buRNiNg the RicE FiELds

rice

The rice has been cut and you can see the smoke in the distance where the farmers are beginning to burn the rice field.

Arkansas ranks first among the six major rice-producing states, accounting for approximately 49% of the United States rice production.

In 1994, Arkansas rice producers harvested 1.4 million acres of rice.

In 2005 Arkansas rice producers harvested an estimated record 1.64 million acres.

In 2007 Arkansas rice producers harvested 1.3 million acres of rice, 5.3% less than 2006.

In 2015, Arkansas farmers produced 207,550,200 bushels of rice on 1.286 million acres. 



And with the rice comes mosquitos. If you drive through eastern Arkansas; particularly at night, the mosquitos hitting your windshield sounds like rain. I always tell people travelling through that part of the state who are unfamiliar with Arkansas, “If you stop anywhere, you’ll want to have your lips together when you get out of your car.”


I have been beset with a sense of urgency to record those parts of our heritage which seem to be receding as quickly as the view from the rear of a speeding train. I fear that we are eradicating the evidence of our past accomplishments so quickly that in time we may well lose the sense of who we are.
— David Plowden said that