Bobby Hanks, a Louisiana rice miller and chair of the USA Rice International Trade Policy Committee, testified before the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, at a hearing entitled, Advancing America’s Interest at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13). Hanks was one of five witnesses providing feedback to legislators and the only witness strictly representing the interests of agricultural producers.
Read MoreThe 2022-24 Rice Leadership Development Class recently completed the two-year program with their final session held in conjunction with the USA Rice Legislative Fly-In in Washington, DC, February 4 – 8.
On Monday, the group visited the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) headquarters and met with staff from several different agencies that fall under the USDA umbrella of departments that are of vital importance to the industry including the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Economic Research Service (ERS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the World Agricultural Outlook Board.
Read MoreSome farmers are trying furrow-irrigated or row rice to see if they can use less water, a resource that is becoming more and more scarce in parts of the Midsouth.
P.J. Haynie and his family are growing row rice partly because their farming operation was not set up for growing conventional levee rice, but also because they’re part of a USDA pilot project aimed at using Climate-Smart conservation practices like row rice.
Read MoreUSA Rice Washington staff brought a break in the recent rain here for industry visits and to talk about the crop year ahead.
USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann, Chief Operating Officer Sarah Moran, and Vice President of Communications & Domestic Promotion Michael Klein first met with the Central Louisiana Rice Growers Association (CenLaRGA) where President Michael Fruge expressed the frustration and anxiety many Louisiana rice farmers are feeling because of unusually low crawfish harvests in particular.
Read MoreArguably, no cuisine is as closely tied to its region as Cajun cuisine in Louisiana. This cooking style comes from the Acadians (early French settlers in the region of Canada known as Acadie, now Nova Scotia) who migrated to Louisiana after being driven out by the British in the 1700s. After settling in Louisiana, the Acadians adapted their French recipes to what was available in their new home.
Read MoreIt’s past daybreak on a muggy July morning when Konda Mason reaches the farm, a 5-acre plot in rural Louisiana. Mindful of the heat to come, several workers are already weeding, and Ms. Mason – her daily meditation and yoga done – is ready for a busy day.
Read MoreIndia Stands Firm: No negotiations on agriculture until WTO members reach permanent solution on food grain stockholding
Read MoreRonnie Levy knows rice. For four decades and in various roles with the LSU AgCenter, Levy has helped Louisiana farmers grow many of the state’s economically important crops, but much of the focus has been on what is the backbone of so many Louisiana dishes — rice.
Read MoreShipments to Iraq over the past two years have been predictable, something that could not previously have been said about this market. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between USA Rice and Al Awees, the entity purchasing rice on behalf of the government in Iraq, calls for annual purchases of 200,000 tons of U.S. rice which has been fulfilled for the past two years, and 80,000 tons has been sold thus far in the 2023-2024 cycle.
Read MoreThis month’s 2023/24 U.S. corn outlook is for greater production, larger food, seed, and industrial use (FSI), increased feed and residual use, and higher ending stocks. Corn production is estimated at a record 15.3 billion bushels, up 108 million as an increase in yield to a record 177.3 bushels per acre is partly offset by a 0.6-million acre decline in harvested area.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter has named Adam Famoso resident director and research coordinator of its H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station near Crowley.
Famoso, a rice breeder who has been central to the station’s variety development efforts, assumed the role Jan. 1.
Read MoreShe wasn’t looking when the headhunter called. Either time. And she didn’t know anything about rice the first time. She worked on the forest side of the ag industry. She was comfortable.
But USA Rice Federation knew Betsy Ward was the leader they needed – first to lead foreign promotions and a few years later, to lead the organization.
Read MoreSouthern U.S. rice farmers were cautioned to focus more on rice quality as the industry seeks to expand market share in Latin America and elsewhere. The caveat to this is understanding the word “quality” from the perspective of customers in Central and South America.
Read MoreIn mid-December, USA Rice participated in the National Black Growers Council (NBGC) annual meeting that kicked off with opening remarks from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
Objectives and updates were reviewed by NBGC Interim Executive Director Dr. Loston Rowe and NBGC Board Chair PJ Haynie III at the meeting’s outset followed by a full agenda of conference speakers and topics centered around the theme, “Honoring Our Past, Growing Our Future.”
Read MoreThe Tournament of Roses Parade, held here on New Year's Day since 1890, is an annual explosion of activity with vibrant floats, spirited marching bands, horseback riders, and hundreds of thousands of spectators who line the five-mile route to cheer on the electrifying procession.
The 2024 parade once again included an entry from Explore Louisiana, the state’s office of tourism, that featured a larger-than-life Mardi Gras jester, fleur-de-lis, and flourishes incorporating the iconic purple, green, and gold color scheme.
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