U.S. rice production is estimated down 20% from 2016 while nearby rough rice futures traded in Chicago were up nearly 30% from a year ago in late November. The drastic reduction largely was the result of reduced planted and harvested area as rice (as well as corn and sorghum) lost acreage mainly to soybeans and cotton due to relative prices when planting decisions were made earlier in the year. Slightly better national average rice yield provided some offset to lower acreage. Rice prices were declining in March while soybean prices were rising, Nathan Childs, Ph.D., an agricultural economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said earlier in the year, and U.S. rice carryout for 2017 at the time was forecast at more than a 30-year high.