Forecast with massive rain may mean planting do-overs for Arkansas farmers
While rain is usually a welcome event, the expected deluge can wash away plant beds and any newly emerged seedlings.
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
April 2, 2025
Fast facts
- Heavy rain could wash away beds, seedlings
- Farmers need to consider crop insurance planting dates
(351 words)
(Newsrooms: with file art, with rain forecast map; With sidebar 04-02-2025-ark-rain-cattle-pastures)
LITTLE ROCK — As forecasts call for up to 10 inches of rain through Sunday, the immediate future for Arkansas farmers will probably involve clearing ditches, with a good likelihood next week will be taken up with replanting and reworking fields, extension specialists said.
Planting of the state’s commodities has begun, with Monday’s Crop Progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showing 22 percent of the state’s corn crop planting and 3 percent already emerged. Rice was 8 percent planted and 1 percent emerged. Soybeans were 5 percent planted. Winter wheat, usually harvested in summer, was 11 percent headed.
While rain is usually a welcome event, the expected deluge can wash away plant beds and any newly emerged seedlings.
“I’ve been telling guys to hold off,” said Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “We’ll probably need to repull beds that have been freshly pulled.”
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for much of the state through April 6.
“There’s not much you can do with that much rain in a short amount of time,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the Division of Agriculture. “You want to have all the ditches and pipes open.”
In northeastern Arkansas, “everybody around here has water furrows run — a good effort on drainage,” Stiles said.
“Backing up of the rivers, streams and bayous will be the story,” said Jarrod Hardke, rice extension agronomist for the Division of Agriculture. “Low ground that’s already planted may be wiped out regardless of the crop planted there.”
Hardke said “rice will survive the best, but levees will be the issue. They’ll get washed out and blown and have to be repulled and reseeded.
“Recently planted corn and soybean are in for a wild ride for survival,” he said. “Cool temperatures may help buy them some time but staying flooded or saturated for four-plus days is a bad recipe for emerged seedlings and fresh planted seed.”
The cotton and peanut growers, with their later planting dates, might dodge a bullet.
“We haven’t begun to plant yet,” said Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist for the Division of Agriculture. “If we end up getting all the rain they’re calling for, we could see delays, either from extremely wet ground that takes a long time to dry, and/or replants taking priority.
Crop insurance considerations
Stiles said that for crop insurance purposes April 1 is the earliest planting date for rice, with April 15 being the earliest planting date for soybeans.
“Rice or soybeans that have already been planted are not eligible for replant payments
from crop insurance,” he said.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension
Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture
research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture,
visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower,
mhightower@uada.edu