About this Session

Reduced Tillage Decreases Soil Losses And Increases Probability Of Planting On Time. “Early”

Presented by: Dr. Ronnie Levy, State Rice Specialist/Associate Professor, Agronomy, LSU AgCenter

Research shows that reducing tillage can reduce soil losses.  Preparing your seedbed in the fall will allow time for vegetative soil coverage (reducing soil loss) while allowing to have fields ready to plant when conditions are favorable.  Drill-seeding, dry broadcasting, or water-seeding can initiate early planting as soon as weather will allow.  Early planting usually results in higher yields, less insect and disease pressure, and better harvest weather.

My Experiences In Raising Provisio Rice

Presented by: Michael Fruge, Louisiana Farmer

Fruge has been growing Provisio rice since it first came out in 2018, raising as much as 400 acres at a time and as little as 40 acres. He uses it frugally, with an eye on preserving the longevity of the technology, to keep it around as long as possible. “We use it as a tool to clean up a high population of weedy rice,” he says. Where that problem does not exist, other chemistry is used.

He grew up on a farm and raised his first crop on his own in 2010. He received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy with a minor in ag business in 2005. His crops include rice, soybeans and crawfish.