursday’s session.  Until the week of April 7^th, diesel futures have traded a range of $2.05 to $2.65 over the past year.  Prices are still at a favorable level to get some coverage on for a portion of the crop year.

Use the Arkansas Rice Advisor Internet App!

The Arkansas Rice Advisor site https://riceadvisor.uada.edu functions like an app on your mobile device.  There you can readily access the DD50 program, rice seeding rate calculator, drill calibration, fertilizer and N rate calculators, publications, and more.

Additional Information

Arkansas Rice Updates are published periodically to provide timely information and recommendations for rice production in Arkansas.  If you would like to be added to this email list, please send your request to rice@uada.edu.

This information will also be posted to the Arkansas Row Crops blog (http://www.arkansas-crops.com/) where additional information from Extension specialists can be found.

More information on rice production, including access to all publications and reports, can be found at http://www.uaex.uada.edu/rice.

Acknowledgements

We sincerely appreciate the support for this publication provided by the rice farmers of Arkansas and administered by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board.

The authors greatly appreciate the feedback and contributions of all growers, county agents, consultants, and rice industry stakeholders.