The outlook for 2021/22 U.S. rice this month is for slightly larger supplies, lower domestic use, higher exports, and larger ending stocks. Supplies are raised slightly as increased beginning stocks and imports more than offset lower production.

Beginning stocks are higher, primarily due to lower estimates for domestic use and residual for 2020/21, as implied by the latest NASS Rice Stocks report. Domestic use is also reduced in 2021/22 by 3.0 million cwt to 153.0 million, although still a record.

With their two-year terms ending later this month, the chairs of two USA Rice governing boards handed their gavels to two rising industry leaders. Kirk Satterfield, a Mississippi rice farmer from Bolivar County, was unanimously elected to serve as the new chair of the USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors and Eric Unkel, a Louisiana rice farmer from Allen Parish, was unanimously elected to serve as the new chair of the USA Rice Council Board of Directors.

Chair-elect Satterfield thanked outgoing Chair Nicole Montna Van Vleck of California for her two years of service at the helm of the USA Rice Farmers.

“Nicole’s passion for policy work has helped us all, making sure rice farmers’ best interests were heard, and when the COVID-19 pandemic caused all sorts of issues for our markets, both domestically and internationally, Nicole played a key role to ensure rice farmers’ were included in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program payments,” said Satterfield. “She guided us through long-needed USDA updates to rice crop insurance, including adding alternate wetting and drying and furrow rice as insurable practices, and she also re-established the Farm Policy Task Force to prepare for the upcoming Farm Bill.”

“We have all benefited from Nicole’s service and dedication to the organization over the past two years,” said Satterfield. “Her tenure as chair could quite possibly could go down as both one of the most difficult and successful during these historic times.”

There also was a change in leadership for the USA Rice Council with Louisiana rice farmer Eric Unkle named the new chair. Unkle recognized his predecessor, Arkansas rice farmer Byron Holmes, for his leadership and commitment to the industry.

“Byron saw consumer behavior changing last year as a result of COVID-19 and though tragic, he knew this was a maybe once-in-a-generation opportunity for U.S.-grown rice, and he was integral in developing a new consumer outreach campaign,” said Unkel. “Through budget challenges, record-setting storms, a global pandemic, and reduced acres – we could always count on Byron’s cool, measured demeanor. He’s always got a smile and a kind word, and that steady leadership helped put the Rice Council on a glide path to rebuild reserves while maintaining excellent programming.”

The USA Rice Farmers Board also elected Texas rice farmer L.G. Raun as vice chair. Each new appointee will serve a two-year term that begins August 1, 2021.

USDA released its’ much-anticipated June Acreage report this week. The most surprising aspect of the report was the lack of change from the March intentions. Likely the report left traders with more questions than answers. In truth, the acreage picture may not begin to clear until August when we get a first look at FSA certified acreage.

Rice farmers at the recent Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day had a chance to see firsthand how new PVL03, the latest variety for the Provisia® Rice System, can be used to effectively bring fields infested with weedy rice and resistant grasses back into profitable production.

After the cancellation of last year’s field day due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a season of disruptions, a sizable crowd came together at Richard Farm to hear the latest on the Provisia Rice System and top-performing Horizon Ag Provisia and Clearfield® varieties.

USA Rice staff fanned out across rice-growing regions in southwest Louisiana and Texas to attend industry meetings, meet with members, and participate in field days.

After virtual field days in 2020, rice farmers, consultants, researchers, and rice industry related individuals were excited to be back in person to hear updates on agronomy, sustainability, variety/hybrid breeding, and weed, disease, and insect control.

“Essentially, we found that warmer nights throw the rice plant’s internal clock out of whack,” says Colleen Doherty, an associate professor of biochemistry at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of a paper on the work in the journal PNAS.

“Most people think plants aren’t dynamic, but they are. Plants are constantly regulating their biological processes—gearing up for photosynthesis just before dawn, winding that down in the late afternoon, determining precisely how and where to burn their energy resources. Plants are busy, it’s just difficult to observe all that activity from the outside.”

And what researchers have learned is that the clock responsible for regulating all of that activity gets messed up when the nights get hotter relative to the days.

The Rice Leadership Development Program gives future leaders a comprehensive understanding of the rice industry, with an emphasis on personal development and communication skills. The class attends four one-week sessions over a two-year period that encompasses studies of all aspects of the rice industry through firsthand observations. They also attend seminars and workshops designed to strengthen leadership skills. The Rice Foundation will be accepting applications for the Rice Leadership Development Program, July 1 – September 10, 2021.

To be eligible to participate in the Rice Leadership Development Program, applicants must derive their primary livelihood as rice producers or from a rice industry-related profession or firm, including rice mills, rice product marketers, sales officials, dryers, extension services, research facilities, etc. Participants from the industry-related category must serve the rice industry in their primary job responsibility. Applicants must be between the ages of 25 to 46 at time of application.

To apply for the program and for additional information please visit http://www.usarice.com/foundation/leadership-program. For additional information please contact Steve Linscombe (Program Director) slinscombe@usarice.com.

All applicants will receive notification on whether they are selected as a finalist. All applicants chosen as finalists must be available for personal interviews. Interviews will be conducted by the Rice Leadership Selection Committee in conjunction with the USA Rice Outlook Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December 2021. The 2022-2024 Rice Leadership Development Class will be announced at the Annual Awards Luncheon at the USA Rice Outlook Conference. A special committee of rice industry and agribusiness leaders evaluate applications and letters of recommendation, as well as conduct personal interviews to determine the 4-5 rice producers and 2-3 individuals from rice-industry related professions who will make up the Rice Leadership Development Class.

The program has been in existence for over 30 years and most of the current leaders of the rice industry are alumni of the program. The Rice Leadership Development Program is funded by grants from John Deere Company, RiceTec and American Commodity Company to The Rice Foundation. The USA Rice Federation develops and manages the program on behalf of The Rice Foundation.

As the floodwaters from the recent weather event in Arkansas recede, damage from these storms is still being assessed, though it is feared the areas impacted will be much greater than originally estimated. Most folks will tell you they have not seen rain or flooding or damage of this magnitude in 50 years.

Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward and Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain joined the latest episode of the USA Rice podcast for far-ranging conversations on everything from bioterrorism to WOTUS.