Stoneville, Mississippi
March 16, 2007
By Robert H. Wells
Delta Research and Extension Center
Mississippi State University Extension
The loss of the Clearfield 131 rice variety, the second rice
variety banned for planting this year in the United States, will
decrease Mississippi rice acreage and complicate production in
2007.
“At least 40 percent of our rice acres in Mississippi this year
would have been in Clearfield 131,” said Nathan Buehring,
Mississippi State University
Extension rice specialist based at the Delta Research and
Extension Center in Stoneville.
“I think we can replace 20 to 30 percent of that acreage with
other rice varieties,” Buehring said. “But the remaining 10 to
20 percent had heavy red rice on it, and it really needed the
Clearfield system.”
On March 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service banned Clearfield 131 from
planting in 2007 after confirming trace levels of genetically
modified material in samples of the rice variety. The ban is
intended to purge the U.S. rice supply of the genetic material
and to maintain the country’s reputation as a non-genetically
modified rice exporter.
In November, another rice variety, Cheniere, was banned from
planting in 2007. Cheniere was planted on about 25 percent of
Mississippi rice acreage in 2006.
“Replacing Cheniere was a little bit different because it was a
non-Clearfield variety, and we found some varieties to replace
it,”
Buehring said. “With Clearfield 161 seed in limited supply, we
don’t have a real good variety available to replace Clearfield
131.”
Clearfield rice contains a natural mutation that allows growers
to control red rice and other weeds in rice production with
blanket herbicide applications. Clearfield rice is
conventionally bred and not genetically modified.
Rice producers have embraced Clearfield technology since its
introduction in 2003, Buehring said.
“We were gaining acres in Clearfield varieties because growers
liked its excellent red rice control, and it provided excellent
grass control with the exception of one or two species,”
Buehring said. “It is overall a good, easier weed control
system.”
Buehring said producers with severe red rice infestations
probably will plant soybeans on those acres in 2007 if they
cannot obtain Clearfield 161. Producers who plant non-Clearfield
rice in red-rice-infested fields will face negative impacts on
production, Buehring said.
“Depending on red-rice infestation levels, producers could see
lower yields and potential dockages where they’re selling rice
just because it has red rice in it,” Buehring said.
The rice specialist said before Clearfield technology, producers
employed tillage and longer rotation patterns, such as two years
of soybeans and one year of rice instead of back-to-back rice
and soybean rotations to control red rice.
Gibb Steele, a rice producer in Washington County, said about 5
percent of his rice acres are so heavily infested with red rice
that he will have to plant them in soybeans this year instead of
rice.
“I was going to plant about a third of my crop in Clearfield
131,”
Steele said. “About 5 percent of my acres were bad enough that I
had to have a Clearfield variety. The other acres needed a
Clearfield variety, but they aren’t that bad. Those acres will
look ugly, but it’s going to be all right.”
Travis Satterfield, a rice farmer near Benoit, said he had
originally planned to plant at least two-thirds of his rice crop
in Clearfield 131.
“Now we’re going to be replacing Clearfield 131 with Cocodrie,”
Satterfield said. “That will be the bulk of our crop for this
year.”
Satterfield said he hopes to get some Clearfield 161 to plant
this year. He also said he plans to alter his traditional
rotation patterns to combat red rice on his farm.
Rice acreage needs to stay in the 240,000- to 260,000-acre range
to run the Mississippi rice industry smoothly, Satterfield said.
He has grown rice for more than 30 years and serves on the
Mississippi Rice Council.
“Rice is a really good economic booster for the community,”
Satterfield said. “We have a milling industry that needs to be
supported. Transportation, chemical and fertilizer dealers and
all of the local economy benefits from high rice acreage.”
Mississippi had 265,000 acres in 2005 and dropped to 190,000
rice acres in 2006.
Buehring said he expects acreage could be even lower in 2007.
“I’m estimating somewhere between 150,000 to 175,000 acres of
rice will be planted in Mississippi this year,” Buehring said.
“The acreage will depend on what the price of rice and other
crops like soybeans does before planting and what the weather
does as well. If the number is around 150,000 acres, it will be
the lowest rice acreage Mississippi has had in 30 years.” |
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