The average variable cash cost of producing rice for farms surveyed in the 1988 Farm Costs and Returns Survey was $5.42 per hundredweight. A fourth of the rice producers surveyed had estimated variable cash expenses less than $4.67, and 25 percent had variable cash expenses greater than $6.59 per hundredweight. Rice acreage, yields, and regional differences among farms appear to be the principal factors influencing production costs. Producers with the lowest costs per hundredweight, on average, planted larger acreages and had higher yields per acre. Regional differences in crop growing conditions and production practices also influenced production costs.