Today I drove through the Mississippi Delta through occasional showers and heavy rain at times. There were quite a few fields harvested…. Corn was long gone, sorghum and some soybeans and rice were cut.

Even while driving at highway speeds I could see negative impacts of this untimely rain. So when I got to an area where the rain had stopped, I pulled off the highway to snap a few photos of rice fields.

Following are a couple of shots that show how consistent a rice field should look this time of year. As well as a close of rice heads.

The next few photos show you the tdamage in another field where lodging is an issue. Lodging simply means the plants are laying done before they have been harvested.

There are a few reasons lodging can happen in crops like rice, wheat and corn. Some that farmers have talked to me about are:
– Disease
– Bad weather (esp. wind, rain and hail)
– Genetics for stalk / shaft strength
– Inability to harvest on a timely basis

Hopefully, the weather will turn around before any additional damage is done because harvesting equipment have trouble picking the crops up, which means farmers end up leaving some of their yield on the ground.

Do you have questions about rice or lodging?

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