Louisiana Rice Industry Preps For Planting With Meetings, Annual Rice Ball
This past weekend, the Louisiana rice industry came together here for the Louisiana Rice Council and Louisiana Rice Growers Association Joint Annual Membership Meeting, followed by the Louisiana Rice PAC (LaRPAC) Annual Rice Ball.
The historic Grand Opera House of the South was the setting for the industry’s gathering, and a grand time was had by all who were in attendance. Despite the late afternoon weather causing issues for some, the room was filled with rice growers and industry representatives as the festivities got under way.
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Advocate Editorial: La. Rice Farmers are Collateral Damage in Fight Over USAID
The hastily developed and executed pause in aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, has thrown some of Louisiana's farmers into limbo as they wait to find out if programs that bought a significant portion of their crops will continue.
Within weeks of taking office, President Donald Trump and his point person on governmental spending, Elon Musk, abruptly shuttered many operations at USAID and ordered freezes on many aid programs, alleging wasteful spending. Among the programs affected were those that bought crops — including Louisiana rice — for foreign food aid.
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Tapping Into The Knowledge Of 216 Rice Crops On "The Rice Stuff"
They say those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it, and The Rice Stuff podcast is here for you. Dr. Steve Linscombe, a life-long learner himself, asked four of the most distinguished and venerated rice farmers in the country to sit down with him to talk about their lifetime of experiences.
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Grower Meetings Across the Mid-South Address Changing Landscape for U.S. Agriculture Policy
Yesterday proved to be a busy day for rice growers from southeast Texas to central and northeast Louisiana.
In what was likely a first time, and probably on nobody’s Bingo card, the SETX Rice Symposium had to be rescheduled due to an unprecedented snow event across the Gulf Coast region in late January. Dr. Mithila Jugulam, director of the Rice Research Station in Beaumont, welcomed growers and industry representatives to the Winnie Stovall Community Center yesterday afternoon.
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Annual Conference Touts Latest Agriculture Production Methods and Techniques
The 28th Annual National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference was held on Monday and Tuesday, at the Hilton Memphis Hotel here, and, as always, was well attended by rice farmers, consultants, researchers, and industry representatives.
The meeting featured 22 unique rice sessions presented by 17 rice research scientists, three rice farmers, and two rice consultants.
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Brown Rice Included In 5% Of Foods Eligible For New FDA "Healthy" Definition
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently published an updated definition that provides guidance on what food products can claim to be “healthy” under federal rules. Whole grain rice was identified as part of the estimated five percent of foods that meet the new definition and now qualify to use the healthy claim on packaging and marketing materials.
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Louisiana Crop Market Report: January, 2025
The 2024/25 U.S. corn outlook calls for lower production, feed and residual use, exports, and ending stocks. Corn production has been revised downward by some 276 million bushels to an estimated 14.9 billion bushels, mainly due to a 3.8-bushel per acre cut in yield to 179.3 bushels which was partially offset by a 0.2-million acre increase in harvested area. Total corn use is down 75 million bushels to 15.1 billion.
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Dominican Republic Enacts Rice Tariffs
A pair of policy directives signed into law by Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader just before the new year have put burgeoning exports of US rice to the country in the crosshairs, according to industry advocate USA Rice.
Bobby Hanks, a Louisiana rice miller and chair of the USA Rice International Trade Policy Committee, said these policy directives come at a crucial point in the countries’ trade relationship.
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Despite Falling Production Costs, Depressed Commodity Prices Likely to Keep Farm Margins Tight in 2025
As farmers begin making plans for the upcoming growing season, many are bracing for the likelihood of another year marked by tight margins.
“Production costs for 2025 are estimated to decrease for the second consecutive year, which is good news,” said LSU AgCenter economist Michael Deliberto.
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Rice Seed Availability Tightens Even More For 2025
Planted rice acreage that was once predictable has shifted patterns, with acres inching higher the past three consecutive years. That, in addition to hurricane weather, tightened seed supply for one of the largest players in the market.
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Provisia® Rice: Past Lessons Set Stage for Future Success
We hope to see you in Memphis, Tennessee on Jan. 27 at the Conservation System Cotton & Rice Conference at the Hilton Hotel East Memphis, where Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag CEO, will be leading two conference breakout sessions entitled Provisia Rice: Past Lessons Set Stage for Future Success. During these session, Dr. Walker will share key learnings from recent seasons that can help rice farmers best manage Provisia varieties and the Provisia Rice System for the 2025 season.
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Louisiana Crop Production: January 2025
Louisiana corn area harvested is 440,000, down 35 percent from 2023. The average yield is estimated at 185 bushels per acre, up 10 bushels from last year. Production totaled 81.4 million bushels, down 32 percent from 2023.
Upland cotton harvested acres is 148,000, up 29 percent from 2023. The yield is expected to average 1,070 pound.
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Register Now for 2025 Rice Technical Working Group Meeting Next Month
The Rice Technical Working Group (RTWG), which convenes every two years, bringing together research and extension faculty, and rice industry professionals to exchange information, engage in cooperative planning, and review rice research, will meet February 17-20 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel.
The RTWG has grown to become one of the largest rice-focused meetings in the country, with more than 300 participants from around the world attending the 2023 meeting.
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Truckin’ Around the UK With USA Rice
USA Rice is taking to the road in partnership with local UK brand Peacock Premium, delivering U.S. long grain rice to customers throughout the nation from a customized 10-ton truck.
Over the next three years, the truck, branded with eye-catching Peacock graphics, is scheduled to travel the length and breadth of England, Wales, and Scotland – at least 30,000 miles a year being seen by more than 12 million people.
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Only The Best Is Good Enough for NRM Video Contest Winner
The 2024 National Rice Month Scholarship Video Contest Grand Prize Winner is Helen Lan, a graduating senior from Boerne, Texas. Her award-winning video, The Tale of The Rice Ghost, was made with lots of determination, rice facts, and Lego bricks.
“It brought back fun childhood memories,” says Lan, who talks about her experience creating the video on Episode 104 of The Rice Stuff podcast.
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