By Carah Hart

A market analyst says the rice and cotton markets remain under pressure as the New Year begins and it could stay that way awhile.

Jamie Wilkerson with RCM Ag Services is based in southeast Arkansas. He tells Brownfield rice prices have hit multi-year lows, based on weak export demand due to a lower quality crop.

“We can’t quite meet the quality standards that the exporters desire. It could take at least one market cycle, maybe two, to get out of this quality issue. We will need lower production and going in the 26-27 crop year.”

Wilkerson says the U.S. rice market would benefit from a global weather scare in a larger production area, but that’s not expected. He says the U.S. might adjust rice supplies to help the situation.

“We could easily lose 25 to 35 percent of the acreage relative to 2025. It’s going to be a significant reduction.”

He says cotton prices have more stability than rice prices right now, but demand isn’t strong enough to dramatically lift prices.

“The issues with China do always influence the prices here.”

Wilkerson says he remains optimistic better times are ahead in agriculture, and farmers should be proactive when marketing their crops.

Published Date: January 7, 2026