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USDA Awards Ducks Unlimited and Partners $95M for Ag Conservation Efforts The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced major investments in delivering voluntary and incentive-based conservation practices, including an estimated $95 million for projects involving Ducks Unlimited, which will be...

Irby Named Associate Director for MSU Extension Trent Irby has moved into an administrative role with the Mississippi State University Extension Service after more than 12 years of serving the state’s soybean growers. MSU Extension Director Angus Catchot recently named Irby...

⋅ BY TOBIE BLANCHARD ⋅ LSU AgCenter The LSU AgCenter is partnering with Horizon Ag, a seed marketing and variety development company, to initiate a new rice breeding program focused on varieties for southern rice-producing areas, which include Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi,...

As planting season begins, farmers are testing their soil to determine the nutrients needed to grow their crop. Mississippi State scientists and colleagues from nearly 50 universities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, non-profit organizations, and industry partners released a...

⋅ BY BRITTANEY MANN ⋅ U of A System Division of Agriculture Naturally occurring polyphenols and proteins from pigmented waxy rice may help starch ingredients improve texture without any chemical modification — a change some consumers may welcome, said Ya-Jane Wang,...

⋅ BY CASSIDY NEMEC ⋅ EDITOR John Cecil is a fourth-generation rice grower in Willows, California. His great grandfather bought some land there back in the 1800s. He began to take over the operation located in the Glenn-Colusa irrigation district in...

⋅ BY RYAN LOY ⋅ University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Following two consecutive years of decline (see Figure 1), United States rice production increased to roughly 2.9 million acres in 2023. In 2022 and 2023, the world was consuming more...

⋅ BY WHITNEY BRIM-DEFOREST ⋅ University of California Cooperative Extension White water fire (Bergia capensis) was found in September 2023, by the Butte County Agricultural Commissioner’s office in a Butte County rice field. The weed was identified by the California Department...

MSU Extension Names New Delta Region Coordinator The Mississippi State University Extension Service’s Delta region will soon have new leadership. Alex Deason, who has been an MSU Extension agent based in Sunflower County since 2013, began his new role as regional...

Rice Processing Program Develops Guidelines to Maximize Quality, Reduce Energy ⋅ BY JOHN LOVETT ⋅ U of A System Division of Agriculture The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s Rice Processing Program has released new recommendations to guide on-farm, in-bin rice drying in Arkansas...

The Panama and Suez canals typically bear the weight of global commerce but now carry the additional, heavier burdens of weather and war. “There are two maritime disasters going on simultaneously. One of them is political and the other one...

Mississippi Rice Council Annual Meeting Recounts a Year of Rice-Centric Activities Mississippi Rice Council President Kirk Satterfield welcomed about 75 producers to the annual meeting recently to learn about promotion, research, agronomy, politics, and more. Promotions were first up with a...

⋅ BY IAN GRETTENBERGER, KEVIN GODING, SOPHIE ALLEN (UC DAVIS), and LUIS ESPINO (UCCE) ⋅ Rice seed midge damage was first officially recorded in California rice production in 1953, and this pest is actually a number of different species that...

With an increased interest in conservation and land preservation, the use of legal tools like land trusts and conservation easements have grown in popularity. Specifically, nonprofit land trusts which typically act as a 501(c)(3) organization for the purpose of...

Experts addressed the theme ‘Provisia — save the technology’ during a recent conservation forum. ⋅ BY CARROLL SMITH ⋅ Author’s note: At the end of January, Horizon Ag hosted a Provisia Rice Panel during the National Conservation Systems meeting in Jonesboro,...