Above: A northeast Arkansas rice field burns. (Photo courtesy of Arkansas Agriculture Department)
By Kenneth Heard, Arkansas Advocate
Thick, acrid smoke drifted into Jonesboro one recent October afternoon as rice farmers to the west burned off harvested stubble in their fields.
The haze blanketed the Craighead County city, turning the sun into a dull orange sphere resembling the smog that hangs over industrial cities. Several downtown denizens thought a building was burning. Others complained of irritated eyes, headaches and asthmatic type symptoms.
Burning suggestions developed by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Arkansas Rice Federation indicated it was a decent day to burn fields, but an apparent afternoon temperature inversion — a level of atmosphere where the temperature increases with height instead of getting cooler — kept the smoke closer to the ground.
Smoke from burning crop residue has been an issue for decades in northeast Arkansas. But now, as farming costs continue to skyrocket, burning has become more prevalent.
“A match costs three cents to set a fire,” said Joe Christian, who farms rice along the Cache River near the Craighead and Jackson county line. “It’s a hundred dollars an acre to disc a field.”
The current guidelines are more suggestions than rules, and farmers participate on a volunteer basis.
Republican state Rep. Fran Cavenaugh of Walnut Ridge wants to beef up regulation of crop burning and plans to introduce legislation during the state’s General Assembly in January to do so. If it passes, the law will fine offenders who don’t follow burning guidelines.
“It’s one of the first things I plan to offer,” said Cavenaugh, who represents District 30, which comprises portions of Lawrence, Craighead and Greene counties. “We need to set strict guidelines. I want to impose pretty significant fines for those who won’t comply.”
Burning increased about 10 years ago when farming costs for maintenance, equipment and borrowing increased, intensifying the smoke from the area fields.
PROBLEM ANALYZED IN 2017
Warren Skaug, a retired Jonesboro pediatrician, began monitoring air with Environmental Protection Agency equipment and found startling air quality results.
In a 2017 report to legislators, Skaug wrote that on Oct. 20, 2017, carbon levels in Newport measured 156.2 micrograms per cubic meter. Levels of carbon considered “good” are 0-12.5 ug/m3. An “unhealthy for everyone” rating measured from 55.5-150.4 ug/m3.
“Each fall for the past several years, medical providers in our area have noted an increased number of patients with respiratory conditions, including asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis and worsening COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” Skaug wrote in his report.
“There are many smaller communities that endure such levels repeatedly throughout the burning season,” Skaug wrote.
Skaug did note in the report the financial gains farmers receive by burning. He wrote that there was evidence that tilled rice stubble adds back nutrients to the soil, but can allow pests to gradually accumulate and weeds to regrow.
Even more concerning than the air quality, Cavenaugh said, are the safety issues for motorists.
Smoke from a burning field in Jackson County in October 2023 impeded motorists’ vision on U.S. 67 and caused a 16-car accident. Two people were killed and six were injured. An Arkansas State Police report stated that weather conditions were good and the roadway was dry. It blamed smoke blowing across the highway from a nearby rice field fire. The person who set the fire now faces charges of reckless burning, which is a Class D felony.
“When it comes to safety, we have to do this,” Cavenaugh said.
“We’ve already got a structure in place ,” she added, referring to the FireSMART app, a program created for farmers to use to determine if conditions are safe to burn. Part of her new suggested legislation includes a service in which farmers call a hotline to talk to a weather forecaster for current conditions.
“Most farmers are using it,” she said. “They want to be good neighbors. They are doing this willingly now. But we need to add more strength to it because this area is such a large producer of rice and there are so many rice farmers.”
‘We don’t require legislation’
Christian said many of the farmers he knows who burn their fields do it correctly.
“It’s a valuable tool for us,” he said about burning rice stubble. “As tough as it is economically to farm, this does save money. But farmers need to know when to burn. If smoke is blowing into a city, we don’t need to do it.
“We don’t require legislation,” he added. “We need to do better. All of us. We’re preaching to the choir about correct burning.”
Kelly Robbins, the president of the Arkansas Rice Federation, has worked with Cavenaugh in crafting the proposed legislation and touts the FireSMART app.
Burning has been an integral part of crop residue management for decades, he said. It leaves roots in the soil to decay and replenish nutrients, and it helps keep down soil disturbance, which reduces erosion and loss, he said.
“[Burning] creates less trips across the field with equipment, reducing both costs and emissions,” he said. “It is an important and timely tool in a farmer’s toolbox to prepare fields for the next season by reducing pests, insects, weeds and disease.
“The row crop community understands the importance of being a good neighbor and using fire responsibly,” Robbins added. “We appreciate Rep. Cavenaugh’s public service and look forward to learning more about her plans and to being engaged in the process.
Jennifer James, a Jackson County rice farmer and creator of a farming blog called Field Good Life, encourages other farmers to use the FireSMART app
“Why are farmers reluctant to use the app?” she wrote in a recent post. “Is it because they do not want others to know they are burning? It seems a little silly to me because a field fire is noticeable. Most neighbors know who owns the fields which surround them.
“…please be proactive to check the conditions and report the burn,” she wrote. “It only takes a few fires that go wrong to cripple the rest of the industry. Do not let your actions be the determining factors that negatively impact us all.”
Cavenaugh expects the first thing she’ll do when the Legislature convenes in early January is to offer the burning bill.
“Some states totally regulate burning,” she said. “My goal is to let the good guys continue burning as they are doing now and punishing those who don’t with large fines.”
The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.
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