It was a tale of two crops this year for Louisiana rice farmers. Rice planted and harvested early had excellent yields. The ones that were planted and harvested later, not so much.

According to Ronnie Levy, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, the season started strong with producers getting into their fields early and getting a lot of rice planted in early March. A wet, cold spell shut down planting, and it was nearly a month before farmers got back into their fields. The rice that was planted late suffered from higher incidences of disease pressure during the growing season, leading to lower yields.

“We saw yields drop anywhere from 10% to 15% comparing early planted and harvested rice to late planted and harvested rice,” Levy said. “In some places, the yield loss was even higher.”

Even a portion of the early planted rice suffered. Levy said wet conditions returned towards the end of the early harvest, causing a reduction in yield and milling quality.

Because of the wet conditions during this portion of the harvest, the ratoon crop in some fields did not achieve its full potential. The conditions also delayed the harvest, shortening the window of growth of the second crop.

What has helped the second crop is excellent growing conditions for most of September and all of October. Above-average temperatures and sunny days have improved the yields of the second crop.

“We’re seeing yields from the mid-teens (barrels) to the low 20s,” Levy said. “Not quite as good as last year but still a good second crop.”

By the end of October, much of southwest Louisiana was experiencing severe drought conditions. Levy said farmers took advantage of the dry weather to get their fields prepped for next year.

“Nearly all the fields that will be used for rice production next year are ready to go right now,” he said.

Levy said this will allow producers to get off to an early start next year if the weather allows.

Louisiana rice fields continue to be predominately long-grain varieties.

“We don’t grow a lot of medium-grain to begin with, but there was even less this past year,” Levy said. “The prices this year are lower than last year for their rice crop and a good ratoon crop may help keep rice profitable.”

The LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station has been instrumental in developing new rice varieties that are favored by growers across the country. A recent release, Avant, has had success in commercial fields.

“Avant did really well, especially if it was planted early,” Levy said. “Another plus is that it has ratooned very well.”

Many rice farmers will turn their rice fields into crawfish ponds after harvesting their second crop. The question many ask is whether harvesting a second crop will cause a reduction in crawfish production.

The answer is complicated and involves economics, which invokes another question: How much crawfish production does a farmer lose from second cropping, but does the second crop yield make up for the crawfish loss?

As already mentioned, it’s complicated. Most farmers are deciding to go ahead and cut their second crop because this year’s second crop looks good, which makes the decision easier. Most farmers will not pass up on this revenue stream. And it makes sound economic sense.

While nearly 80% of the rice acreage is in south Louisiana, there is a significant amount in northeast Louisiana. This year, the two areas had similar growing seasons that led to similar results.

One major difference between the two areas is north Louisiana grows more hybrid varieties compared to south Louisiana. While the hybrids typically have higher yields, the input costs for hybrids are much higher, primarily because of seed costs.