08 SEPTEMBER 2014 - BANG BAN, PHRA NAKHON SI AYUTTHAYA, THAILAND: Rice being harvested on a farm in Ban Bang, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province north of Bangkok. Rice farmers in central Thailand are harvesting their rice crop. The race is on to get the rice harvested before the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries start their cycle of annual floods. Although the central plains have gotten less rain than normal, communities in northern Thailand are experiencing a heavy monsoon and flood gates upriver of the central plains have been opened. The flood waters are expected to reach Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province by the middle of September. This year's rice crop is expected to be lower than last year's because many farmers planted less rice because the government subsidy program ended.       PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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