Rice planting season is getting a late start with the rainy weather in April having pushed back the timeline. UC Cooperative Extension Rice Advisor, Whitney Brim-DeForest said growers are just getting out to plow fields. There had been earlier concerns that rain systems would continue into May, but forecasts generally appear to be clear.
“We are definitely starting slightly later than maybe a dry year. Usually, people would have been out at the beginning of April and I don’t think most people were able to get out quite that early. So, land prep is really, at least from what I can see, started in the past week or so,” Brim-DeForest explained. “So, we’re a little bit delayed in that regard. We’re going to be kind of compressed with everyone going at the same time.”
The past few years have been tough for rice growers. Acreage has been down due to a lack of available water. Brim-DeForest said it was particularly difficult for growers on the west side of the Sacramento Valley last year. With a 100 percent water allocation for the majority of growers, it should be a much better picture this year. However, the years of drought have taken a toll on other agricultural businesses in the area, including pilots.
“I’m not 100 percent certain, but just from what I’ve been hearing, there are fewer pilots this year. So, it’s going to be probably a little bit harder for everyone to get planted maybe quite as quickly as they would like,” said Brim-DeForest. “I predict there will probably be some issues with getting enough people out to do everything at the same time. So, there may be some difficulties in both planting and maybe a little bit later in the season as well.”
The plus side of a later rice planting season is the ability to get a better handle on weeds. Brim-DeForest said the past few years have been pretty tough in terms of weed management. In some cases, the tough drought years might also ultimately provide some benefits for growers this season.
“Weed management I think this year will be better, given the fact that people are going to be able to till,” Brim-DeForest noted. “Some folks in a lot of cases have been fallow for the past couple years which should reduce some of the weed pressure for the bigger seeded weeds, just because of that fallow for the past couple of years.”
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