Arkansas Farm Bureau Pegs Growers Flood Impact at $500M

The Arkansas Farm Bureau says more than 1 million acres of farmland in the state have been swamped by flooding over the past few weeks, and the economic impact will be greater than $500 million.

The Farm Bureau, which lobbies on agricultural issues and provides insurance, said Tuesday that 300,000 acres will be lost for rice production this year at a cost of $300 million. Arkansas produces about half of the nation’s rice.

The Farm Bureau says its estimate does not take into account losses from damaged farm equipment, lost grain silos and costs to repair farm land and infrastructure, categories that could add tens of millions of dollars in costs.

Agriculture has a $16 billion economic impact in Arkansas each year.