Wild rice crops take a hit
Rain and high water in some parts of Minnesota have dashed the dreams of a big wild rice harvest.
WDIO-TV reports that Kettle Lake in Carlton County is reporting an average crop, but about 100 miles west the rice crop has been cut in half.
Rain flooded northwestern Minnesota earlier this summer and drowned budding rice plants.
Officials say Minnesota is the No. 2 producer of wild rice in the United States. Officials say smaller crops on area lakes won't cause local shortages.
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That's because most gas stations and grocery stores that sell wild rice get it from industrial rice paddies grown in central Minnesota.
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Information from: WDIO-TV
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
