STUTTGART, Ark.-(DeWitt Era-Enterprise)--Arkansas legislators came to the heart of rice and soybean country last week to get a good look at the agriculture forecast for this year.
Rep. Tiffany Rogers invited members of the Senate and House committees on agriculture, forestry and economic development, the joint committee on energy and the game and fish/state police subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council for a joint meeting on the Stuttgart campus of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA). The program got underway with a presentation from Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Richard Bell.
Arkansas is "evenly balanced," Bell said between the commodity crops of rice, soybeans, wheat, corn and cotton in the east and livestock in the west. There have been predictions of record prices in several crops, but Bell said, "I have some doubts." Droughts and floods can still play a role in affecting crop prices.
But most Arkansas crops look like they're in for a good year. Cotton is "back where it's supposed to be," and wheat prices are up to $7 or $8 per bushel.
Of more interest to Arkansas County was the record rice acreage in place this year. "Soybeans are also off to a good start," Bell said, however there could be a problem later with enough water.
Bell provided an update on several agriculture programs. "We're mailing out checks to dairy farmers," Bell said for the state's dairy stabilization program. The continued decline of the state's dairy industry has stopped, "but we have to start building it up again."
Aquaculture is another area that has undergone a sharp decline and is getting help from the state. The state department has been distributing federal grant money to catfish producers.
Ben Noble of the Arkansas Rice Federation gave a detailed rice overview, starting with some figures that show rice's importance in the state. Arkansas produces 9 billion pounds of rice each year, which generates 3.9 billion dollars in economic activity.
The 2010 harvest started about two weeks earlier than usual this year. Noble said the crop is a large one, but "it's a little early to tell about quality."
Rice exports are up 210 percent with Mexico as the top export market in the world. Unlike most other rice-exporting countries the U.S. exports a lot of rough rice. "Nobody eats rough rice," Noble said, "but we sell a lot of it." In the domestic market, rice goes for processed foods, ethnic foods and to the U.S. military. About two percent is used for beer.
Noble also spoke about prospects for the next Farm Bill. He pointed out that 69 percent of the money in the Farm Bill goes to nutrition programs; only .25 percent goes to commodities.
Once the rice is harvested, attention turns to ducks and Luke Naylor, waterfowl Coordinator for AGFC spoke about the duck forecast for this year. There will be a sixty-day season again this year. The dates are Nov. 20-28, Dec. 7-Jan.17 and Jan. 22-30. The youth waterfowl hunt will be held Feb. 5-6.
Naylor said the waterfowl numbers, especially mallards, "have been vary stable," the last few years. "They're coming," Naylor said.
