About This Episode
Rance Daniels farms in Dunklin County in the Missouri Bootheel, right on the Missouri and Arkansas line. He tells Shay Foulk that rice planting is roughly 75 percent complete across the area with a few growers already finished, putting the region ahead of the last three springs when wet weather pushed planting into May. Soybean planting has barely started because a cold snap around April 21 sent temperatures low enough that most growers chose to wait on warmer ground.
The spring has been dry, which Daniels counts as a benefit rather than a worry. A lot of groundwork is finished, though fields in continuous rice are still being worked and dried out. He describes overall moisture as about average, with a decent chance of rain over the coming weekend, and notes his farm and much of the surrounding area is essentially 100 percent irrigated. Normal practice there is starting rice in late March and finishing by the end of April.
The area is unusually diverse. East of Daniels's farm, silty loam ground grows potatoes and watermelons, and the frost likely hurt watermelons already in the ground. Cotton growers were still waiting and expected to start planting the following week as temperatures warmed. On price, Daniels says soybeans, corn, and cotton have producers more optimistic than they have been in years, while rice has stayed flat, above cost of production but without the same run-up.
“It was a lot easier to visit with the lender this spring than it's been the past few years.”
— Rance Daniels
Key Takeaways
Rice planting in the Missouri Bootheel is about 75 percent complete, ahead of the last three wet springs that pushed work into May.
A cold night around April 21 kept most soybean planting on hold and likely damaged watermelons already in the ground.
Daniels's farm and much of the surrounding area is essentially 100 percent irrigated, which takes pressure off a dry spring.
Normal rice timing there is planting the last week of March and finishing by the end of April, so 2021 is close to on schedule.
Soybean, corn, and cotton prices have producers optimistic, while rice has stayed flat, above cost of production but without a run-up.
Cotton planting in the area was expected to start the following week once temperatures warmed.
Full Transcript
Shay
Foulk: Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Ag View Pitch, and today we're talking with Rance Daniels. How's it going today, Rance?
Rance
Daniels: It's going good, Shay. Enjoying the sunshine back out and warming up a little today.
Shay
Foulk: Yeah, that warming up is a big thing here. We saw here on the 21st of April last night some pretty low temperatures across the Midwest and reaching down even into your area. If you could go ahead and tell the listeners where you're talking to us from here today.
Rance
Daniels: OK, I'm from Southeast Missouri, the Boot Hill, right on the Missouri-Arkansas border in Dunklin County, Missouri.
Shay
Foulk: And how's things going down your way as far as planting progress and field work and that sort of stuff?
Rance
Daniels: Things are going good this spring. We're probably a little ahead of schedule. This has been a dry— the spring's been kind of dry. I'm going to say we're 75% planted on our rice. A few people have finished up, but overall I'm going to say most people are 75% or better, got their rice crop planted. A few soybeans have been planted. Most people was holding off because of the cool weather last night, but a few beans have been planted. Lots of groundwork done, but we're— This is a welcome change from the past 3 springs we've had where it's been wet and it's been up in May before we can begin planting. We're well ahead of the past few years.
Shay
Foulk: So outside of that time frame, when you look back over the last 10, 15 years, how do you feel planting progress is compared to that in a quote unquote normal year?
Rance
Daniels: Oh, in a normal year, planting progress is probably I'm going to say it's maybe average to a little slightly above average. But it's probably, I'm going to say, average planting progress. We usually, we like to start planting rice towards the last week of March if it's, you know, dry weather permitting. And we like to be done by the end of April. And also, we're kind of right on schedule. This year with planting and all.
Shay
Foulk: That's a good place to be in with the— you mentioned being a little drier here this spring. Any concern on that as you head into summer? Are you pretty confident you guys will pick up the rain you need?
Rance
Daniels: Oh, I think we'll pick up the rain we need. We're— and like I said, it's been dry. We've got a lot of field work done. But we still have— the fields we grow continuous, rice on. Some of those we're still trying to get worked and dried out. So we're not extremely dry yet. We're just— we're kind of about average on our dryness. But I think the rain— they're hollering pretty good chance of rain this coming weekend. So I think the rains won't be that big a deal. And we're pretty well 100% irrigated anyways on our farm. A lot of the area is too.
Shay
Foulk: Now you talk on rice and soybeans, what other crops you have going on in your area? Probably some corn, anything else there?
Rance
Daniels: Yeah, there's some corn. Of course, there's a— you get a little to the east of my farm and you get on a lot of silty or loam soil and they do some potatoes and some watermelons. And there were some watermelons planted and Just talking to the guys, the cool weather last night and the frost was probably not real good on the watermelons that had been planted. And most of the— there's lots of cotton around me, but the cotton guys, they're all— it's a little early yet for them to start planting. They'll probably start with the warm-up next week. They'll probably start next week, end of the week. Look at— they'll start planting cotton around me.
Shay
Foulk: Pretty diverse area down there, and happy to hear that things are pretty well on pace. And, you know, I think there's at least across the country, we've seen a lot of optimism headed into the new year here. You feel the same way kind of in your guys' area?
Rance
Daniels: Optimistic outlook there? Oh yeah, everybody this year is a lot more optimistic with the process of especially the prices of soybeans and even the price of corn and cotton. The price of rice, it's okay, but it hadn't— we hadn't seen the increase in price like the other commodities have. It's kind of just stayed flat. I mean, it's above cost of production, but it's not— we hadn't seen the run-up in it yet. So maybe we'll get a run-up in it, but everything else, it was a lot easier to visit with the lender this spring than it's been the past few years.
Shay
Foulk: That's always a good feeling, and we'll hope that rice hops on the train with the rest of the commodities there. Rance, I really appreciate you taking the time for a spring planting update here, and hope you all stay safe as you keep rolling there.
Rance
Daniels: All right, well, it's good fishing with you today, Shea.
Shay
Foulk: And thank you everyone for listening to another episode of the Ag View Pitch, and we will catch you next time.