Insects and other pests can destroy a crop at any stage, reducing yields and grower profits.
Over the past few years, Louisiana has experienced a multitude of pests attacking the rice industry. Growers and researchers continue to be diligent in finding ways to combat the issues that arise to have a successful and productive harvest.
Read MoreThe invasive Mexican rice borer (Eoreuma loftini) has become increasingly problematic in Louisiana in recent years and threatens both rice and sugarcane, the two most important crops in the southern part of the state.
Read MoreToday, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee held a hearing on Opportunities and Challenges Facing Farmers, Families, and Rural Communities where Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified and responded to questions on a litany of issues.
Read MoreRice researchers at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at Beaumont have begun a project that utilizes unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, data to speed up rice cultivar selection and breeding.
The team will use UAVs to capture real-time images of rice crops, extract crop phenotypic traits from the images, and ultimately analyze that information to discover superior, high-yielding rice genotypes.
Read MoreCROWLEY, La. – Supreme Rice, one of the largest rice-milling operations in Louisiana, is investing $16.2 million to develop parboil facilities in Crowley and Mermentau for a new line of ready-to-eat products. The expansion will create 20 direct new jobs, and LED estimates the project will result in 79 indirect jobs, for a total of nearly 100 new jobs in Acadia Parish. The company will retain 181 jobs at its current locations.
Read MoreCongressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) commended Supreme Rice’s announcement of a $16.2 million investment to develop parboil facilities for a new product line.
Supreme Rice will build a new greenfield facility in Mermentau for the parboil operations and develop a new parboil mill inside the existing facility in Crowley. The project is expected to create 20 direct jobs and 79 indirect jobs in Acadia Parish. Read more about the announcement here.
With the volume of rainfall Louisiana has received over the course of 2021, rice producers may be forgiven if irrigation practices aren’t top of mind.
However, researchers must think both in the short and long term, so LSU AgCenter soil fertility specialist Manoch Kongchum is studying if large yields can be achieved with less water.
Kongchum is in the midst of a four-year study at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station that is examining water use and grain yield from four different water management practices: conventional delayed flooding, alternate wetting and drying, semiaerobic, and furrow irrigation, which is also known as row rice.
Read MoreIn any ‘normal’ crop year, replanting costs play a substantial role in estimating the additional production cost per unit (bushel). However, inflationary pressures and input price volatility observed since the fall of 2021 have cut into expected profit margins for 2022.
Read MoreLast week, Congresswoman Julia Letlow (R-LA) was appointed to serve on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations that has oversight over almost all federal expenditures and determines all discretionary spending.
Read MoreThis week, the Agricultural and Food Policy Center (AFPC) at Texas A&M University released a study on the impact of commodity price changes and higher input costs on its 64 crop representative farms, including rice farms, requested by Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.
Read MoreDuring the next several weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey.
Read MoreRice industry leaders gathered this week to share news, hear policy updates, and plan for the future and USA Rice staff was there.
Read MoreCrawfish production in southern Louisiana is changing. What used to be a secondary crop for rice producers is now often taking center stage.
Crawfish benefit from rice production, feeding on the plant stubble and thriving in a hospitable habitat.
Read MoreThe Central Region Rice Field Day is set for May 26th at Bieber Farms in Mamou.
Read MoreLast Friday, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) took major steps to address ever-growing rail service delays, beginning with issuance of an order to the four major rail carriers requiring regular reporting and plans for service recovery.
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