It amounted to a startling bit of news from the Extension Service, the premise being that members of the state Legislature need to be more informed about all things agriculture in the state.
At the recent opening of a rice research facility, Sen. Ron Caldwell of Wynne noted that more money was needed for ag research, but getting that across to lawmakers was an uphill battle.
“In fact, of our 135 members in the Legislature, we only have one rice farmer: Sen. Blake Johnson from Corning,” Caldwell said, “We are committed to outreach and education. One of the first outreaches we need to make is our own legislative elected officials, because they need to understand how important rice is to the state and to the country.”
Just how important the crop is is somewhat staggering. Children doubtless still hear at some point in school about Arkansas and its rice crop. And such lessons are reinforced for those living in this part of the state where they only have to look out of the window of their car driving into the Delta to see the depth and breadth of all the crops being grown.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
As well, it’s informative to have it pointed out that Arkansas is the States’ top rice grower and that it produces half of the nation’s entire crop.
To put the impact of rice and other crops into perspective, agriculture contributes the equivalent of $4,530 per person to the state’s economy or some $14 billion, not to mention the other $450 million that comes from the forestry industry.
As the experts pointed out, the part that agriculture plays in the economy is not something to take for granted. One of the reasons Arkansas is tops is because the Division of Agriculture is constantly doing research into best practices.
Deacue Fields, head of the division, pointed out the enormous return on investment when the state spends money on research.
“We are able to document that the growth in the industry is highly correlated to the research and discoveries that have happened through the Division of Agriculture,” he said. “We did a cost analysis strictly on rice. We estimate that $91 million annually going toward the economy from rice research. That’s a $28.5 to $1 benefit cost ratio.”
Talk about being good stewards of the tax dollar!
Caldwell noted that if the research arm gets an increase, it will be the first time in eight years. We all know what’s happened in the past few years.
“Inflation is killing them,” he said. “This is something we’re going to have to address. But the Legislature is going to have to take the ball and run with it.”
State lawmakers get criticized many times for fixin’ what ain’t broke. Perhaps they could turn their attention to this subject, which needs their help and quickly. The impact of the state’s agriculture sector is too important to ignore.