Released March 10, 2010
TALLULAH, La. – More north Louisiana farmers are switching to rice instead of corn, soybeans and cotton.
Garrett Marsh of Tallulah grew his first rice crop last year. “I was here to get a refresher,” he said of a rice growing clinic here on March 4 sponsored by the LSU AgCenter.
He also farms corn and soybeans, but he has eliminated cotton, replacing it with rice.
Marsh said he was satisfied with his first rice crop that yielded 181 bushels to 200 bushels an acre.
He said the soil on his farm is heavy clay, more suited for rice than cotton.
Because rice doesn’t suffer through droughts, it is a more dependable crop because water is pumped onto the crop.
Marsh’s father, Jim Marsh of Tallulah, said hot summers often create quality problems for soybeans. “You can’t sell rotten soybeans,” he said.
--continued on LSU AgCenter news
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