Arkansas net farm income projected to decrease for second straight year

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ net farm income is projected to decline for the second straight year, a fall cushioned slightly by lower input costs, the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center said in its latest report.   

The center, working with agricultural economists from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said in its “Fall 2024 Arkansas Farm Income Outlook” that Arkansas’ 2024 net farm income is expected to drop by 10 percent from 2023 levels and reach $2.96 billion.   

Net farm income report for Arkansas, October 2024. (Image by RAFF)

 Arkansas' net farm income is expected to see a $1.06 billion drop from its 2022 record-high levels. The report also compares the projected 10 percent reduction in state net farm income to the projected 6.2 percent decline in the U.S. net farm income projected by Mizzou’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. 

“Fertilizer and pesticides and fuel oils are going to decline by 9 percent year over year,” said Ryan Loy, extension economist for the Division of Agriculture. “These markets are finally stabilizing. They're coming off these market shocks from COVID, the supply chain issues, the trucker strikes in Canada, and the Ukraine war is kind of baked into the market now.”  

The report said total production expenses are estimated to decline 5 percent in 2024, as fertilizer, feed and fuel expenses retreat. An additional 5 percent decrease in production expenses is forecasted for 2025. 

Unfortunately, “the decrease in fertilizer, pesticides, fuel oils, and feed expenses are offset by the increase in purchased livestock expenses, which amount to a rise of $1.34 billion in 2025,” Loy said.

Cash receipts 

Farm cash receipts represent the total revenue a farm receives from the sale of its agricultural products, government program payments, and private insurance payments.  

The report said that in 2024, total cash receipts for Arkansas would decline by 2 percent or $317 million. Livestock receipts increased 5 percent, or $361 million, while crop receipts tumbled 10 percent, or $580 million. 

Ironically, 2024’s near-record yields are contributing to lower commodity prices. 

Hunter Biram, extension economist for the Division of Agriculture, said that Arkansas had  

Nearly a million and a half acres of rice which is the highest since 2020. Yield is near the record set in 2021 at 7,600 pounds per acre.  

“The price is the lowest that we've seen since 2021 when it came in right under $14 a hundredweight,” he said. 

Corn, which has had the fewest number of Arkansas acres since 2015, is forecast to have a near-record high yield. However, “the price for corn is the lowest that we’ve seen in five years.” 

Cotton was in the same boat.  

“The acreage is the highest that we've had since 2011,” Biram said. “We've got a lot of cotton acres out there, despite having the lowest price since 2020 and it’s at a near-record yield.” 

Arkansas’s 3 million acres of soybeans are projected to have a record yield of 55 bushels an acre, Biram said. “The price for soybeans is the lowest that we've seen since 2019, which is similar to corn.” 

Livestock and poultry 

However, the low prices that bedevil row crop growers is helping the cattle and poultry industry, which relies on crushed soybean and corn for feed.  

Higher egg, broiler, and cattle prices support 5 percent higher total livestock receipts in 2024, the report said, adding that poultry receipts are projected to increase by $287 million, while cattle and hog receipts are also projected higher, by $97 million.   

Loy noted that “feed prices declining this year pretty significantly – 18 percent. 

“Cattle prices are up 6 percent year over year. Most of the uptick over the last few years is due to the severe drought in the western U.S., which led ranchers to reduce herds,” he said. However, with cheaper feed, cattle prices are “expected to decline again in 2025.” 

Government assistance

The report also shows the proportion of government assistance has shifted from primarily market-based programs such as Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage — known as ARC and PLC, to supplemental and ad hoc disaster assistance across this same period.

The Fall 2024 Farm Income Outlook is co-published by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and RaFF at the University of Missouri, which provides objective policy analysis and informs decision makers on issues affecting farm and rural finances. The center collaborates with a number of states to develop farm income projections with local expertise.  

“RaFF’s Farm Income Outlook for calendar years 2024 and 2025 is intended to inform policymakers, industry analysts, and agricultural practitioners about the expected profitability of the local agricultural sector and its main drivers. RaFF’s state-level projections complement and add granularity to national projections by the USDA and FAPRI-MU, providing valuable insights on local agricultural trends,” said RaFF Director Alejandro Plastina.   

The full report and data tables are online.  

 To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.  

Decorative corn stalks bearing tar spot fungus reported in Arkansas

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — A fungal disease that has caused yield losses in corn has recently been found in Arkansas — on decorative corn stalks, said Terry Spurlock, extension plant pathologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

FOUND — Tar spot is visible on a stalk of corn that was included in a Halloween decor item purchased in Arkansas. (Image courtesy Jason Kelley.)

Tar spot, a disease caused by the fungus Phyllachora maydis, was first reported in the United States in Indiana and Illinois in 2015. Travis Faske, extension plant pathologist for the Division of Agriculture, said the disease has previously been noted in Canada and the Midwestern United States for several years but has so far only been confirmed in one southern state, Georgia.

While tar spot is known to be active in more than a dozen states, it has yet to be confirmed in commercial corn fields in Arkansas.

Origins and impact

Spurlock said that he and extension corn agronomist Jason Kelley visited multiple chain stores in central Arkansas, noting the fungus on corn included in fall decorations at multiple locations. Extension agents in several areas of the state have also reported the signs of the fungus on decorative items in retail stores.

Spurlock said some of the plants appeared to have originated at a farm in Illinois. The origins of the others are unclear and “depending on the store, they say either ‘product of the U.S.A.’ or ‘product of Canada.’

“There have also been reports of corn with tar spot being sold as fall decor in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama,” he said, noting that each of those states produce significant amounts of corn.

Kelley said it is a “big unknown whether this disease will be found in an Arkansas corn field in the coming years. 

“Since the fungus has been brought into the state on decorative corn stalks, the chances of finding this disease on corn in coming years has definitely gone up,” Kelley said. “Can the disease be managed with foliar fungicides? Likely, but needs to be carefully managed and would likely add to production costs.”

Arkansas had 620,000 acres of corn in 2024. According to the Arkansas Agriculture Profile, the state’s corn crop was valued at $865 million.

Appearance

“The fungus produces circular lesions that are hard, black, raised spots that resemble flecks of tar,” Faske said. “However, the spots caused by the tar spot fungus do not rub off.

