Farmington Seniors Named Rice Reps

FARMINGTON — Though Northwest Arkansas does not have rice farms, two rising seniors from Farmington High School are serving as Arkansas Rice Representatives for the Arkansas Rice Council.

Isabella Norsworthy and her twin sister, Abigail Norsworthy, applied for the positions and are two of 50 selected representatives out of 100 applications. The twins are the only two selected to serve from Northwest Arkansas.

Isabella said the purpose of being a rice representative is to learn about the crop and then pass that information on to others through social media and other forums.

“This is a way to inform the public to help with any misconceptions,” Isabella said.

This is the first year the rice council has sponsored a group with high school rice representatives.

The rice representatives have a calendar of events and are encouraged to attend as many as they can. The year started with an orientation for the new representatives. They’ve also been able to tour the Brantley Rice Farm in England and attend a rice cooking class.

In August, the students can participate in a Row Crop Field Day and then in September, the council will sponsor Rice Day.

Norsworthy said the representatives in addition to learning more about rice are competing with each other for college scholarships, based on their participation and completing projects.

Her goal is third place, a $500 scholarship, she said.

While they are very familiar with livestock, Isabella said she knows a little about rice because her father works in research with the science division at the University of Arkansas. His research is based on controlling weeds and that has included rice research, she said.

This year, Isabella said she has learned the rice crop is behind schedule because of rain. She said some farms have not been able to plant all of their fields because of the rain. On a normal year, rice is harvested in August.

Isabella said she’s also learned about the preparation period for planting rice, irrigation of rice fields and how the land is drained. She also learned that rice farmers rent their fields for duck hunting during the off season.

According to the Arkansas Rice Council, Arkansas has 2,300 rice farms and ranks first in the nation in the largest amount of rice produced. The state exports a lot of its rice to China.

In addition to their new roles this year, the twins are both active with Farmington High’s FFA chapter. Isabella is chapter president and her sister, chapter vice president. They also represented Farmington at the 2019 Arkansas Girls State.

Isabella plans to attend the University of Arkansas and study agriculture communications and horticulture.

Her most important message when telling people about the crop, Isabella said, is to tell them to eat more rice because they are supporting an Arkansas crop.

Abigail Norsworthy was away at a camp and not available for an interview.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Isabella Norsworthy is serving as an Arkansas Rice Representative this year, along with her sister, Abigail.