Isaac Rushes Arkansas Rice Harvest

Aug 30, 2012

Hurricane Isaac Could Damage Rice Harvest

While hurricane Isaac is at its peak, so is Arkansas’s rice harvest and it’s causing concern for some rice farmers who are in the midst of harvest.

"I'm in river bottom right now; if I don't get this out today, I may lose it. The wind would blow it down and floods would wash over it," said Joe Christian, farmer in northeast Arkansas.

The National Hurricane Centre estimates that the hurricane will likely be classified as a tropical storm by Thursday. The good news is that 27% of the rice harvest has been reported as taken off but the other 65% remaining rice crop in the south is vulnerable because they are at their peak. The potential heavy winds could blow down the rice plants destroying them or leaving them with little harvest.

"They've been in a marathon of harvesting this week, trying to get ahead of the heavy rains. The biggest worry right now is lodging of crops from the wind and rain," said Mary Hightower, a spokesperson for the University of Arkansas.

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