MAINLY MIDWESTERN — Tar spot in corn has been confirmed in more than a dozen Midwestern states. It was first identified in the United States in 2015. (Image courtesy USDA).

“Yield losses by the disease can be significant in areas where the fungus overwinters — Canada and the Midwest — when conditions favor disease development,” he said. “The fungus overwinters in corn debris and serves as the inoculum — the starting point for disease development in the subsequent cropping season.”

Spurlock said it was difficult to forecast the risks to commercial corn production unless the disease is confirmed in an active field.

“We do not know how important tar spot will be in future Arkansas corn crops,” Spurlock said. “However, to have disease, we need a susceptible host corn plant, a pathogen and an environment suitable for the pathogen to infect the host plant and reproduce.”

Faske said the disease could threaten farmers with increased management costs and reduced corn acreage. Because Arkansas’ climate differs significantly from the Midwestern states where tar spot is currently thriving, it’s unknown how well it might persist here, he said.

What to do

Spurlock said that individuals who have purchased corn that may carry the fungus should enclose the items in garbage bags and take them to the nearest Cooperative Extension Service office for proper disposal, to prevent the fungus from spreading. To find your local extension office, consult extension’s online directory.

“If that isn’t possible, then enclose it in a garbage bag and place it in a dumpster, preferably one away from production fields,” he said.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Tropical Storm Francine slows harvest, impacts quality for Arkansas crops

By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — “It’s going to be a long fall.”

That’s how Cross County Extension Staff Chair Jenna Martin described the agricultural aftermath of Tropical Storm Francine. The storm hit Arkansas last Wednesday, dropping up to 9 inches of rain and crop-damaging gusts of up to 35 miles per hour.

The wind and rain mean that Arkansas row crop growers are facing a longer harvest and lowered quality for rice, cotton, soybeans and corn.

SPROUTED — Many soybean growers in eastern Arkansas are faced with beans sprouted in pods after extensive rainfall from Tropical Storm Francine. (Photo by Christopher Cato.)

“While we’re fairly fortunate compared to some who got a lot more wind, we have some rice and corn leaning and other fields look like you took a flat roller to them,” Martin said. “Impact on yields and quality are major concerns.”

"We received 6 to 7 inches over four days,” said Matthew Davis, Jackson County extension staff chair. “Our largest concerns are the sprouting of crops in the field, loss of quality, and poor field conditions.”

Rice

“There was not as much rice damage as I had feared when I made my way across counties in the northeast yesterday,” said Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “There are fields with heavily lodged areas, but the majority of rice is still standing.”

Lodged, or flattened rice takes longer to harvest. This, paired with the yield loss associated with sprouted rice, means rice growers are facing their already thin profit margins shrinking even more.

Hardke said parts of Poinsett, Cross and St. Francis counties seem to have taken the hardest hit.

“In some particular hotspots there is more significant lodging and rice sprouting on heads in the lodged rice,” Hardke said. “To a limited degree there is even some rice sprouting on standing rice.”

Doubling harvest time

“There’s a lot of economic impact to having downed rice,” said Nick Newberry, program associate for the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center in Harrisburg. “Your harvest time in some situations doubles. The combine’s still rolling and you’re still burning diesel, but the acres you cut in that time is cut in half. If you even had a positive margin to start with, it’s now a break-even or a negative.”

Newberry said they were fortunate to get almost all rice at NERREC cut before the storm.

“Most of what we’ve got left is pretty much flat. It’s not very pretty,” Newberry said. “If this had just come two weeks later it would’ve been better, but that’s the risk you run in this industry.”

Cotton

“The hardest hit areas seem to be around Jackson and Poinsett counties,” said Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist for the Division of Agriculture. “In these areas it was pretty common to see plants on the ends of rows laying over or at least leaning.”

Treadway said leaning plants should straighten up with time, but for plants completely blown over, those bolls can be expected to rot. As for open cotton bolls, Treadway said most of it is still pickable.

“Of the cotton that is open, I saw a fair amount of fiber drooping out of the bolls, but not a lot on the ground, surprisingly,” he said. “We can still pick that cotton as long as it is hanging on to the bolls.”

However, harvest may be further away than initially anticipated due to field conditions after the rain.

“I expect harvest to be a little delayed now,” Treadway said. “For producers who are ready to pick, they’ll have to wait for the ground to get dry enough to get pickers out in the field. For producers who are defoliating, they’ll either have to wait for the ground to dry enough to get a ground rig across it or hire a pilot to apply defoliants. I think this is going to push everything back.”

However, Treadway said the forecast sunshine will “do us a world of good if it shows up.”

Soybeans

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said the majority of the damage came in the form of sprouted soybeans.

“I was on the phone with county agents, farmers and crop consultants from the southeast to the northeast corners of the state about soybean seed sprouting in pods,” said Ross said. “Most of these calls are in fields that were ready to harvest prior to Francine, but I had a few calls about pods that are still green having sprouted seeds.”

Fortunately, Ross said this is isolated to just a small portion of pods on the soybean plants.

“Some fields with taller plants that haven’t reached maturity have lodged to some degree,” Ross said. “These fields could have some quality issues due to matted foliage and lack of air movement.”

Ross said the main focus now is to get these fields harvested, but harvesting in wet conditions brings issues of its own.

“We need to get these fields harvested as quickly as possible to avoid additional sprouting and dockage due to moldy seeds. To do this, some fields will need to be harvested before they are dry enough to avoid rutting the fields,” Ross said. “Fields that will be rutted will cost more once they dry out to get back into shape for planting next spring. Some will stay rutted until next spring, delaying planting.”

Corn and grain sorghum

Jason Kelley, extension feed grains agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said that although corn fields fared better than expected, there was substantial lodging in some areas and grain quality is a concern.

“We’re at the tail end of harvest so the corn that was left had been mature for three to four weeks, with the stalks getting more brittle every day. Every field had some plants blown over,” he said. “Some sprouting of grain in the shuck has occurred and those plants that are laying on the ground will likely see substantial sprouting and loss.”

Kelley said fortunately 84 percent of the state’s corn acres were harvested prior to Francine according to Monday’s crop progress report.  

Although the majority of the state’s few grain sorghum acres had already been harvested, Kelley said there was substantial sprouting of the grain in heads.

“I think the full extent of the damage is still to be seen, especially in terms of grain quality. The level of discounts our growers will receive for reduced-quality grain is the big unknown right now,” Kelley said. “The forecast now looks warm and dry, so harvest will likely start up again in a few days.”

