Horizon Ag: Deep South Harvest in Full Swing, Rice Maturing Rapidly in Other Regions

South Louisiana and Texas

Harvest is in full swing all along the Gulf Coast. The only limitation is that we’ve had spotty showers for about the past week, and some farmers have received several inches of rain over that time. Some of the rains brought really strong winds that caused fields to lodge badly. The Texas coast hasn't had the rain for as long as south Louisiana, but it has slowed harvest there as well over the last couple of days.
 
Overall, we are harvesting a pretty good crop. I have heard about really good yields, but there are the occasional reports of bad yields, too. The CL111 in south Louisiana is doing really well this year. The large majority of people I’ve talked to are happy with the performance of this variety. Several farmers are harvesting 51 to 53 barrels per acre on large acres with CL153. The downside of CL153 has been that it has had more sheath blight, and the yields have been more erratic. So far, I have only heard of a few CL151 and CL172 yields, but what I have heard has been good.

Texas farmers are once again harvesting a really good crop, and the yields I have heard on Clearfield® varieties have all been in the 50s (barrels).
 
Several farmers have harvested new PVL01 in south Louisiana, and the yields have been good so far. Most of what I have heard has been in the low 40s with one small field cutting in the low 50s. If PVL01 can continue to yield in this range, it will be a huge success as farmers are cleaning up a lot of weedy rice with this technology. I know several farmers who have had to leave large areas in their fields, Clearfield and conventional, because the weedy rice was so bad. If you have any questions please give me a call.

Michael Fruge 
District Field Representative
(832) 260-6193

Mississippi and North Louisiana

The majority of the crop in my area is drained or being drained and, by the looks of it, it is going pretty fast. I’ll be excited to see some combines on the move here shortly.
 
One thing to mention as we move closer to harvest and as soybeans reach maturity is to be mindful of desiccation herbicides around drying rice fields. Even though the field may look like it’s finished, drift rates can still negatively impact yield and milling.
 
If you have any questions please feel free to call.

Tim Jett 
District Field Representative
(901) 687-6362