UADA: Arkansas crop damage exceeds $78 million in April flood

Heavy rain and storms from April 2-5 resulted in at least $78.93 million in crop-related flood damage in Arkansas, with most of the total in the eastern part of the state, according to an assessment from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Of the 839,798 acres of Arkansas cropland planted as of April 7, 31% was flooded, noted the assessment posted Tuesday (April 15).

According to the National Weather Service, storms across the state and parts of the Mid-South culminated in “generational” flooding, with some areas receiving more than 1 foot of rain. The Cache, Black, White, and Ouachita rivers flooded, and water levels are not expected to fall significantly through April 18.

The assessment shows rice as the state’s most flooded crop, with 46% of the acreage flooded. Soybeans were second at 30% flooded, followed by corn at 23% flooded. Winter wheat was 1% flooded. The assessment didn’t include peanuts and cotton because those crops are planted later.

Total replanting expenses for the flooded crops are projected to be $42.04 million, according to the analysis. Following is the estimated cost per commodity:

• Corn, $11.44 million
• Rice, $20.91 million
• Soybeans, $9.68 million

According to the analysis, winter wheat damaged by flooding won’t be replanted, and with fertilizers and other inputs already invested in the crop, wheat growers will face about $18 million in losses.

The value of federal crop insurance indemnities, or the amount insurance would pay back to farmers, is $18.69 million.

On Tuesday, the Division of Agriculture released a fact sheet on the preliminary damage estimates. Agricultural economists and agronomists from the Division of Agriculture made their calculations based on observations from county Cooperative Extension Service agents. (Link here for a PDF of the fact sheet.)

“We recognize that this is likely a conservative estimate as we have not accounted for yield loss resulting from late planting, damage to farm structures such as grain bins, and unreported acreage that is flooded,” said Hunter Biram, extension economist for the UA System Division of Agriculture. “We note that these losses are one-third of the projected economic assistance to be received by Arkansas crop producers highlighting the significance of this flood event in the face of multiyear declines in net farm income and heightened market volatility.”

Deacue Fields, head of the Division of Agriculture and agricultural economist, said damage assessment is critical to obtaining aid for affected farmers.

“We created this assessment to help our farmers and are sharing our findings with Gov. Sanders and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” he said. “Both are in a position to help the people of Arkansas agriculture through this very difficult time. We truly appreciate the speed at which our agents and faculty collected and processed this information under very difficult conditions.”

The Division of Agriculture will obtain additional surveys to refine the damage estimate further.

Agriculture is the state’s largest industry valued at more than $24 billion.