Kelley said wet field conditions and rutting of fields will cause an added expense for this crop.

Forage

There is a bright side to things, as Francine brought much needed rain for livestock and forage producers.

“Much of the state was at least abnormally dry. The rain this past weekend helped to green up fields and provide additional grazing days,” said Kenny Simon, forages instructor for the Division of Agriculture. “Some producers had already started feeding hay, which is about 45 to 60 days ahead of the normal hay feeding period.”

Simon said the rain is especially beneficial for producers that are stockpiling forages or have planted an annual forage.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Early days of rice, corn harvests near record pace

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — The first few phone calls an agronomist receives during harvest tend to say a lot about how the fall will go. For Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, the news has been overwhelmingly good this year.

AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE — Both corn and rice harvests in Arkansas are moving at a near-record pace. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

“The frequent refrain in the phone calls I’ve been getting for the past couple of weeks is ‘You won’t believe what this rice cut!,’ and relatively little of the ‘Hey, there’s something wrong with this rice,’” Hardke said. “You can gauge the tone of the harvest pretty quickly.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday that 23 percent of Arkansas’ rice crop had already been harvested, dwarfing the five-year average of 4 percent typically harvested so early in the season.

Hardke said this pace hasn’t been seen since 2010.

“At this point, we’re going as fast as we can go,” he said.

Accounting for about half the rice produced in the United States, Arkansas growers this year planted more than 1.4 million acres of the crop. Hardke said growers’ efforts at early planting have put Arkansas in a good position for an early harvest with good yields.

The earliest harvest efforts occurred on the last day of July, with more producers gradually moving into their fields in early August. With few exceptions, the state has avoided the heat and moisture of 2023 that led to the repeated rewetting and drying cycles blamed for widespread low milling yields.

Hardke said that while overall grain yields seem high, he remained cautious regarding the state’s ultimate milling yields for 2024.

“One of the odd things about milling yield — even in a high milling yield year, where things turn out well, some of the early plantings can have a lower milling yield,” he said. “A quarter of the way through harvest, there’s still a long way to go. The story’s hardly written.”

Arkansas corn is also experiencing a rapid harvest, with 30 percent of the state’s 500,000 acres already harvested as of Aug. 25, according to USDA. The five-year average for this point in the season is 12 percent.

Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said that like rice, early planting in the spring set Arkansas growers up to capitalize on good growing conditions throughout the summer.

“Early planting doesn’t necessarily mean an early harvest, but by the last week of April, we were 81 percent planted, versus the five-year average, which was 64 percent,” Kelley said.

“The month of May was nearly the warmest we’ve had — at or near a record,” he said. “That really sped things along. All along, I’ve felt like we were 10 days ahead of what a normal growth stage would be.”

Early spring rain events in the southern half of the state did impede early corn planting for some growers, Kelley said. Later rain events, however, precluded growers from needing to irrigate the crop as much as they often do throughout a growing season.

He said that corn, even among Arkansas’ most notable row crops, is especially temperature-driven in its development. The high heat of August, along with relatively few major rain events during the summer, helped the crop sprint toward the finish line.

“We’re at a point where a lot of growers are waiting for the corn to dry down a bit more, so they can harvest it and take it directly to the grain terminal,” Kelley said. “The only limiting factor for a lot of growers is if they’ve also got rice or soybeans to harvest.

“Harvest is going very smooth without any weather delays so far and like rice, yields overall are really good this year,” he said.

A looming obstacle that growers in Arkansas and elsewhere will still likely have to contend with is the low levels on the Mississippi River. Below a certain point, the river becomes impassable for the barges carrying grain to the Gulf of Mexico for export. Producers are then faced with the predicament of selling their grain with a discounted basis, cutting into an already narrow profit margin.

As of Aug. 29, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the river’s level at minus 4.3 feet, with continued drop in levels forecast. In October 2023, the river fell to a record minus 11.5 feet.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

NASS forecasts new record soybean yield for Arkansas

By Mary Hightower 
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture  

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is on track to break its year-old record for soybeans, as the National Agricultural Statistics Service on Monday forecast a statewide 57-bushel-per-acre average yield, up three bushels per acre from last year. 

NASS, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, forecast Arkansas soybean production at 172 million bushels, up 8 percent from last year. Harvested acreage is expected to be 70,000 acres higher than last year at 3.02 million from 3.05 million acres planted.

Soybeans are on track for a record state average yield, according to NASS.  (Flickr Image)

“I was very surprised of the projected new state record yield of 57 bushels per acre for 2024,” said Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.  

“With how early a majority of the soybean crop was planted this year, I was anticipating yields similar to slightly below the 54 bushels per acre state average soybean yield seen in 2023,” he  said. “I'm hoping the best for this soybean crop, because every soybean farmer is going to need every bushel that can combine with how much the soybean prices have dropped over if the last 12 months.”  

Ross said Arkansas growers had “almost ideal weather conditions from planting to harvest in 2023. We had another good, early start for 2024, but July was hotter and drier than 2023 and August is looking like it's going to be hot and dry as well. 

“The last time we had a significant yield bump between two years was 2016-2017. The average state yield was 47 bushels per acre in 2016 and 51 bushels per acre in 2017,” he said “Again, the weather conditions in 2017 were much improved from those seen in 2016.”  

CORN — Corn production was forecast at 90.2 million bushels, down 41 percent from last year. However, yield is expected to average 186 bushels per acre, up three bushels from last year. NASS revised the planted acres downward by 120,000 acres to 500,000. Harvested acres were also expected to drop from 600,000 to 485,000. 

“Yields look to be really good, with an estimated 186 bushels per acre state average yield,” said Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist. “This is not a record but getting close.  

“Overall, it was a great growing season for northeastern Arkansas, which got planted early and never looked back,” Kelley said. “Points further south had a more difficult planting season due to too much rain at planting for some producers, but statewide we have had some timely rains which has cut down on irrigation costs this year. Harvest has started on a limited amount of acres and will continue to increase as we get later into August. 

COTTON — Cotton production was expected to rise by 21 percent to 1.65 million bales, which is 288,000 bales higher than last year. Yields are expected to be 57 pounds per acre lower than last year, forecast at 1,238 pounds of lint. Harvested acres were expected to be up 135,000 acres from last year to 640,000. 

Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist, said that the new acreage number, while a decrease from NASS’s initial estimate, “is still quite an increase from our acreage last year. 

“I know of several locations that had to abandon cotton planting due to extremely wet conditions in southern Arkansas, so the decrease from the initial estimate is not a huge surprise,” he said. “The increase in total production is to be expected with the major increase in acres.” 

Treadway said that the crop has held up despite “the roller coaster season we’ve had.  

“We started extremely wet, then we got extremely hot and dry, followed by more cool and wet conditions, and it seems like we are again settling into hot and dry for the coming several days,” he said. “Cotton is still trading pretty low at somewhere from 68-70 cents, so we need to get this crop to the finish line in the best shape possible to aid producers' bottom lines in a tough market.” 

PEANUTS — The forecast for peanuts is mixed, with production expected to be 18 percent higher than last year to 233 million pounds. However, yield is forecast to be down 500 pounds per acre from last year to 5,300 pounds. The forecast for harvested acreage has been revised upward to 44,000 acres from 34,000. 

RICE — Seems like everything is up for rice in the August forecast.  Production is forecast at 109 million hundredweight, up 2 percent from last year. The yield for all rice is forecast at 7,600 pounds per acre, up 50 pounds from last year. The forecast for harvested acres rose 30,000 acres to 1.43 million acres. 

Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said Monday’s report wasn’t surprising.   

“I expected acreage projections to increase slightly compared to the June report,” he said. “The yield number — at slightly higher than last year –- was unexpected but is still really within the range of my projection.  

“It’s a very good yield but not a record,” Hardke said. “The question is whether our significant amount of early planting counteracts some of the likely yield drags from in-season management difficulties due to weather.” 

HAY — NASS has forecast Arkansas’ hay production to be 2.68 million tons, up 22 percent from last year. The yield is forecast to average 2.20 tons per acre, up 0.30 tons from last year. Producers expect to harvest 1.22 million acres of hay, excluding alfalfa, up 60,000 acres from 2023. 

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.  

La Ñina boosts the Panama Canal; Houthi threat drives up shipping costs through the Suez

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — While La Ñina is helping ease the traffic knots at the Panama Canal, repeated attacks by Houthis — some fatal — have driven shippers to find alternatives to the Suez Canal, said Ryan Loy, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

More than a quarter of the soybeans grown in the U.S. are exported through the Panama Canal, says Ryan Loy, extension economist. (U of A System Division of Agricultre photo)

The Panama Canal is a key route for global trade, including for Arkansas commodities such as soybeans and corn. In March, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said that traffic through the Panama Canal had dropped 49 percent since 2021 and 42 percent in the Suez Canal during the same period.

“About 26 percent of U.S. soybeans and 17 percent of U.S. corn is transported via the Panama Canal,” Loy said. “And this is important to us, especially in Arkansas, because a lot of our grain goes down the Mississippi River to the Port of New Orleans.”

Arkansas’s export soybeans and corn go through the Panama Canal to get to Asia, Loy noted.

Long-term drought across Central America was strangling the Panama Canal. While the passage connects two oceans, the water used to raise and lower ships between the coasts comes from Gatun Lake, a fresh water body. Each ship transit requires 52 million gallons of water. The lake fell to its lowest levels in five years last June, hitting 79.5 feet.

“It was a very dire situation,” Loy said. The alternative to the canal would mean sailing around Cape Horn at the bottom of South America, costly in fuel and fraught with dangerous weather.

Lower lake levels meant shallower water in the locks. The Panama Canal Authority ended up restricting the number of ships making transits. Ships that could make the trip had to carry less cargo to prevent their hulls from hitting bottom.

However, the return of La Ñina has meant replenishing rain for the lake and the canal authority has not only increased the number of ships allowed through, but also allowed heavier ships that sit more deeply in the water.

As of July 11, the canal authority was “increasing the number to 33 ships a day. Then on July 22, they’re going to allow 34 ships a day and on Aug. 5, they will open up one more spot for the Neopanamax ships.”

“Neopanamax” refers to the largest ships than can pass through the canal’s newest locks, which opened in 2016. These vessels can be up to 1,202 feet long, 168 feet wide and have a draft of 50 feet. Draft is the distance between the ship’s waterline and its lowest point.

“This is very close to what they used to do —  38 ships a day — so we’re getting close to normal,” Loy said.  “Just for comparison, in November 2023, they were at 24 ships a day, so you can see how much we’ve kind of improved since then.”

Should drought return the canal to its restricted state and if China’s soybean crop is poor, “that leaves Brazil an opportunity,” he said.

Brazil is a key rival to the U.S. for soybean trade and doesn’t rely on the Panama Canal.

“Brazil can come in and say, we don’t need the Panama Canal. We can transport our grain via rail and trucks to the Pacific. They have a lot of it and it’s much cheaper,” Loy said. “So those are the kind of implications of what could happen if the drought comes back.”

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a critical route, carrying an estimated 12-15 percent of global trade.

The Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired these images of the Suez Canal’s mid-section, showing the canal after expansion was completed in 2016. (Image courtesy NASA).

Since starting in November 2023, Houthi attacks in the Suez Canal have become fiercer, resulting in the deaths of four crewmembers from attacks on two ships, the MV True Confidence and the Tutor.

MarineTraffic.com, which tracks global shipping, reported a 79.6 percent reduction in dry bulk carriers — whose shipments include grain — passing through the Suez, just 24 ships in June, compared to 118 in June 2023. The amount of cargo passing through the canal in May was 44.9 million tons, down from 142.9 million tons in May 2023.

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said many shippers were opting to avoid the canal and the Houthis, including British Petroleum, Evergreen, CMA CGM, Hapag Loyd and Maersk.

Maersk resumed its use of the canal in June, since taking the the Cape of Good Hope route around the tip of South Africa added an estimated $1 million in fuel costs and one to two weeks in additional transit time, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. Rounding the cape is still perilous, with one ship running aground and another losing cargo, according to Bloomberg.

The Suez Canal’s decreased traffic meant the port authority’s yearly revenues were nearly halved, from $648 million last year to $337 million, Loy said.

“The areas surrounding this are also impacted, too, because people's jobs, people's livelihoods depend on traffic through the Suez Canal,” he said, and “that’s tough for that region.”

