Arkansas Rice Update 8-16-24

by Jarrod Hardke, Rice Extension Agronomist - August 16, 2024

Arkansas Rice Update 2024-19

August 16, 2024

Jarrod Hardke and Scott Stiles

“Give it away, give it away, give it away now.”

Picking up Speed

More combines rolling each day now and gaining steam, with lines beginning to form at mills and dryers.  As of Monday we were listed at 2% harvested which will increase with progress this week but not dramatically.  By the end of next week we should have reached a noticeable jump.

The overall crop continues to look good and that is reflected in the 78% good-excellent crop rating right now.  Moistures are dropping fast around the state, so most should be in the saddle next week and things will really get wild.

Limited yield reports so far continue to be positive.  Nobody is talking any kind of record yields, but most are pleased with their field yields.  Through the coming week we should hear more confirmed yields to see how things are holding across a larger portion of the state.  Milling yields still have room for improvement, but given the delay between harvest and getting milling results back, we have even less of a picture on where that’s headed going forward.

On the rice stink bug front with Nick Bateman – stink bugs are still building in green rice.  No major blowout numbers but they’re higher than last week.  Would expect to see some high numbers next week.

With dry and warm conditions for the extended forecast, including in the 8-14 day outlook, we have the makings of a good early harvest run through the remainder of August.  Efficiency will be the name of the game – as grain moistures begin to fall out more rapidly, grain will begin to get more susceptible to overdrying and the dreaded re-wetting of dry grain from rains that may pop up later and can cause milling issues.

Let us know if we can help.

Fig. 1.  NOAA 7-day precipitation forecast.

FireSMART App Available for Prescribed Burning

Jarrod Hardke

With harvest underway, some field burning of crop residue is already beginning under dry conditions.  For those fields where burning rice residue may be an appropriate option, there is a new tool available.

The FireSMART mobile app (https://arkfiresmart.com/) was released to offer row crop producers and forest landowners a simple, easy way to check conditions and report prescribed burns.

With the new app, producers can select the area they plan to burn on a map and the application will generate real-time weather data, letting producers know if current conditions align with the state’s Voluntary Smoke Management Guidelines.  Under these guidelines, producers and landowners report prescribed burns to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Dispatch Center.  The FireSMART app also streamlines this process, making the app a one-stop shop for reporting and information.

Not only will burning under the best conditions lead to a better residue burn in the field, but it will also minimize potential impact on surrounding areas.

FSA Crop Acreage

Jarrod Hardke

ON Monday (8/12), USDA’s Farm Service Agency released its August Crop Acreage file.  Focusing on Arkansas, growers have reported 1,323,892 planted acres of long-grain (compared to 1,212,501 planted acres in 2023).  Planted acres do not include failed acres or prevented planting.  Medium and short grain acres reported to FSA were 106,614 acres (compared to 199,440 in 2023).  Total rice acres currently stand at 1,430,506.  For Arkansas failed acres totaled 10,631 and prevented acres totaled 186,265.

Table 1.  2024 Arkansas Rice Acres.

The following table includes total rice acreage by county.  As of August 12, rice acreage had been certified in 39 counties.  The top 20 counties grow 91% of the total acres.

Table 2.  Arkansas Rice Acres* Reported to FSA, August 12, 2024.

Table 3.  2024 U.S. Rice Acres.

The August report is the first of five (5) updates to FSA’s acreage information.  Scheduled releases of FSA’s acreage reports are as follows:

• Sep 12
• Oct 11
• Nov 8
• Dec 10
• Jan 2024 TBD

Data for all crops, states, and counties are reported in the following categories: planted; prevented planting; and failed. The August dataset is available at this link 2024 acreage data as of August 12, 2024.

Rice Market Update

Scott Stiles

USDA released its monthly WASDE (supply/estimates) earlier in the week.  For long-grain, there were no changes to the old crop (23/24) balance sheet.  For new crop, the only significant adjustment this month was a .8 million cwt. decrease in production, attributed to a lower yield.  Hmmm.  At 167.2 million, long-grain production would be the highest since 2020 and up 9% from last year.  There were no changes to demand, which is currently estimated at a record 199 million cwt.  Domestic and residual use at 123 million is record large and exports at 76 million would be the highest since 2016.  The lower production estimate led to an equal reduction in ending stocks, which are projected at 23.2 million cwt, up 6.2 million from 23/24.  This months’ average producer price outlook is unchanged from July at $14.50/cwt ($6.53/bu.); down from $16 ($7.20/bu.) for the 2023 crop.

It has not been a fantastic week for rice futures as trading couldn’t break through overhead resistance at key moving averages, stalling at the 50-day on Wednesday and the 20-day on Thursday.  Currently the September contract sits around $14.55 to $14.60 before the close on Friday.  Fall delivery bids at mills are in the $6.31/bu. area.  The August WASDE wasn’t necessarily bearish as we did a modest cut in ending stocks down to 23.2 million.  Thursday’s Export Sales report included a 40,000 ton long-grain milled sale to Iraq last week as well as a 10,110-ton sale to Saudi Arabia.  Harvest is progressing as the Gulf remains quiet and early yield reports are favorable. 

CME September 2024 Rough Rice Futures.

DD50 Rice Management Program is Live

The DD50 Rice Management Program is live and ready for fields to be enrolled for the 2024 season.  All log-in and producer information has been retained from the 2023 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.