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ROB MILLS PERRYVILLE, MISSOURI One aspect of life you’ll find in the world of agriculture is the number of people who never leave their home area or return to it after a brief hiatus to spend the rest of their life...

MOLLIE BUCKLER KATY, TEXAS The U.S. rice industry is breathing a sigh of relief. The USDA’s Farm Bridge Assistance program announced this week will help keep many producers in business through next season. For farmers facing unprecedented costs and shrinking margins...

  PETER BACHMANN ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA When USDA announced its new farmer bridge payments this December, rice growers across the country felt a flicker of relief. After three difficult years marked by volatile markets, erratic weather, and the highest input prices in memory,...

Zack Tanner: 2025 Rice Farmer of the Year Scott McClure When Zack Tanner learned he had been named the 2025 Rice Farmer of the Year, sponsored by Horizon Ag and USA Rice, his reaction was one of disbelief, sweet memories and...

  Dr. Dustin Harrell: 2025 Rice Industry Award Scott McClure The U.S. rice industry has honored Dr. Dustin Harrell, Director of the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation’s Rice Experiment Station, with the 2025 Rice Industry Award, sponsored by Horizon Ag and USA...

2025 Rice Industry Lifetime Achievement By Scott McClure When Dr. Ronnie Levy picked up the phone late last summer, he wasn’t expecting news that would leave him speechless. He was called by Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag CEO, to let him...

MIKE LOIZZO GAINSVILLE, FLORIDA The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) boasts organic-rich soil, ideal for farming. Rice producers, however, must deal with phosphorus and iron tightly bound in the soil, making them unavailable to plants. New University of Florida Institute of Food and...

Matt Salanik, Brighton Agency For rice farmers, every season brings new challenges. Weather shifts, rising input costs, and global trade pressures make planning harder and margins tighter. As growers prepare for the 2026 season, resilience will once again be tested in...

JARROD T. HARDKE STUTTGART, ARKANSAS Each year has its own set of problems, but the 2025 season was particularly unique. Seed shortages and finding a way to profit were the main topics leading up to planting. A seemingly favorable early spring...

TYLER MUSGROVE BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA As we close out the 2025 rice season, ratoon crop harvest has been recently completed across southwest Louisiana. With record low commodity prices and novel pest challenges, the value of the second crop is vital for...

WILL EUBANK MISSISSIPPI STATE, MISSISSIPPI Mississippi’s 2025 rice crop was one with many ups and downs. Overall, this year’s planted and failed acres totaled to 161,000 acres, which was 36,000 more than Mississippi’s last five-year average. Bolivar county led rice acres...

  BRUCE LINQUIST DAVIS, CALIFORNIA In California, 533,000 acres of rice were planted in 2025, which is the highest amount since 2016.Some of this increase in acreage was seen in San Joaquin County, which planted 15,000 acres in 2025. There has been...

MICHELLE LEINFELDER-MILES STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA Variety Trial: Delta rice acreage has been steadily increasing, and yields are comparable with the statewide average (Table 1). I estimate that Delta acreage approached, if not exceeded, 15,000 acres in 2025. To support the growing industry,...

Farmers Look to Diversify Crops, Improve Profitability TATE CRONIN DYERSBURG, TENNESSEE Rice is the primary staple for more than half the world’s population, with the United States alone estimated to plant almost 3 million acres in 2025, according to the USDA. Most...

Dr. Michelle M Leinfelder-Miles / UCCE mmleinfeldermiles@ucanr.edu This article is my annual review of UCCE Delta rice research and seasonal observations. Variety Trial: Delta rice acreage has been steadily increasing, and yields are comparable with the statewide average (Table 1). I estimate that...