Louisiana agriculture officials say prices for long-grain rice are projected to drop this year.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana agriculture officials say prices for long-grain rice are projected to drop this year.
LSU AgCenter economist Mike Salassi says the long-grain variety makes up about 85 percent of the Louisiana rice crop.
Salassi says prices averaged about $15.40 per hundredweight but could slip to $13.30.
He says prices are dropping in part because farmers in Arkansas have increased their planted acreage by about 46 percent. Arkansas is the nation's leading rice producer.
The price of corn has fallen, prompting some Arkansas farmers to switch to rice, Salassi says.