U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Boozman (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act to protect the Louisiana rice industry against dumping of cheap produce into U.S. markets from India and China.
Read MoreThat might seem like an impossible dream for most of the U.S. Rice Belt, but it’s getting closer to reality as rice farmers in south Louisiana plant more of their acres using minimum-till or no-till practices.
The key seems to be doing any needed field preparation in the fall and spraying a burndown herbicide to kill winter vegetation prior to planting, according to Ronnie Levy, Extension rice specialist for Louisiana with the LSU AgCenter.
Read MoreADM Rice made a sale of 88,000 metric tons (MT) of U.S. long grain milled rice to Iraq last week, bringing the tonnage to 220,000 MT for the 2024-2025 Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), surpassing the agreed upon amount of 200,000 MT.
Read MoreMore than 300 rice researchers from around the world gathered here this week for the 40th biennial Rice Technical Working Group (RTWG) meeting to discuss everything from agronomy, breeding, and cytogenics to utilization, weed control, and yield.
Over four days, attendees had their work cut out for them navigating daily schedules, with the event offering more than 151 oral presentations in six discipline panels, multiple committee meetings, three symposia, education sessions, a general session, an industry lunch, an awards lunch, and poster sessions highlighting 102 fledgling research projects.
Read MoreHundreds of Louisiana rice farmers are bracing for potential economic fallout as President Donald Trump’s administration considers cutting funds to a U.S. food aid program that purchases and ships their crops to feed the poor in other countries.
Read MoreThis 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThey 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.
Read MoreYesterday 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.
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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreA 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.
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MorePlanted 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.
Read More