Houthis are only attacking ships affiliated with the U.S., Israel and their allies, affecting insurance premiums for the carriers.

“The total premium for U.S.-based cargo is 1.7 percent of total freight on board,” Loy said. “Because they’re not attacking Chinese ships, the Chinese premium is just 0.2 percent of the value of total freight on board.”

Where does this leave consumers?

“I'm surprised that we haven't seen much increase in items at the grocery store, even vehicles, or whatever it may be, anything besides grain, that are separate from our inflation issues,” Loy said. “The expected big ripple effect is having a little bit less of an impact than most people thought.”

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagra.m.at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Cotton, soybeans are up, corn tumbles, seed shortage moves rice toward medium grain

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — The June “Acreage” report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed cotton with its highest acreage in more than a decade and soybeans on the rise, while corn tumbled and rice shuffled between long and medium grain acres in Arkansas.

Scot Stiles: “June Acreage is more or less a reality check for the March ‘Planting Intentions’ report.” (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Kerry Rodtnick) 

Friday’s report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, proved a hot property, with users crashing the servers shortly after its 11 a.m. CDT release.

Graph showing information about Arkansas crops from the June 28, 2024, Acreage report from NASS. (U of A System Division of Agriculture image by Scott Stiles)

“June Acreage is more or less a reality check for the March ‘Planting Intentions’ report,” said Scott Stiles, extension agricultural economics program associate for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Principle crops planted, acreage down 0.8 percent to 7.156 million acres in Arkansas; total planted in US is 315 billion acres, down 1.4 percent from previous year, NASS said.

CORN

Corn acres dropped 27.1 percent to 620,000 acres, unchanged from the March planting intentions.

“Corn prices have been on downward slide for much of the past year,” Stiles said. “Futures prices for new crop corn were about 20 percent below the previous year when NASS surveyed growers in early March.” 

Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said he wasn’t surprised by the Acreage report.

“Lower grain prices, combined with less-than-ideal planting conditions for some led to the drop in Arkansas acres,” he said. “The spring was too wet, especially in the southern half of the state.

“Northeast Arkansas overall had better planting conditions than the rest of the state, with dry weather in late March and early April,” Kelley said.

COTTON

Cotton acres were up 31.4 percent to 670,000 acres in Arkansas, while total U.S. acres were also up 14.1 percent.

“The huge surprise in today’s report was NASS’ cotton acreage number,” Stiles said. “In March, growers indicated they would increase acres by a modest 30,000 acres to 540,000.”

However, “in June, acres are expected to be 670,000; up 160,000 from last year,” Stiles said. “This would be the highest cotton acreage for the state since 2011, which saw 680,000 acres that year. 

He said that while there were solid indications we have 610,000 to 620,000 acres in the state, “the 670,000-acre print is surprisingly high.

“Cotton prices started a nosedive in early April, losing about 13 cents by mid-June. Prices fell from the low 80 cent level to 70 cents,” Stiles said, “But, cotton yields in the state continue to climb and growers exited 2023 with record yields.  And the crop insurance price of 82 cents this year may have played a role in adding acres.  There was some shifting from corn to cotton going on as well.” 

“In terms of cotton we're in good shape,” said Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist for the Division of Agriculture. “Some guys are in the first week of bloom and some are into the second week of bloom, but what’s really important right now is water.

“It’s getting hot and dry and want to keep putting moisture on the crop so we’re not stressing it,” he said.

PEANUTS

“Peanuts remained the same, which is what I was expecting based on what growers were saying,” Treadway said.

NASS pinned peanuts at 35,000 acres, same as in 2023.

“The peanut crop is in pretty good shape,” Treadway said. “We had some growers that had to go back and replant after extensive rainfall. Some growers are reporting their crop pegging.”

In pegging, the embryonic peanut grows downward into the soil.

RICE

Overall, total rice acres were down 15,000 acres from last year in NASS' findings to 1.42 million acres, compared to just under 1.44 million acres in 2023.

Stiles said he was a little surprised by the 40,000-acre decline in long-grain rice acres from March.

“The June survey results are a little puzzling considering the planting progress this year and the rice market rally that kicked off in early April,” he said.

“Generally, in years when planting progresses at a faster than average pace, we tend to see a higher acreage number in June,” Stiles said. “USDA did increase medium grain acres by 10,000 above their March number.”

Jarrod Hardke, rice extension agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said he too was a little  surprised by the dip, but said it was within his range of expectations between 1.4 million and 1.5 million acres.

A shortage of long-grain seed shortage played into the shuffling of acres over to medium grain, he said.

“One of the hardest things to gauge every year is the expected long and medium grain acreage, and then with a seed shortage out of the gate, that changed the mix. And it got very, very weird,” he said.

There were also some missed planting opportunities during good weather windows as growers unable to get the seed they wanted, scrambled to find varieties to plant.

SOYBEANS

NASS lowered Arkansas soybean acres by 50,000 from the March intentions to 3.05 million, however that was still up 2.3 percent from 2023. U.S. total was up 3 percent to 86.1 billion acres.

“This is still an increase of 2 percent or 70,000 acres over last year,” Stiles said. “Considering the sharp drop in corn acres, some resulting increase in soybeans is not a surprise. 

“Similar to corn, soybean prices have trended lower over the past year as well,” he said. “As planting kicked off in the state, soybean prices were about 13 to 14 percent lower compared to the prior year.  November ‘24 soybeans settled at $11.04 today.  A year ago the November contract traded at $12.66, right ahead of a summer rally that carried prices above $14 last July. A very bearish feel to the soybean and corn markets this year.”

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist, said “the estimates were in line with what I was expecting. We had another really good start with early plantings similar to the 2023 season. 

“This year’s soybean crop ranges from early planted fields beginning to fill pods to fields that were planted within the last two days,” he said on Sunday. “With the drop in soybean prices compared to last year, I’m getting a few more calls with farmers and consultants asking about different inputs preserving or increasing soybean yields.”

WINTER WHEAT

Winter wheat acres declined 39.1 percent from 2024 to 140,000 acres. That followed the larger national trend with U.S. winter wheat falling down 7.9 percent to 33.8 billion acres.

Kelley said the decline was likely due to “lower prices for grain and lower relative profitability compared to other crops.”

