State Rice Crop Struggled Through Tough Crop Year

By Bonnie Coblentz

Harvest ended a year of ups and downs for Mississippi’s rice producers, with acreage up but average yield down because of numerous challenges.

Nearly all of the state’s rice crop was harvested by late September. Mississippi growers harvested about 156,000 acres of rice this year, up about 25,000 acres from 2024.

Will Eubank, rice specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the year began with growers unsure if they would even receive the seed needed to plant the rice crop. Eubank works at MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.

“Shortages in seed production, mainly caused by poor seed production the previous year, led to rampant supply chain issues in the state,” Eubank said. “Rice producers were forced to contend with waiting for seed until mid-April in some instances, and some had to plant low germination seed supply.”