2024 International Temperate Rice Conference: Forum for Information Exchange
More than 250 people from more than 25 countries across six continents attended the 2024 International Temperate Rice Conference (ITRC) held here last week. USA Rice and the Louisiana State University AgCenter co-hosted the four-day event, and USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann was on hand to welcome attendees.
“Research within the industry over the last half of a century has led to monumental breakthroughs and growth in yields and production efficiency, and when you combine this impressive group of professionals from all corners of the globe with modern technology and turn them loose, our opportunities for advancement of the world’s rice industry are limitless,” said Bachmann.
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Field Day Highlights Climate-Smart Rice Production Strategies
At first glance, it would be difficult to tell much of a difference between the rice fields sitting on either side of a dirt road running through Wyatt Hardee’s farm near Kaplan.
But as attendees of a recent field day heard while touring the farm with Hardee and a team of LSU AgCenter researchers, the two rice fields have been subjected to vastly different production methods.
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Nutrien Supports USA Rice-Duck Unlimited Rice Stewardship Partnership
Nutrien, a leading crop inputs and services provider, recently committed $1 million over four years to support sustainable agriculture practices for rice growers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas and California.
Through the USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited decade-long Rice Stewardship Program (Rice Stewardship), we have built a field team of partners who have worked on more than 1,000 rice farms spanning nearly one million acres, improving agricultural and environmental performances.
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LSU AgCenter Project Aims At Making Rice More Sustainable, Profitable
Its full name is Climate Resilient Innovations for Sustainable Production of Rice, but it’s mostly known by the acronym CRISP Rice.
The goal of this project being undertaken by scientists with the LSU AgCenter is to enhance the profitability and sustainability of rice production in the southern U.S.
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Australian Rice Industry Representatives Tour U.S. Rice Regions
Ahead of the International Temperate Rice Conference (ITRC) hosted by USA Rice and the Louisiana State University Ag Center, members of the Australian rice industry including the Australian Rice Growers Association and university researchers, took a preconference detour to experience the U.S. rice industry firsthand. The group of 19 arrived in Houston last Wednesday and met up with USA Rice’s Dr. Steve Linscombe, Kane Webb, and Shelby Young for two days of touring south Texas.
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CRISP Rice Project Aims At Making Rice Industry More Profitable & Sustainable
Developing rice varieties that are heat and saltwater tolerant and can withstand disease and insect pests is a primary goal of the CRISP rice project. LSU AgCenter correspondent Craig Gautreaux gives us some insight into the project.
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Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day June 24 in Kaplan, Louisiana
From the performance of the latest Provisia® and Clearfield® varieties to updates on promising lines in development and a new agreement with the LSU AgCenter, the 2024 Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day is where the industry comes together to celebrate rice country.
The event is scheduled for June 24 at Richard Farms, located at 5632 Louisiana Highway 700 here in Kaplan, with registration at 4:30 p.m. ahead of a field tour at 5 p.m. The tour will be followed by presentations from Horizon Ag, LSU AgCenter and industry rice specialists.
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After Marathon Markup, House Ag Committee Passes Positive Farm Bill for Rice Farmers, Industry
On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture convened to consider its version of the 2024 Farm Bill, formally known as H.R. 8467, The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, ultimately passing the measure by a bipartisan vote of 33 to 21.
This “markup” process allows Committee members to vote to accept or reject amendments offered to the bill by other members of the Committee. The session lasted approximately 11 hours, with the Committee approving a handful of amendments that aren’t directly impactful to the U.S. rice industry.
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Rice Field Days Calendar
As we near the end of May, most rice growers have their 2024 rice crop in the ground. Overall, reports have this year’s crop in pretty good standing so far, despite several rounds of inclement weather, severe in some areas of the south over the last few weeks. It’s also that time of year when growers take the opportunity to attend various field day events hosted by research and extension staff who provide updates on current crop conditions and progress reports on research projects.
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June 25 Field Day Will Showcase LSU AgCenter Rice Research
The LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station will open its doors to visitors June 25 for its 115th annual field day, where research projects aimed at developing new rice varieties, managing pests and improving other aspects of production will be showcased.
The event will include tours of research plots along with a scientific poster session, trade show, indoor presentations and lunch. Field tours will start at 7 a.m., with the last wagon departing no later than 8:30 a.m.
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USA Rice On-Hand As Trade Advances & Cuban Private Sector Expands
Last week, USA Rice participated in the U.S.-Cuba Agriculture Business Conference organized by the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba with the hope of furthering engagement between U.S. rice exporters and Cuban importers.
USA Rice met with private companies, agricultural cooperatives, and Alimport, the government agency that imports agricultural goods (and used to be the only entity authorized to do so). As Cuba is economically transitioning from state socialism to a mixed economy, the private sector is being developed and able to import U.S. goods. Additionally, last month the Cuban government authorized agricultural cooperatives to import and export.
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Market Update for Corn, Soybeans, Rice, and Cotton: May 2024
The 2024/25 U.S. corn outlook is for larger supplies, greater domestic use and exports, and higher ending stocks. The corn crop is projected at 14.9 billion bushels, 3 percent down from last year’s record as increases in yield helped partially offset decreased area. The yield projection of 181.0 bushels per acre is based on a weather-adjusted trend assuming normal planting progress and summer growing season weather, estimated using the 1988-2023 period.
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Agricultural Business Between Cuba and the U.S.
In the opinion of U.S. Congressman Rick Crawford, holding this type of meetings on a regular basis constitutes progress, although “we are still not where we would like to be”.
For any country in the world, food security is an essential component of national security, the legislator, who appreciated the growing support within the United States for agricultural initiatives in favor of regularizing economic and trade relations with the island, said.
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An Invasive Snail Found in Arkansas
The invasive Apple Snail was recently found in a live crawfish shipment coming from Louisiana to Arkansas. Experts say while there may not be an immediate concern for rice farmers currently, land owners and crawfish enthusiasts alike should be aware of the snails and alert Arkansas Game and Fish if they spot any of the invasive species.
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New USA Rice Intern Has Deep Roots In LA Rice Industry
Caroline Hardy has joined the USA Rice team as a government affairs intern and will be working out of the Arlington office until she begins a law clerkship in Louisiana later this summer.
A Louisiana native, Caroline earned her B.S. from McNeese State University in agribusiness in 2021 and is entering her final year at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
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