Rice is planted using a seed drill on the Simon Farm south of Morse, Louisiana. Photo by Bruce Schultz

LSU AgCenter agronomist Dustin Harrell plants seed on a planter pulled by a tractor driven by research associate Jacob Fluitt. Photo by Bruce Schultz

LSU AgCenter research associate James Leonards, right, walks behind a planter being loaded by AgCenter agronomist Dustin Harrell. Photo by Bruce Schultz

Fertilizer is loaded into an airplane to be flown over a freshly planted rice crop near Mowata, Louisiana. Photo by Bruce Schultz

LSU AgCenter entomologist Mike Stout plants seed on a research plot while research associate Marty Frey drives the tractor. Photo by Bruce Schultz

Rice seeds spread onto a field by airplane have sprouted a few days after planting. Photo by Bruce Schultz

LSU AgCenter rice breeder Steve Linscombe records his observations on emerging rice plants in a date-of-planting study at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station near Crowley, Louisiana. Photo by Bruce Schultz

Two planters sit idle in the fog before planting starts. Photo by Bruce Schultz