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Arkansas planned acreage falls slightly overall; corn and wheat see deepest cuts

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — While overall intended crop acreage fell just 2.5 percent in Arkansas in 2024 to about 7 million acres, some crops saw significant shifts in acreage, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Thursday.

SHIFTING ACRES — The 2024 Prospective Plantings Report, compiled by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, found that acreage for most of the country’s principal row crops will likely only shift a few percentage points one way or the other this year. The report is based on self-reported planting intentions from growers across the United States. Nationally, projected crop acreage fell about 2 percent in 2024, to about 313.3 million acres. (Graphic courtesy USDA.)

The 2024 Prospective Plantings Report, compiled by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, found that acreage for most of the country’s principal row crops will likely only shift a few percentage points one way or the other this year. The report is based on self-reported planting intentions from growers across the United States. Nationally, projected crop acreage fell about 2 percent in 2024, to about 313.3 million acres.

Arkansas corn and wheat acreage take a nosedive

Arkansas intended corn acreage fell sharply, down 27 percent, from 850,000 acres to 620,000 acres. Wheat acreage also fell significantly in the state, down 41 percent from 230,000 acres to 135,000 acres. Nationally, corn acreage fell 5 percent to about 90 million acres, while producers said they planned to plant nearly 47.5 million acres of wheat, about 96 percent of what was planted in 2023.

Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said that the significant drop in corn acreage was no surprise, given that the state was coming off a near-record-high year for acreage.

“Our acreage goes up and down every year,” Kelley said. “Last year, 2023, was the second-highest acreage we’d had since the early 1950s.”

He said profitability was likely the main driver for growers moving away from corn throughout the region.

“It looks like the whole Southeast was off quite a bit — 15 to 27 percent,” Kelley said. “The Mid-South was down 20-27 percent. So, it looks like most of our surrounding states had the same mindset.”

Similarly, wheat acreage was down in the East, falling in all but seven states.

Hunter Biram, extension agricultural economist for the Division of Agriculture, also said the drop in Arkansas corn acres, paired with a rise in soybean acres, was expected.

“Two factors that typically influence this shift are crop rotations and expected margins, with expected margins likely the driving force behind any acreage shifts beyond normal,” Biram said. “Last year, corn margins were far more favorable compared to soybeans, and that showed up in not only the Prospective Plantings report but also in the Crop Acreage Report released last June.

Over the past 20 years, soybean and corn acreage have both grown in the United States, with corn typically leading by as much as 50 percent some years. Over that span, however, soybean acreage has tightened the gap, actually tying the national acreage in 2017 at about 90 million acres each.

“This year, soybean margins appear more favorable, albeit not by much compared to corn,” Biram said. “Last year, the favorable margins were mostly driven by a relatively high corn-to-soybean price ratio, meaning corn prices were much higher relative to soybean prices. This year, there isn’t a crop price to get too excited about, but prices for key fertilizers have fallen to levels similar to the period prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Projected Arkansas hay harvests appear to be keeping pace with the previous year, with growers expecting to harvest about 1.15 million acres, 99 percent of 2023’s total.

Arkansas long grain rice surges, medium grain falls back

Arkansas intended rice acreage shifted only slightly, growing 1 percent over 2023 acreage to 1.45 million acres. However, grower sentiment appeared bullish on long grain rice, jumping 11 percent from 2023 acreage to a projected 1.36 million acres, while pulling back on medium grain, falling by 58 percent to just 90,000 acres.

Nationally, planned rice acreage grew 1 percent to more than 2.93 million acres.

Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said the report’s outlook for rice was in line with spring estimates.

“Long grain rice appears to be a profitable option, but seed supply issues are hindering further increases in acres,” Hardke said. “Medium grain is in lower demand for this year with few contracts or pricing premiums available in the wake of high acres and production last year.”

Biram added that the ambiguity of global markets is likely affecting acreage decisions.

“Among many drivers in rice acreage, one could be the possibility that India reverses their export ban on non-basmati rice, which was put in place in July 2023,” Biram said. “While that proved to be favorable for rice prices in the short run, with some cash prices reported at over $8 a bushel in the post-harvest window of January and February, the new crop futures contracts for rice are already indicating prices could land around $6.75 per bushel or lower. This is because when export supply is reduced in the global market, prices increases.

“Conversely, when export supply increases due to a lift on an export ban, for example, prices fall,” he said. “Perhaps producers were able to lock in price guarantees through area crop insurance, such as Enhanced Coverage Option or Margin Protection, trying to capture the tail end of a months-long price rally driven by the export ban. Otherwise, I suspect crop rotations and less-favorable corn margins are driving the increase in long grain rice acres.”

Arkansas soybeans rise steadily

Arkansas soybean acreage grew slightly, rising 4 percent over 2023 to 3,100 acres. This puts the state’s growers slightly ahead of the national soybean acreage outlook, which rose 3 percent to about 86.5 million acres.

Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said it was no surprise to see Arkansas soybeans return to the “plus side” of 3 million acres.

“Historically, we’ve been above 3 million acres for the last several years, other than 2018-2019,” Ross said. “That’s when we had a lot of rainfall — the fall of 2018 and progressing into 2019. We had a lot of flooding issues, and 2019 was the lowest soybean acreage we’ve had since 1960.

“I think all of it points to China,” Ross said of the high acreage numbers. “China is our No. 1 destination for soybean exports. As their population increases, the demand for soybeans increases.”

He said much of 2023’s outstanding soybean yield was due to growers taking advantage of the early planting window, and that he foresees a similar fortune this year.

“Beans have been planted for almost a solid month in Arkansas,” Ross said. “Some of them look good, some not so good, mainly due to cooler weather. We had pretty much the earliest start ever last year, and we had record yields. I think some guys proved that when your beans are planted earlier, the yield potential is a lot better than delayed planting.

“Over the next seven days or so, it looks to be warm and dry, so I think there’s going to be a lot of land prep, and maybe some more beans planted,” Ross said Thursday. “I’m anticipating another good year.”

Peanuts hold, cotton grows

Arkansas producers appear to be holding steady, again planning to plant 35,000 acres of the legume, the same acreage as 2023.

Travis Faske, extension plant pathologist and acting peanut agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said that peanut acreage throughout the state will likely be higher than the reported intentions.

“I still think we will be a few thousand acres north of 35,000 acres by the end of planting season, as the two primary peanut buying points in the state have indicated an increase in acreage,” Faske said.

