MOLLY BUCKLER / KATY, TEXAS With an estimated 15–20 percent reduction in long-grain acres this season, rice producers are facing a challenging and uncertain landscape. From shifting markets to rising input costs, the pressure to adapt and find new opportunities...

DR. ALVARO DURAND-MORAT / FAYETTVILLE, ARKANSAS As the 2025/26 rice season approaches, it is important to assess market fundamentals to anticipate challenges and position the U.S. long-grain rice sector for the year ahead. Globally, the rice market remains supply-dominated, a trend...

JOSH HANKINS / ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA Back in 2022, the USA Rice–Ducks Unlimited–National Black Growers Council joint proposal to USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program received the highest score from grant reviewers. Rice, as a commodity, ultimately secured nearly $200 million...

Vida Abadam / coordinator Andrew Sowell & Jennifer Bond / contributors USDA/ERS Reduced Harvested Area Offsets Yield Gains to Trim 2025/26 All Rice Production   On January 12, 2026, USDA, NASS published the Crop Production 2025 Summary report. The report contains year-end...

JOHN LOVETT FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS HYR gene hub focus of research to improve rice quality and yield Researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station have identified genetic mechanisms in rice that can help counteract the negative effects of higher nighttime temperatures. Drastic...

  NINA MUKERJEE FURSTENAU, BJ ‘84 COLUMBIA, MISSOURI Stephen McKaskle dips his hand into a bin and holds out his palm. “You’re looking at the oldest rice variety in America,” he says, sifting through brownish and blunt-tipped grains. “Carolina Gold.” McKaskle’s family...

MATT SALANIK / BRIGHTON AGENCY   For years, conversations about U.S. rice quality in Latin American markets have arrived at the same conclusion: exports are slipping, competition is intensifying and South American rice is winning on attributes that matter most to consumers....

RICE FARMING Rob Mills Early in the 20th Century, a visitor to southern California remarked that the area he was seeing for the first time was the closest thing to the Garden of Eden he could ever imagine laying eyes on....

TODD MILLER BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA The adage “variety is the spice of life,” is often used to promote the idea that trying new and different things makes the world around us more interesting. And while few would consider rice “spicy,” two new varieties of...

Unearth Hidden Tax Deductions For Your Land Boa Safra helps agricultural landowners receive substantial tax deductions averaging $1,700 per acre. WHY YOU NEED THIS: • Immediate & Substantial Savings: Average deduction of $1,700 per acre. • Enhance Cash Flow: Reduce your taxable...

  BRUCE LINQUIST / UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS In California, most acreage is devoted to high quality, medium-grain varieties. Details of our 2025 varietal testing can be seen on our website at https://agronomy-rice.ucdavis.edu/. For this discussion and ease of interpretation, I...

  JUSTIN CHLAPECKA FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS Hello, everyone. This is my first column to contribute under my new job title — as an Assistant Professor of Agronomy with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. I’ve been in this role...

JARROD T. HARDKE FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS For the first time in my career, there is no excitement surrounding growing rice. Sometimes it has been lukewarm excitement, but with optimism. Not so for 2026. Given the market outlook, it is very difficult...

DR TERESA B. DE LEON / CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE RICE RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC. Rice growers know that rice productivity varies year after year due to environmental challenges. However, not all varieties are equal, some varieties consistently performed better in specific locations....

SAM RUSTOM EAGLE LAKE, TEXAS In Texas, most of our commercial acreage is dedicated to hybrid rice production. Financially, it just makes more sense when our input costs tend to be higher than all our neighboring states in the...