Feature Story

By Dr. Jarrod Hardke University of Arkansas The three main insect pests of rice in Arkansas are grape colaspis (Lespedeza worm), rice water weevil and rice stink bug. Of these, grape colaspis and rice water weevil have traditionally been the most...

I have great memories of riding on the tractor with my daddy late at night. My parents made sure we spent time with both of them regardless of season. This sometimes meant going to meet dad. Christian and I do the same thing. I met him this afternoon to exchange papers, and I left with one less kid that I lost to his infatuation with the “big tractors!” That time is important for these three kids to not only see what we are doing but to be able to spend good interactive time with us. They come to the farm office with me, ride the tractor with dad, help bring lunches to the field and are around when we are harvesting. They do think that dad built them the biggest indoor bike rink since he built his farm shop next to our home!

The contract must be structured to promote convergence. The rice futures contract is not a particularly efficient hedging tool, so four years ago the USA Rice Federation formed the Rice Futures Contract Working Group to study the issue and look...

Thought-provoking ideas about the future By Carroll Smith Editor The subtitle reads: “The Importance Of First Grain To World Economic & Political Stability.” Indeed, these words do hint at the theme, but upon settling into this masterfully written, easy-to-read book by Milo...

Be prepared to adjust herbicides and application timings Heavy rainfall interfered with rice planting in 2014, complicating weed control. Protecting rice crops and preventing yield loss required continuous evaluation and adjustments to weed management programs. Johnathon Morris, an Arkansas consultant, felt...

Farmers prepare for the possibility of new curtailments By Ching Lee Calif. Farm Bureau Federation When it came, the notice was disappointing but not surprising: The State Water Resources Control Board warned farmers, ranchers and other people with water rights...

Make your plans now to attend this annual premier event When Feb. 27 rolls around in a couple of weeks, the 63rd Annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show will welcome visitors to the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tenn., where...

Rice industry, DU recognized for habitat conservation efforts Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently announced approved grants from the first round of proposals to the new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The USA Rice Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (DU) and...

New tool protects against volatilization and nitrogen loss Farmers apply nitrogen to their rice crops to promote optimal plant growth and achieve maximum yields. For nitrogen to meet these goals, it has to be available to the plant. Dr. Nathan Slaton,...

No cash bids being offered throughout the year can definitely be described as a “tight spot.” And when rice farmers find themselves in a tight spot, they don’t give up. That’s not their nature. Instead, they look for another alternative to sell their rice. Several years ago, a small group of rice farmers in southwest Louisiana, who were faced with this situation, came up with an idea to send their rice to Mexico via rail. The inspiration for this thought was a rail facility located at the Lacassine Agri-Industrial Park that originally had been intended to carry sugar. Although that venture did not pan out, the property, infrastructure, spur and truck scales were all still there. Mark Pousson, who is the manager of what is now the South Louisiana Rail Facility (SLRF) in Lacasinne, explains how Mike Strain – the Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry in Louisiana – and Governor Jindal’s administration worked with them to “make something happen.”

Northern California contest yields information, recognition By Bruce Linquist In 2015, the University of California Cooperative Extension kicked off a yield contest with rice growers. The purpose was to provide an opportunity for rice producers and UC scientists to share information...

This time of year, there is a Rice Outlook Conference involving the six states that produce rice. And for most of the California attendees, the top activity for the three days was to watch the weather back home. We had left for the conference after some welcome rain the week previous, and now there was promise of more. A lot more. More than we received in all of 2013. And while the storm wasn’t as “epic” as it was hyped to be, it was a welcome change. The five inches of rain filled rain gauges, helped the decomposition of the remaining rice straw in the fields and filled bypasses and flood plains along the river.

In 1998, Dr. Milton C. Rush, a plant pathologist with LSU AgCenter, was looking for a rice variety with a natural resistance to sheath blight. In doing so, according to LSU rice breeder Dr. Steve Linscombe, Rush introduced a purple grain line into his program that he thought might have higher levels of sheath blight resistance. What ultimately occurred was something else entirely. As noted on purpleblackrice.com, when Rush crossbred a common Louisiana long-grain variety (Cypress) and a purple/black kernel variety from Sri Lanka (Hitan Kitan), he developed a new, high-yielding, early long-grain purple rice variety that he named Blanca Isabel. It is unique in that it has the cooking qualities, texture and taste of long-grain white rice and the health benefits of purple rice.

Risk management tool sparks questions from farmers Editor’s Note: When the new Farm Bill was signed into law, the spotlight beamed brightly on crop insurance. Ethan Branscum, Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation Assistant Director of Commodity Activities & Economics offers answers...

To help manage his rice crop, from winter planning sessions all the way through the season, Rehermann depends on the advice of Eric Benzel, a PCA with Big Valley Ag Services in Gridley. “The members of the family from which...