Horizon Ag: Harvest Starting or Close in Earliest Fields; Results May Be Mixed

South Louisiana and Texas

Very little harvesting has started in south Louisiana. The ones who have started harvesting have been dodging rain daily. We are experiencing a rare cool front in south Louisiana for late July, which is very nice but unfortunately is not going to last very long. Our rain chances return on Saturday. Several people whom I have spoken to are going to try to start harvesting next week if Mother Nature allows.

Most of south Louisiana got very lucky during the storm that came through a week ago. There was a line of storms on the tail end of Barry that was a big rainmaker. Some farmers had rice that went underwater for a few days, and I have yet to hear the outcome of those acres. Very few farmers whom I have spoken to had lodging problems from the wind associated with the storm. Overall, I am not sure how this crop is going to turn out. We have some rice that looks good from the road, but once you walk out in the field there seem to be more blank grains than normal. I suspect our yields will be all over the place this year.

I have not heard of any commercial rice that has been harvested in Texas. Farmers west of Houston continue to say their rice looks really good, but the crop is late and harvest is not going to get into full swing until August.

Please feel free to call me with any questions about the crop.

Michael Fruge
District Field Representative
(832) 260-6193

Mississippi and North Louisiana

Harvest will be here before we know it on some of the earliest-planted rice in my territory. The later- planted rice is coming along quickly. Outside of some weed control issues in some places, the crop overall looks pretty uniform and healthy. I have not seen or heard of much disease pressure up to this point. That doesn’t mean some is not right around the corner, but so far, so good. Staying proactive about protecting the crop and preventing any potential diseases will be critical to finishing out the crop. The weather forecast for the next 10 days looks extremely favorable to help flowering plants transition into filling grain. If you have any questions or if I can help in any way, please don’t hesitate to call.

Tim Jett
District Field Representative
(901) 687-6362