In the News -
November 2007
New Pope County rice grower sets Arkansas verification record
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - A first-time rice grower in Pope County has a new
university record, and beginner's luck had nothing to do with it.
The secret of the farmer's success may lie in large part to the use of
poultry litter, according to Stewart Runsick, an extension coordinator for the U
of A's Rice Research Verification Program (RRVP).
Arkansas River Valley Farms set an all-time program record for yields, a
whopping 231 bushels an acre, and returned $500 an acre above costs.
The Pope County program field was 40 acres leveled to a zero grade.
"The producer grew rice on 600 acres of 40-acre zero grade fields, and this
was his first time to grow rice," Runsick said.
"He applied three to four tons an acre of chicken litter on the whole farm
after leveling," Runsick noted. "I think the litter was a big contributor to his
excellent yields. It was extremely lush and rank and a challenge to walk through
in the season."
The farmer seeded the field with RiceTec's XP723 variety at a rate of 31
pounds an acre. He used Facet and Prowl herbicides to control hemp sesbania and
Aim for control of smartweed and morning glory.
"The flat, clay fields hold water like a bathtub," Runsick noted. "That, with
a lot of rainfall and surface water irrigation, made this a very cheap field to
water."
Runsick advised the farmer and scouted his verification field weekly for
problems. Phil Sims, Pope County extension staff chair, also worked closely with
the farmer.
Sims said he sometimes visited the farm twice a week and talked to the grower
by telephone. He said the zero grade field meant that "you could get that water
on and off quickly and efficiently." He said the farmer had little disease
pressure, a benefit of growing rice in the Arkansas River Valley.
Runsick said most of the difference in profitability among the program
participants could be attributed to yields and irrigation costs.
The net return above total costs for one Lonoke County participating producer
was $125 an acre, the lowest in the program. Profitability for another Lonoke
program participant was $251.
The 2007 verification program was conducted on 12 commercial rice fields
across the state.
Grain yields in the program averaged 189 bushels acre, 29 bushels greater
than the estimated Arkansas state average yield of 160 bushels an acre, Runsick
said.
Craighead and Randolph county producers also enjoyed 200 bushel-plus yields -
219 in Craighead and 212 in Randolph.
Yields in the verification program typically are typically better than the
state average yield. This is the norm over the 24-year history of the program.
Input costs in RRVP are also often lower.
"This difference can be attributed, in part, to intensive management
practices and use of U of A recommendations," Runsick said.
You can study the results of the 2007 verification program online by going to
www.uaex.edu and selecting Agriculture, Rice and Rice
Research Verification Program.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of
Agriculture..
November 30, 2007Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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