Departments

Dr. Jarrod Hardke Arkansas Rice Research Entomologist, University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu Later planting increases disease risk A wet spring leading to delayed planting results in plenty of issues in rice. Beyond the concerns of potential yield reductions and a late harvest, later...

Pursuing excellence since 1918 Ralph Gorrill was born in 1884 in Oakland, Calif., the county seat of Alameda County and a teeming agricultural region. In 1917, he put his engineering background to work by helping to lay out and construct...

Passion, preparedness and perseverance pay off John Durand’s father was one of nine children raised in the agriculture industry. He farmed for a short time but left to start a construction company – the only sibling to break from the...

Scout for presence and level of disease in each field By Don Groth LSU AgCenter In times when rice prices are low, producers must keep production costs low. One area to save money is on fungicide applications. Applying a fungicide when needed...

  Hunter Perry Field Scientist, Dow AgroSciences Greenville, Miss. I grew up in Greenville, Miss., in the early to mid-90s when all major chemical companies had field stations in the local area. Working on two stations during the summers was a natural attraction...

  By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice Federation USA Rice’s vital efforts offer excellent return on investment. USA Rice’s domestic promotion program is supported by check-off dollars from rice states and is spent in three main areas: Nutrition, Foodservice and Retail. Our...

Michael Danna Dies at 54 Michael Danna, director of public relations for the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation and host of the organization’s long-running agricultural television program “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture” died March 6, 2015, in Baton Rouge. He was...

Bulk bag filler speeds packaging at Kennedy Rice Mill Because the Louisiana rice harvest takes place primarily over two months, it places a huge demand on the area’s processing capacity. Any delay in moving the processed rice to market can...

Drew Dirks AgriSource Maxwell, Calif. I grew up the son of a rice farmer in the Sacramento Valley and, at a young age, developed a love for spending time in the field. From planting to harvest, there were always new challenges to...

When I was a kid, Sunday afternoons were reserved for the family piling in the truck and driving out to the farm in east-central Louisiana to look at the crops. At that time, I had two sisters – Kimberly...

Rice farmers call for U.S. grading modernization. B.J. Campbell Rice Producer, Quilin, Mo. Chairman of the Board,  USRPA Rice is unique among the agricultural products grown in the United States because a number of its quality attributes are visual, based on color. Some...

At the age of 15 while I was in high school, I helped my daddy water rice for different farmers in the Benoit area. By the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to do something related to rice....

Dr. M.O. “MO” Way Texas Rice Research Entomologist moway@aesrg.tamu.edu Control 6-legged pests When I discuss topics other than insects, I get a little nervous, but, finally, this month, I get to talk about six-legged critters! For starters, let me emphasize the importance of scouting...

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!