Kimberly Rogowski says Anheuser-Busch believes you can’t make a great beer without high quality agricultural ingredients, and, in today’s environment, that increasingly means with sustainably produced crops such as barley, hops and rice.

As interest in U.S.-grown rice amongst Chinese importers rises, USA Rice commissioned a consumer research study to help refine marketing targets, gauge attitudes, and develop general market intelligence on which to base a strategic approach to the consumer market.

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture entomologists are seeking an emergency exemption to allow for the use of Intrepid to help control armyworms that threaten the state’s 1.24 million acres of rice.

“This is the biggest outbreak of fall armyworm situation that I’ve ever seen in my career,” Gus Lorenz, extension entomologist for the Division of Agriculture, said Wednesday. “They’re in pastures, rice, soybeans, grain sorghum. It’s epic.”

Earlier this month, the largest anti-communist protest in decades took place here as Cuban citizens begin to fight for their freedom. The protests have been led primarily by backers of the United States and disenfranchised young Cubans in response to major medicine and food shortages and in opposition to the Cuban government’s COVID-19 lockdowns.

The Cuban government responded by jailing protesters and further censoring internet access to “banned content,” including some social media platforms.

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.