Forrest Laws
April 7, 2017
6 Min Read
Mike Sullivan with one of the fields of furrow-irrigated rice he and his son, Ryan, grew on Florenden Farms near Burdette, Ark. in 2016.
For some rice farmers, the decision to try furrow-irrigated rice may come down to a question of water availability or expense. For Arkansas producers Mike and Ryan Sullivan, the issue was trips across the field.
That figures into expenses, as well, but it can also result in a lot of wear and tear on producers and their employees – the challenge of having to do something over and over again with no reasonable expectation of it getting easier.
That was one of the primary factors in Ryan Sullivan’s decision to try furrow-irrigated or row rice after hearing Louisiana rice producer Wendell Minson discuss the concept during a presentation at the National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference in Baton Rouge, La., in 2015.