by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)
Drought, the federal Farm Bill, foreign ownership of agriculture land and the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) dominated agriculture headlines in Northeast Arkansas during the 2023 growing season.
For a second consecutive year, severe, extreme and exceptional drought afflicted many areas along the Mississippi River with more than 65 percent of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas having some form of drought in September.
Drought was a double-edged sword for Arkansas growers. On the plus side, drought helped suppress crop diseases and speed harvesting. On the downside, the water-starved Mississippi River dropped to its lowest level ever at Memphis on Oct. 17, to minus 12.04 feet. Recent rains along its length in early December prompted a forecast rise to more than 3 feet by Dec. 18, followed by another drop into the negative numbers.
