Arkansas Rice Update 7-1-22

by Jarrod Hardke, Rice Extension Agronomist - July 1, 2022

Arkansas Rice Update 2022-15

July 1, 2022

Jarrod Hardke, Scott Stiles, and Yeshi Wamishe

“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.”

Sweat, Shower, Repeat

Jarrod Hardke

It’s time to repeat a line from an old farmer I’ve used before:  “be patient and wait on the rain we usually get around the 4^th of July, but if you don’t get it you’re a plucked chicken.”  Only he didn’t say plucked.

With all this heat, I’m reminded of a Jerry Clower story.  His cousin John had climbed a tree to knock a raccoon out that they’d been chasing.  Unfortunately, instead of a raccoon it was a Lynx in the tree.  He commenced to fighting with it in the tree.  He kept hollering down from the tree, “shoot this thing!”  They told him, we can’t shoot up there, we might hit you.  He said, “well then just shoot up in here amongst us, one of us got to have some relief!”

That’s got nothing to do with the heat and dry condition other than to say we’ve got to have some relief!

Great info below from Scott Stiles on what to make of the Acreage report and other reports released yesterday.

Let us know if we can help.

New on Arkansas Row Crops Radio this week:

Weeds AR Wild Series, S2 Ep 19:  Salvage Weed Control & Herbicide Cut-Offs

Fig. 1.  NOAA 7-day precipitation forecast.

High Yield Disease of Rice

Jarrod Hardke

As most rice is now into reproductive growth, all random things are showing up.  Sulfur and potassium deficiencies have begun to appear, along with some hydrogen sulfide toxicity.  Delayed phytotoxicity is still an issue on some recently flooded fields as well.

Aside from these, I’d like to point out one repeated concern this week that isn’t necessarily an issue.  Fig. 1 shows what has been termed “high yield disease” in the past.  Most often this occurs on the second leaf down from the top when rice is in reproductive growth and plants are growing rapidly.  These leaf tips may have a nutrient imbalance as the plant draws mobile nutrients from the leaves.

Anytime you see anything like this, it is still wise to examine the whole plant, including roots, to be sure nothing else is going on.  If this is on all leaves or more excessive, it could be an indication of an underlying issue.  Reports so far have only been of the high yield disease type.

Fig. 2.  “High yield disease” in rice.

Rice Leaf Blast Sneaking In

Yeshi Wamishe

No doubt, it’s time to scout for leaf blast in Arkansas commercial rice fields with a history planted with susceptible (S) or moderately (MS) varieties.  Historically leaf blast starts mostly between the 2^nd and 3^rd week of June.  In 2022, the 1^st report came in on June 27 from Arkansas County on Titan.  It appears dew period is long enough to initiate spore germination.  However, the heat appears a little high.  But we know the blast fungus is versatile and easy to adapt.  With rain in a forecast and overcast in blues, conditions may get favorable for rice blast progress.  Moisture fuels the disease.  The message is to keep on scouting.  As seen in Table 1, most of our conventional rice varieties grown in Arkansas are either susceptible (S) or moderately susceptible (MS).

Where to Scout:

At tree lines, dry field edges, levees, and spots in the field with greener canopy due to excessive nitrogen fertilization.

Early Symptoms:

Early symptoms may be confusing.  They may look greyish-black spots.  You may find the typical symptoms of blast if you open the canopy to lower leaves.  Please go to last week’s blog article here to learn more about leaf blast.

Later Symptoms:

Leaf lesions are spindle-shaped and elongated with brown borders and grayish centers.

Advantages of Scouting for Leaf Blast:

To help in fungicide application decision in protecting the crop from neck and panicle blast.

To reduce spore production and lessen disease severity later in the season.

Leaf Blast Management:  For leaf stages of the disease, maintain proper flood level.  Infection levels tend to be less severe where flood water is maintained at adequate but not excessive depths.  Avoid excessive rates of nitrogen (Nitrogen amounts vary with cropping history, soil type, varieties, etc.).

Note:  The table below is comprehensive and includes frequently seen diseases in Arkansas commercial rice fields to serve you in your management options including fungicide application decisions.

Table 1.  Rice Variety Reactions to Diseases and Lodging.

