Arkansas Rice Update 5-23-25

by Jarrod Hardke, Rice Extension Agronomist - May 23, 2025

Arkansas Rice Update 2025-10

May 23, 2025

Jarrod Hardke & Scott Stiles

“They call me the fireman.”

A Long May

I’m ready for something good to talk about.  I sure hope during June and July there is a welcome rain event to report, because these repeated shots for the past two months are getting old.  I would say we’re inching along this year, as in an inch of rain here, an inch of rain there.  Now we have a big slug forecast over the next several days (Fig. 1).

While planting progress has exceeded 90% (Fig. 2), the majority of remaining intended acres are likely washed away with upcoming rains.  There will no doubt be more acres planted on into June for various reasons, but the planting season will end with a whimper rather than a bang.

Problems of course continue this week.  Rice needing to go to flood but near impossible to dry up.  Herbicide drift, general herbicide injury and flashing, sandblasted rice, salt injury, and plenty of other general oddities.

Considering that we’re expected to rarely break 80 for highs over the next 10 days, temps are definitely below normal for late May and rice progress is slow.

Despite the conditions we’re facing this season and the unwanted rainy period on the way, hopefully you can find time to enjoy the weekend and the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.

Read on below for more information on managing nitrogen in suboptimal conditions and rice markets.

Let us know if we can help.

Podcasts:

Weeds AR Wild S5 Ep7: Planting Issues, Herbicide Drift, and Weed Control in Late Planted Rice (5-20-25) – Bob Scott, Tom Barber, and Jarrod Hardke.

Entomology Update 5-23-25: Rice Water Weevils, Thrips in Cotton, Salt Marsh Caterpillars, and Armyworms – Nick Bateman and Ben Thrash.

**DD50 Rice Management Program is live!  To enroll fields:  https://dd50.uada.edu/ **

Fig. 1.  NOAA 7-day precipitation forecast.

Fig. 2.  Arkansas rice planting progress as of 5-18-25 (USDA-NASS).

Managing Nitrogen in Rice in Suboptimal Conditions

Jarrod Hardke

First things first – use the DD50 Rice Management Program to know where you stand on preflood nitrogen timing!  If you only use the program for one thing, this is the most important.  It’s nice when we can start rice in the optimal window, but the most critical timing is the “final recommended time to apply preflood nitrogen.”  This is the date we need to focus on, not on general growth stage or height of plants – DD50 unit accumulation really tells us where we are, especially when we’re riding temperature roller coasters and plant growth is seesawing.

So, the goal is to get preflood N out no later than the final recommended time, but earlier if possible so we can get it incorporated where the plant can use it.  However, there is some time built into the program after this date to account for flood-up, but not much.  Furrow-irrigated rice is easier since we can get water through the field very quickly.  The recommendations below refer to flooded rice.

Scenarios:

Field is dry:  Minimum expectations – 1) silt loams – shoes leave little to no impression and soils are at “whitecapping”; 2) clays – surface soil is not tacky and starting to crack.  Use urea treated with a recommended NBPT product (e.g. Agrotain) to minimize ammonia volatilization losses which occur when urea is left on the soil surface unincorporated by irrigation or rainfall.  Potential N shortfalls can be caught and corrected with no yield penalty 6-8 weeks postflood.

Field is muddy:  Wait until the field is free of standing water, and use urea treated with NBPT.  After application, attempt to let the soil dry beneath the urea, if possible, but if rain occurs on the applied urea, flood the field.  Letting the soil dry prior to flooding allows the urea to incorporate into the soil and will perform similar to that if optimal conditions were present at the time of flooding.  **Prior to NBPT, we needed to flood immediately if urea went on damp ground but now we can wait.**  When urea is applied to mud and flooding commences before the soil dries, the urea does not incorporate well into the soil, but rather dissolves into the water and is lost from the floodwater before the plant can take it up.  If muddy conditions are present and unlikely to dry before another rain, increase preflood rate by 10-20 lb N/acre (20-40 lb urea/acre) and begin flooding.  Under very poor conditions, consider a 20-30 lb N/acre (40-60 lb urea) rate increase.  **Still strongly suggest attempting to let soil dry as much as possible prior to flooding.**

