WEATHER AND FARMING - Recent storms that have hit Arkansas have created problem s for farmers. Jarrod Hardke is Extension Rice Agronomist with the University of Arkanas Division of Agriculture, he explains that two of the state’s biggest crops have seen some impact from Tropical Storm Barry.
"Well Arkansas accounts for right at 50% of the acres and overall production of rice for the United States," Hardke explained. "Rice is the number two most widely grown crop, soybeans are number one."
Rice and soybean farming is big business for Arkansas,
and last week's weather event (Tropical Storm Barry, later downgraded to a tropical depression) was expected to cause problems for Arkansas farmers once it reached the state.
"With a rice crop in particular, wind alone will sort of make rice wave," Hardke explained. "When you add significant rainfall, to a wind of that magnitude it becomes the equivalent of a hand pushing that rice over".
When that happens, rice can't straighten up and is ruined. Fortunately rice crops weren't as affected by wind although some heavy rains have made impact causing draining issues.
Hardke said "we really didn't have any high winds throughout the state and instead this rainy period extended over several days."
But for soybeans the weather outcome wasn't so favorably as for soybeans, Arkansas farmers have already delayed seasonal planting because of early heavy rainfall this past spring and this recent rainfall has made things worse.
"We already planted soybeans late and this is going to lead to re-plant situations," Hardke explained. "So I would say that 2019 is the year that the hits just keep on coming."
And among those hits are things like trade tariffs with China combine that with rainy weather means Soybean farmers are bracing for having less product and less profit.