Planned Arkansas cotton acreage grew 6 percent over 2023 numbers to 540,000 acres. This exceeded the national outlook, which grew 4 percent to more than 10.6 million planned acres.

“I suspect the reason cotton acreage increased by 6 percent is because cotton lint prices are more favorable compared to last year, but nothing like what we saw in 2021-2022,” Biram said.

“While crop rotations can explain most of the corn-soybean rotation, cotton acreage can likely be explained by the fact that a cotton farmer is going to farm cotton regardless of the price, due to the lack of versatility in equipment used to produce cotton,” he said. “The cotton lint price may shift acreage, but the degree of that shift will depend on what the cotton lint price is.”

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Rice malt shows potential to play a bigger role in beer

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Rice is showing potential to play a more prominent role in beer brewing, and it helps that Arkansas produces a lot of it.

MALTED RICE — Scott Lafontaine, left, and Bernardo P. Guimaraes raise a glass of malted rice beer following a year-long study that investigated the suitability of rice for malting and brewing. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Paden Johnson)

Arkansas grows about half of the rice in the United States, mostly long-grain. Meanwhile, climate change and international conflicts are leading to a shortage of the raw materials traditionally used for brewing beer, especially barley.

A new study titled “Investigating the Malting Suitability and Brewing Quality of Different Rice Cultivars,” published in February by the Beverages journal, suggests the potential for malted rice to yield robust fermentations in gluten-free, all-malt beer and also in styles that use high adjunct inclusions. An adjunct is an additional source of sugar for beer fermentation.

Rice and corn have been used as an adjunct grain by American brewers since the 1860s. But the rice has been milled white rice, and not malted. Since the malting qualities of U.S. rice cultivars had not yet been evaluated for brewing qualities, one goal of the study was to identify rice cultivars with high malting potential.

University of Arkansas food science graduate student Bernardo P. Guimaraes was the lead author of the malted rice study, which provides the first publicly available data on 19 rice varieties important to the U.S. rice industry that were malted and analyzed for brewing qualities. Flavor chemist and assistant professor in the food science department Scott Lafontaine served as Guimaraes’ advisor on the research.

“Does rice have what it takes? Scientifically, yes, it is possible,” Lafontaine said.

They have found rice malts with enough enzymatic capacity to fully convert their starch source into fermentable sugar, also known as self-saccharifying malts, that produce a sugary liquid called “wort” in brewing. Lafontaine says the wort from rice malt “seems to yield healthy fermentations with a standard yeast, without adding enzymes or nitrogen supplementation.”

Lafontaine and Guimaraes are both part of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. The experiment station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

No extra vessel with rice malt?

Malting is the process of germinating a grain through hydration and then drying and heating it to halt germination. The process forms enzymes required to turn the starch into sugar when soaked in hot water for the phase of brewing called “mashing.” Where rice is concerned, brewers have typically used milled white rice, and not rice malt. Using milled white rice calls for an additional brewing vessel because it needs to be boiled to gelatinize the starch so it can be converted into that sugary liquid called wort.

Malted rice, on the other hand, may not require a second vessel. Guimaraes and Lafontaine showed the malted rice to be self-saccharifying with the appropriate mashing conditions. In other words, with the right temperature and time, the starch could be broken down to fermentable sugars that yeast can assimilate and turn into alcohol.

As wheat flour is to bread, malted barley is to beer, with recipes calling for varying levels of a barley as a base malt along with other grains like wheat, rye and oats for different styles of beer. Additional ingredients like roasted barley, and roasted malted barley, develop different flavors and aromas.

In the study, long-grain rice when malted showed the most promise as a competitor to malted barley for sugar content and other brewing qualities. The study looked at short, medium and long-grain varieties of “paddy rice,” or rice with the chaff removed but not the husk. Interestingly, wild varieties of rice that had purple-pigmented brans produced naturally colored gluten-free beers with hues similar to wine.

New findings

Previous public studies on rice malt were performed on Italian and Indian varieties, and the study of U.S. rice malts offered two interesting discoveries, Lafontaine said. For one, the rice varieties had different gelatinization temperatures and mashing parameters seemed to have an impact on the onset of gelatinization.

“While we are not sure exactly what is occurring yet, this is likely due to the unique enzymatic profile of the rice malts and shows that brewers just have to alter their mashing conditions to effectively leverage this material in the brewery,” Lafontaine said of the lower gelatinization temperatures.

The other unexpected finding was that the malted rice showed higher protein levels than previously reported, which offers potential applications as an alternative protein source in foods, Lafontaine said. The new study showed the protein content ranged from 7 to 10.5 percent, and some rice cultivars had protein content comparable to malted barley.

Depending on the variety of rice grown, the study indicates the potential for a value-added product for farmers whose rice turns up with a high level of chalkiness during milling. Chalky rice is opaque and tends to break when being processed, making it less valuable as a food product. However, chalkiness would not have as much of a bearing on quality if sent to a maltster and turned into rice malt. High nighttime temperatures during a rice kernel’s development have been shown to contribute to chalkiness. As the climate warms, this will be a continual issue for farmers and scientists to contend with, Lafontaine noted.

Economics and flavor

Although the chemical analysis of the malted rice is promising, Lafontaine is working with the agricultural economics and agribusiness department to conduct a feasibility study considering many economic factors that compare malted rice and malted barley.

One of the most pressing economic factors is the cost of barley, which has increased in the past four years. The increase has made long-grain rice “cost equivalent” to barley, Lafontaine said. Barley is grown in areas with cooler climates, while rice is grown in warmer climates. So, climate change and global warming are other factors for long-term economic impacts of barley and rice as beer ingredients, he added.

“By offering a more locally sourced grain for Southern and U.S. brewers, despite paddy rice being proportionally more carbon dioxide intensive to grow than malted barley, the lack of international shipping may potentially make up the difference in carbon dioxide,” the study notes. “Additionally, rice is a gluten-free source of starch for brewers and beverage/food producers.”

Lafontaine intends to conduct a sensory panel with the various beers produced from rice malt. He and Guimaraes have noticed, for example, that some aromatic varieties of rice produced elevated levels of diacetyl, which has a buttery popcorn aroma often considered an off flavor in beer.

