From left: Joe Christian, chair of Arkansas Rice Research & Promotion Board; USA Rice CEO Betsy Ward; and, David Gairhan, chair of Arkansas Rice
Nov 09, 2021
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Last week, the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board met in-person for the first time in 2021 and USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward was there to give an update on U.S. industry issues as well as USA Rice activities.
“Arkansas’ support of USA Rice is critical for us to conduct effective programs and I am always grateful to be able to report directly to the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board on how we are spending the resources they entrust to us and to thank them in person for the excellent volunteer leaders they bring to the USA Rice table,” said Ward.
While a look back on this season’s crop and a look forward to planting season 2022 were topics of discussion, the main concern at this time is the disruptions in the supply chains for inputs and services. If prices of goods and services, including equipment parts, fertilizer, transportation and labor availability, continue along the current trajectory, the costs of growing a crop will have the largest annual increase in over a decade.
“Earlier this fall, it looked like production costs for rice would increase roughly $100 per acre in 2022 compared to 2021, however, input prices have continued to increase since then,” said Jarrod Hardke, rice extension agronomist at the University of Arkansas. “Now it appears that fertilizer and fuel prices will lead to $150 or more per acre in increased production costs for 2022. This means profit margins for rice will be extremely tight in 2022, as with other crops, if commodity prices don’t maintain or increase in strength.”
Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed across the globe and continual review of production, supply, and trade are important to get a complete and accurate picture of the state of the industry for the upcoming year.
“Talking face-to-face about critical industry issues such as supply chain challenges, tariffs, trade wars, labor shortages, and spiking input costs, helps us all assess and plan for next year,” said David Gairhan, Arkansas rice farmer and chair of Arkansas Rice. “We are hopeful for market corrections before these inflated costs are realized, and thankful that these issues are leading most of the dialogue, which will help expedite a solution.”
Fall weather is here, hunting season has started, and for most in the mid-south, 2021 was a good year to grow a rice crop.