Al Awees, the Iraqi government’s buying agent, confirmed another 44,000 metric ton (MT) purchase of U.S. rice yesterday, with the vessel expected to sail in January 2027. This sale builds on a purchase covering two vessels made this summer, and marks the first shipment of the 2027 USA Rice-Al Awees memorandum of understanding (MOU) which calls for the purchase of 200,000 MT of U.S. rice annually.
Read MoreChoice of varieties for planting is a crucial management decision that sets the stage for yield potential and input costs. While grain yield is the most important factor, test weight, disease resistance, and heading date are important considerations as they also impact economic return.
Test weight is important because low test weight results in dockage at the elevator. Heading day is a function of cold requirement (vernalization) and day length (photoperiod) response that determines when a variety heads out.
Read MoreThe 89th International Rice Festival (IRF) was held here last weekend and once again, the mighty grain, and the men and women who raise it, mill it, and send it around the world, were celebrated in typical Louisiana fashion on two enormous soundstages and around the community.
Read MoreThe 89th International Rice Festival, held here this past weekend, was a grand time per usual – full of parading, live music, dancing, socializing, and, of course, eating rice. But this year, the USA Rice family had extra cause to celebrate. Ahead of the festival, Kane Webb, USA Rice director of field services, was selected as this year’s honoree.
Read MoreThe USDA’s October Rice Outlook examines the latest developments in the U.S. rice industry, including production forecasts, crop conditions, supply and demand, trade and market prices. The report offers an updated look at the factors shaping the rice market and provides valuable insight for Louisiana rice producers as they navigate the current growing season and look ahead to the next marketing year.
Read MoreThroughout the month of September, USA Rice celebrated 2026 National Rice Month (NRM) by highlighting U.S.-grown rice and celebrating the men and women behind the grain through consumer outreach, social media, recipes, chain partnerships, and events promoting the U.S.-rice industry.
Read MoreDowntown Crowley will welcome festivalgoers for four days of music, food, carnival rides and rice traditions when the 89th International Rice Festival returns Oct. 15-18.
Read MoreThe company is lowering the price on two of its most widely planted varieties. It says the decision has less to do with those varieties and more to do with the economics growers are facing right now.
Read MoreLast week, USDA announced that Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments will be made available to eligible producers in October for the 2025 crop year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) also increased the ARC/PLC payment limit from $125,000 to $155,000, starting with the 2025 crop year with annual adjustments based on inflation. The payment limit for the 2025 crop year is $160,000.
Read MoreRice delphacid (RD) was detected from our Rice Research Verification Field in Beauregard Parish. This is the first time RD has been seen in 2026 from commercial fields in Louisiana. Previous observations have been limited to research plots in NELA.
Read MoreAlong Mill Street in Crowley, there was a time where 13 rice mills operated to serve local farmers and the local economy. Now there are only two, one of which is Falcon Rice Mill
Read MoreThis Saturday, a special Black-bellied whistling duck season begins. It will run through October 11th. Wildlife and Fisheries Assistant Secretary Tommy Tuma says Louisiana is the first state to have a black bellied whistling duck season, and it’s because there is an overabundance of them.
“We’ve seen expansion of their population and range into south Louisiana, to the point where there are a lot of them early in the season,” Tuma said.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Rice Producers Group is pleased to join the American Sugar Cane League, LA Farm Bureau, and our partners in agriculture around the state, in thanking Governor Jeff Landry for his executive order declaring the emergency we are all faced with due to the shortage and high cost of diesel fuel, impacting our operations as we have never seen before in our industry.
Read MoreMore than 650 agribusiness professionals from 41 states and 13 countries attended the 2026 Women in Agribusiness Summit here last week and U.S. rice was proudly represented.
Read MoreIn South Louisiana, a field of rice may have a second life after the grain is harvested.
Months later, that same field can be filled with water, dotted with traps and producing another Louisiana staple: crawfish.
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