It looks as if the topic that will be chewed and re-chewed for the rest of the month is likely to be planting intentions.

That's a more pressing consideration the farther south one goes, of course, and I thought it was interesting to see a piece out of Louisiana State University's AgCenter today talking about north Louisiana farmers who are switching from beans to rice.

LSU conducted a rice growing clinic in early March, and one attendee, the article said, grew rice for the first time last year, along with corn and beans, but without the South's traditional crop of cotton.

The article also quoted a producer who said he's found Louisiana's hot summers often create quality problems for soybeans.

Most of the rice produced in Louisiana is grown in the southwest part of the state, the article stated, with only about 20 percent of the rice crop typically grown in the northeast part of the state. That might change this year.