Francine-powered winds, rain halt Arkansas rice harvest rush

STUTTGART, Ark. – While Arkansas farmers would have loved the precipitation from Francine during the growing season, it’s been a headache during harvest.

Producers Rice Mill Inc. president and CEO Keith Glover said his mill ran for 14 hours each day this week ahead of the Francine system’s rain.

Glover said they collected about 20% more rice in the week than normal, which totaled 500,000 bushels or 652 billion grains of rice.

“We probably handled 15 to 20% of what we’re expected to handle this crop this week,” Glover said.

Producers Rice Mill Inc. is just one of five mill companies in Stuttgart. Being farmer-owned, it was important to lessen the blow Francine could have brought if heavy winds had accompanied the rain’s drumbeat.

Glover said soaked crops are more vulnerable to being blown down into the field. That affects how much can be harvested and its quality, even after milling.

“As long as the rice is still standing in the field that’s going to be a big plus for the farmer and the quality, and we’re very fortunate that we didn’t get the winds that they were forecasting at one time,” Glover said.

The rush of farmers’ trucks ended Thursday morning when the rain started, preventing further harvest at this time.

Glover said it will likely take a few days until fields are dry enough to harvest again. That goes for rice, but also corn, soybeans and especially cotton, he said, which could suffer from strong winds.

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