2nd rice harvest yields bumper crop

Rice farmers across south Louisiana had an excellent second-crop harvest, and St. Landry Parish rice held its own in the region.
Vince Deshotel, assistant extension agent at the St. Landry Parish LSU AgCenter office, said, “Was the second-crop rice harvest in St. Landry Parish good? Absolutely. If I had to use one word, it would be ‘absolutely.’”
According to Farm Service Agency estimates, a little less than 24,000 acres of rice were planted in the parish this year, and Deshotel said second crop rice is usually grown on about 2,000 acres or about 10 percent of that estimated figure.
“The amount of second crop rice grown in the parish ranges from 10 to 20 percent each year,” Deshotel said. “This year, probably about 3,500 acres of second crop rice were grown. A large number of rice acres are turned into crawfish fields.”
Deshotel said second-crop rice usually yields 10 to 20 barrels an acre on the high end, but this year, some yields were around 30 barrels an acre and up to 35 barrels an acre in some fields in the parish. The extension agent said many first crop barrels per acre were in the upper 40s and the first crop averages were usually around 47 barrels per acre.
Favorable weather and smart land management practices also helped with the above average second crop.
“We had cooler than average temperatures once the first crop was cut, and I think people are using better production practices to better prepare fields for second crop rice,” Deshotel said. “Bushogging first crop stubble makes more uniform regrowth. Good farming practices and good weather conditions lead to a better yield on the second crop.”
“Rice is the second largest crop grown in St. Landry Parish. It is important to maximize the yield. The price of rice has been depressed, and producers need the best yield to offset depressed prices.”
Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, also weighed in on this year’s second crop rice harvest in a news release.
“Most everybody I’ve talked to is very pleased with the second-crop yields. Numerous producers say this is by far their best second crop from the standpoint of yield, and the quality is good, too.”
Linscombe said farmers growing a second crop were more likely to fertilize and flood their fields as soon as the first crop was cut. In previous years, many farmers delayed flooding and fertilizing until they saw regrowth, he said.