LAKE VILLAGE, Ark. (RFD-TV News) — Dry weather is keeping harvest moving in Arkansas, but some crops are feeling the effects.
Joe Mencer of Mencer Family Farms says irrigated cotton is producing a bumper crop, while dryland cotton has struggled. Hot, dry conditions are also raising concerns about rice quality.
At the same time, higher fuel costs are cutting into farm profits. Mencer says some harvest equipment now costs around $200 an hour in diesel to operate.
Those concerns recently took Mencer to Washington, D.C., where he advocated for farmers and ranchers as president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas.
USDA says around 30% of the crop has been harvested, up from 13% the previous week.
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