Hot summer temps speed rice harvest Early planting and higher-
than-average temperatures have led to Mississippi’s earliest
rice crop harvest to date. Optimal planting for rice is before
May 1, and favorable conditions allowed most of the state’s crop
to make it in by that date. Then, hot summer temperatures
accelerated the crop’s maturation process, allowing more than
half of Mississippi’s rice to be harvested by early September.
“Rice responds well to heat, and because of the high
temperatures the state experienced this summer, the crop matured
early,” said Nathan Buehring, rice specialist with the
Mississippi State University Extension Service. “Almost 60
percent has been harvested already. This is the earliest harvest
we’ve ever had.” Harvesting in Washington County was well
underway by mid-August. By early September, very little crop was
left in the fields. Local woman arrested in death of caregiver
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