Rice Market Update

Scott Stiles

June 30^th finally arrived and the USDA had plenty for the rice market to digest.  Thursday’s lineup of reporting included Export Sales, Acreage, Rice Stocks and Agricultural Prices.  We’ll try to touch on each report in brief.

Export Sales (week ending June 23):

Focusing on long-grain, milled sales and shipments were both above the prior week.  Shipments totaled 18,454 tons with the majority going to Haiti (15,136).  Canada was in for 1,964 tons.  Over 90% of the sales last week were to three markets:  Jordan (4,001 tons), Saudi Arabia (1,949) and Canada (1,035).

Compared to last year, long-grain milled sales are the bright spot, running 25% ahead.  However, rough rice sales continue to disappoint.  Time is running short in the 21/22 marketing year with just 5 reporting weeks left.  Total long-grain export sales are currently running 11% behind last year.  This is a major concern and one that points to further downward adjustments in old crop exports.

Acreage:

The tables below include USDA’s planted acreage estimates for rice from the June 30 Acreage report.  The survey for the Acreage report is conducted during the first two weeks of June.  The findings indicated a 109,000-acre reduction in total U.S. rice since the March Prospective Plantings survey.  At 2.343 million, total U.S. rice acres would be the lowest since 1983.  Most of the March to June reduction in total rice acres is attributed to medium grain (-66,000 acres).  In records going back to 1972, U.S. medium grain acres would be the lowest on record at 417,000.

Table 2.  2022 U.S. Planted Acres, Rice.

Since the March 31 intentions, Arkansas’ rice acres were revised 40,000 lower with long-grain down 30,000 and medium grain down 10,000.  Medium grain acres are the lowest since 2008.  Total acres at 1.151 million are the lowest since 2013.  Compared to 2021, total rice acres are down 60,000 this year or 5 percent.  There were no big surprises in the June Acreage for Arkansas given the planting delays and the sharp run-up in fertilizer and fuel this year.

Table 3.  2022 Arkansas Planted Acres, Rice.

The table below provides a look at state totals for long-grain acres.  In the June Acreage, USDA made no adjustments to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri acres.  Acres were reduced in Arkansas, California, and Texas by a total of 38,000.

Table 4.  U.S. Long-Grain Rice Acres, 2022.

Rice Stocks:

As of June 1, U.S. long-grain rough rice stocks were 37.58 million cwt. compared to 44.34 million a year ago.  This would be a year-to-year reduction of 6.76 million or 15%.  Arkansas’ on-farm stocks were down 24% from last year (4.1 million cwt. compared to 5.4 million last year).

Full report is available here:  Rice Stocks

Agricultural Prices:

For the 21/22 marketing year, the weighted average price for long-grain through May 2022 is $13.56/cwt.  This is below the $13.80/cwt. USDA projected for the marketing year in the June WASDE.  Average prices and marketing totals for June and July are still needed to calculate the 21/22 marketing year average price.  Over the past five years, about 13% of production on average is marketed during these final two months of the marketing year.

Rice Futures:

September rice futures started the week strong, gaining a total of 39 cents by Wednesday’s close.  Thursday’s USDA reports didn’t provide enough shock value to push prices through the 20-day moving average, which now sits at $16.78 (red line).  For the time being, $16.40 is a decent layer of price support.  Ahead of a three-day holiday weekend, I wouldn’t be overly concerned about today’s lower trading.

CME September 2022 Rough Rice Futures, Daily Chart.

Looking ahead to the July 12^th WASDE, there could be a mix of positives and negatives.  The 38,000-acre reduction in long-grain (i.e. June Acreage) could trim off perhaps as much as 2.75 million cwt in new crop production.  Without any offsets, that alone could turn prices higher.  The big concern ahead of us is what USDA does with old crop exports and ultimately new crop beginning stocks.  Follow the monthly USDA reports closely.

The fourth of July trading schedule is below.  Have a wonderful 4^th and thank those that keep our independence.

Fourth of July Trading Schedule:

• No Sunday or Monday Markets

• Trading resumes Tuesday, July 5th at 8:30am CST

DD50 Rice Management Program is Live

The DD50 Rice Management Program is live and ready for fields to be enrolled for the 2022 season.  All log-in and producer information has been retained from the 2021 season, so if you used the program last year you can log in just as you did last year.  Log in and enroll fields on the DD50 website.  

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.