Report Puts Price Tag On Arkansas Farms Losses

Farmers in the Natural State have had a bout with Mother Nature this year.

Between spring floods and summer heat, the agricultural industry in Arkansas has had one of its most challenging years in recent memory. Talk Business contributor Suzi Parker reports for Reuters on a new University of Arkansas study assessing damage from the floods earlier this year:

Arkansas farmers suffered a severe blow from this spring’s floods and stormy weather, with crop damage costing them $335 million in lost farm income, a study released on Monday said.

Rice crops were the hardest hit in the state, where the weather also cost the state nearly 2,150 full- and part-time jobs, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture review.

The study showed that based on initial estimates, economic losses because of flooding also include a reduction of about $102 million in labor income and a decline of $181 million to the gross state product.

Agriculture accounts for one in six Arkansas jobs.

You can read Parker’s full report at this link.