CRAIGHEAD COUNTY, Ark. (KAIT) – For the first time since 1982, rice growth acreage shrank beneath one million acres as rice continues to see growing declines. The shortage is not only affecting farmers, but all parts of the rice industry.
At the University of Arkansas Craighead County Extension Center, Staff Chair Branon Thiesse said the rice industry is currently facing a 40-50% decrease from average rice production numbers, from 1.5 million acres to roughly 800,000 acres projected for harvest this year.
Thiesse said the reason behind the decline has to do with rising inputs costs, like fuel and fertilizer, and a dwindling price per bushel on the crop that Arkansas grows more than anywhere else in the nation…