Field is flooded:  If conditions have created standing water through the final recommended time to apply N, set the spills and begin applying N in a “spoon-feed” manner – 100 lb urea/acre once a week for 3-4 weeks.  For hybrids, a minimum of 3 and possibly 4 applications of 100 lb urea/acre are needed to maximize yield.  For varieties, a minimum of 4 and possibly 5 applications of 100 lb urea/acre are needed to maximize yield.  Some varieties may have lower N requirements (e.g. DG263L) and may fall somewhere in between the hybrid/variety spoon-feed recommendations.  **For urea applications going into standing water, do not treat urea with NBPT, it only has value when urea is going on the soil.**

Levee field with no way to manage flood (levees not up, or no spills or levee butts):  Apply 100 lb urea/acre treated with NBPT prior to rain to start a weekly spoon-feeding program as described above and continue weekly if the field stays wet from rainfall events and flood management isn’t possible.  BUT, if at any time in the middle of the spoon-feed program you’re able to get the field in shape to flood, then you can apply whatever remaining amount of N is to be applied to the dry soil and flood up.  For example, if you’re normal preflood N rate is 260 lb urea and instead you make a first spoon-feed application of 100 lb urea, if the next week you are ready to flood, you can apply the remaining 160 lb urea and flood.

Call if you have questions or want to talk through scenarios.

Market Update

Scott Stiles

Market Update:

Commodity markets will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day.  Ag markets will re-open Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Central.

Rice futures are making solid gains Friday morning (5/23) as more rain is expected to soak the Midsouth and Delta regions this weekend.  Below normal temperatures are in the outlook as well, which adds insult to a late planted crop.  There have been plenty of grower calls over the past week on Prevented Planting.  Check in with your crop insurance agent.

Thursday’s Export Sales report offered mixed news for the rice market.  Long-grain milled rice sales hit a 6-week high for the week ending May 15^th.  Total sales for the week were 16,512 tons with 92% of the total going to Haiti.  Long-grain rough rice sales and shipments were down from the previous week, with two small sales to Mexico and Honduras.  Rough rice sales year-to-date remain 25% behind last year.  There are 11 reporting weeks remaining in the 2024/25 marketing year that ends July 31.  No new crop long-grain sales showed up in Thursday’s Export Sales report.

The CFTC Commitment of Traders is released each Friday afternoon.  Managed money has been net short rice since June 11, 2024.  Price strength this week in the rice market may point to some unwinding of the long-held fund short position.  As rain continues to delay planting in the Midsouth and private estimates point to lower acreage, the September contract is finding some strength.  An impressive “key reversal up” was posted May 14 and there has been impressive follow through higher since then.  Bulls need fed and more rain this weekend is providing the rice market with some “feed” that may at least get the September contract to refill some of the April chart gaps between $13.50 and $13.75.

Fig. 3.  CME September 2025 Rough Rice Futures, Daily Chart.

Crop Progress / Crop Insurance Final Planting Date:

In last Monday’s Crop Progress, NASS reported U.S. rice planting was 87% complete as of May 18^th, equal to the 5-year average.  Arkansas was 91% planted compared to 97% last year and the 5-year average of 87%.  USDA offices will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.  NASS updates on crop progress will be released on Tuesday next week.

The crop insurance Final Planting Date for rice in Arkansas is May 25th.  The 15-day Late Planting Period that follows, ends June 9th.  Rice planted during the Late Planting Period is still insurable, but at a reduced coverage level.  Rice planted in the Late Planting Period will have its insurance guarantee reduced by 1 percent per day.  For example, if rice is planted five (5) days after the Final Planting Date and the grower has a 75% Revenue Protection policy, the revenue guarantee would fall to 70% of expected revenue.  Visit with your crop insurance agent on the many technical aspects of prevented planting.

Remember and Honor the Fallen this Memorial Day.

DD50 Rice Management Program is Live

The DD50 Rice Management Program is live and ready for fields to be enrolled for the 2025 season.  All log-in and producer information has been retained from the 2024 season, so if you used the program last year you can log in just as you did last year.  Log in and enroll fields here:  https://dd50.uada.edu.

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.