“As a sneak peak of the next part of this study, I can say that the rice varieties had many different and interesting aromas and flavors,” Guimaraes said. “I firmly believe they have great potential either as a standalone raw material or in conjunction with barley malt.”

The rice varieties were malted in small quantities during the study using techniques comparable to industry standards. With each small test batch, the researchers measured protein content, enzyme levels and other characteristics important to brewing. Lafontaine’s lab is licensed and bonded as the U of A Beverage Development Facility with an electric, 15-gallon brewing system to provide hands-on experience to students in the University of Arkansas Certificate of Proficiency in Brewing Science program.

Collaborators on the study included rice breeders at the Division of Agriculture’s Rice Research and Extension Center, researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s Rice Processing Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, and Versuchs-und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin, Germany.

TEST BATCHES — Beers made with malted rice are seen at the U of A Beverage Development Facility. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by John Lovett)

The authors recognized the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board for supporting the research.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Weekly Update from State Representative DeAnn Vaught

As we gather around our tables this Thanksgiving, we encourage Arkansans to take a moment to acknowledge the unsung heroes of this holiday season—our farmers.

Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude for the blessings in our lives, and the hardworking men and women who toil in the fields, day in and day out, deserve a special place in our hearts this season. Arkansas farmers are the ones responsible for growing the crops and raising the livestock that grace many of our tables.

In fact, Arkansas ranks 3rd in the nation in turkeys raised. But that’s not the only popular Thanksgiving dish that may have started its journey on an Arkansas farm.

Arkansas is the 4th largest producer of sweet potatoes and our state ranks 6th in the nation in the acreage of pecans.

In the last year, Arkansas farmers harvested more than 695,000 acres of corn.

Arkansas currently ranks 11th in the nation in soybean production. Soybean oil is used to make hundreds of foods, including mayonnaise, peanut butter, and ranch dressing.

From casseroles to rice pudding, another Arkansas crop makes its way to the Thanksgiving table every year. Arkansas ranks first among rice-producing states, accounting for more than 50 percent of U.S. rice production.

Agriculture is Arkansas’s largest industry, adding around $16 billion to our state’s economy every year. There are 49,346 farms statewide and 97 percent of Arkansas’ farms are family-owned.

So, as you savor each bite of your Thanksgiving meal, remember to give thanks to the individuals who make this feast possible. Let's make this holiday a true celebration of gratitude, not only for the food on our plates but for the hands that nurture the land.

You can help show your appreciation to our Arkansas farmers and food service workers by looking for the “Arkansas Grown” label at your local supermarket.

Tomato, corn pests in town for the 4th of July

By Sarah Cato
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK – As summer moves along, the season is running according to plan for many Arkansas crops – including annual pest issues.

FOURTH OF JULY FLIGHT – Extension specialists and county agents say growers should expect an influx of the Helicoverpa zea, also known as the corn earworm, cotton bollworm or tomato fruitworm, with a main concern for corn and tomato crops. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

Extension specialists and county agents across Arkansas are seeing an increase in Helicoverpa zea, also known as the corn earworm, cotton bollworm or tomato fruitworm. But specialists say this influx is to be expected this time of year.

“This is what we call the Fourth of July flight,” said Ben Thrash, extension entomologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Our moth trap numbers have been up the past couple weeks, and growers should be keeping an eye out.”

With soybeans and cotton still early in the season, the main concern with this flight is corn and tomatoes.

“Tomatoes and sweet corn are a prime target for serious losses due to tomato fruitworm feeding,” said Aaron Cato, horticulture integrated pest management specialist for the Division of Agriculture. “It’s important for growers to get out and scout tomatoes as soon as possible so control can be achieved prior to those larvae moving on to their second, third, or fourth fruit to munch on. Anyone with sweet corn that isn’t Attribute Plus or Attribute II needs to be applying insecticides at two- to three-day intervals, after silks are seen, to prevent significant infestations.”

Although cotton and soybean may not be a worry yet, Thrash said the worms could be moving into those fields soon.

“Bollworms are in cotton fields south of us in Texas and Louisiana,” he said. “The worms we’re seeing now will be coming out of corn into cotton and soybeans in about 28 days, maybe a little earlier. We usually see issues about the third or fourth week of July.”

As the growing season continues, it’s important for producers to be aware of annual insect pest issues. Data from moth traps for Helicoverpa zea and other common Arkansas pests are tracked and uploaded into interactive maps. Find up-to-date data and resources below:

Horticulture insect pest monitoring, interactive map

2023 county trap catches for Arkansas row crop pests

MP144 for insecticide recommendations, also available at county extension offices.

Mention of product names does not imply endorsement by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

U.S. corn, cotton and soybean production down in 2022

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Production for corn, cotton and soybeans declined from last year, according to the 2022 Crop Production Annual Summary released by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Drought ravaged nearly every state during the year and it had impacts on harvested acres and yields.

U.S. corn growers produced 13.7 billion bushels, down 9% from 2021. Corn yield in the United States is estimated at 173.3 bushels per acre, 3.4 bushels below the 2021 record high yield of 176.7 bushels per acre. Area harvested for grain, at 79.2 million acres, is down 7% from 2021.

Soybean production for 2022 totaled 4.28 billion bushels, down 4% from 2021. The average soybean yield is estimated at 49.5 bushels per acre, 2.2 bushels below 2021, and 0.7 bushel below the Nov. 1 forecast.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/01/u-s-corn-cotton-and-soybean-production-down-in-2022/

Gus Wilson/UA System Division Of Agriculture

Corn planting begins in this photo from Feb. 24, 2012, in a field near Eudora in Chicot County, Ark.

Arkansas Remains Largest Rice Producing State

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas is easily the top rice producing state and it’s no surprise it leads the nation in rice exports, according to the State Agricultural Trade database released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Rice exports accounted for $722 million of the state’s total of $3.1 billion in agricultural exports, the report stated. Scott Stiles, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said that of the $3.1 billion 78%, or $2.4 billion, was attributed to plant products. The report covers the 2019 calendar year.

According to the report, following are the commodities ranked by their respective contribution to the total export value.
• Rice — $722 million
• Soybeans — $679.3 million
• Cotton — $427.3 million
• Other feed grains: barley, oats, sorghum — $73.2 million
• Corn — $71.4 million

https://talkbusiness.net/2021/07/arkansas-remains-largest-rice-producing-state/