Project Details:

Rice production has been a part of lower Mississippi valley agriculture since the mid 19th century. Government controls of rice production began as early as 1929 with price supports on allotted acreage taking effect in 1941. Over the years there have been periods of more and less government support with current legislation moving in the direction of less government support. Price support has made rice production possible on one hand but has not necessarily led to long-term sustainable production practices on the other. Rice farmers of the lower Mississippi valley are now faced with two major problems. The first is a government policy that is moving them away from subsidies and into a sagging commodities market. The second is a dwindling natural resource base fro which they are expected to draw their livelihood. Compounding the second problem is a general public feeling that farmers are exploiting the environment and responsible for many of the countries water and air problems. Addressing the second of these problems can be best done on a systems level and with management practices that represent current and future directions farmers might go. Seasonal weather patterns and the rate at which natural resources such a soil carbon change occur dictate a longer-term approach to collecting and evaluating data that will assist farmers in maintaining productivity while protecting their natural resource base.

A review of long-term research carried out in 1991 indicated there were no long-term studies in North America that contained rice. At the same time studies containing other crop species have provided significant data on changes in soil chemical and physical properties, weed, insect and disease problems. The lack of such data on rice leaves the industry without the information needed to defend their current farming practices and more into a future that provides an honest living for farmers in a way that is understood and appreciated by the non-farm sector.

In 1999 a long-term rice based cropping study was initiated at the University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart Arkansas with funding from four commodities boards. This study contains six rotations that are evaluated at two fertility levels (standard recommendation and enhanced recommendation) in conventional and no-till plots. The site selected for this study represents the major soil group used in rice production and with organic matter levels near 0.5% is characteristic of the resource base farmers have. This study offers a unique opportunity to collect soil and plant data. This will provide a much needed value added dimension to this larger study and assist in achieving its full value.