Is 2024 the worst year ever for Minnesota wild rice?

Minnesota’s wild rice harvest season officially opened Aug. 15, but late ripening of 2024’s thin crop means actual harvest only began last week.
Blame it on high water during a critical time in the aquatic plant’s natural development, but 2024 might just be one of the worst years ever for wild rice. Ann Geisen, wildlife lake specialist for the Minnesota DNR’s shallow lakes program, monitors wild rice reports from central Minnesota. She described the status of the state’s wild rice crop as poor and said harvesting has been challenging for ricers thus far.

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