Every time I’ve flown through an airport in the U.S. Rice Belt lately, my carry-on bags have been pulled aside and searched as I went through airport security. No, I wasn’t packing a weapon, carrying explosives or even toting liquids in larger than 3.4-ounce bottles. Scofflaw that I am, I was bringing bags of rice through the airport. Each time, ... Read More »
Bill Murray played Carl the greenskeeper in the immortal classic film, “Caddyshack.” Throughout the movie, the wily gopher challenged Carl, who was tasked with getting rid of the rodent because it was digging up the golf course. In one of the more memorable parts, Carl played with figurines made of plastic explosive as he mused, “In order to conquer him, ... Read More »
Just looking at mature California rice fields this year compared to last, you can see one big difference. Most of the rice is standing this year — last season, the situation was just the opposite. The 2017 rice harvest in California was marked by some of the worst lodging most growers could remember. If they had a field that was ... Read More »
• By Vicky Boyd, Editor • More than 1,500 farmers, community leaders and urbanites attending an Aug. 20 rally sent a passionate message to the California State Water Board about their disgust with its proposed unimpaired San Joaquin River flows. The event — organized by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, and held on the steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento ... Read More »
The entire fight over what can and can’t be called rice has spilled over into a food that many in South Louisiana consider sacred — boudin. For those not familiar with boudin, it is a sausage made of meat, whether pork, liver or even crawfish, rice and spices. Some boudin also contains blood, kind of like a blood sausage. The ... Read More »
Arkansas producers have only to look to California to see what can happen if they don’t follow a voluntary smoke management program and get their open-field burning under control. “If we don’t make an active attempt to manage this issue, it will likely be managed for us,” says Jarrod Hardke, University of Arkansas Extension rice agronomist. The issue isn’t limited ... Read More »
It appears the Food and Drug Administration may begin enforcing a standard of identity that defines milk as a “lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows.” This would mean the plant-based beverages made from ingredients, such as almonds, soybeans, hemp and even rice, would have to change the term “milk” ... Read More »
Here we go again. The California State Water Resources Control Board has come out with an updated proposal for unimpaired flows on the San Joaquin River and its tributaries. Upon first glance, the most-recent rendition isn’t much changed since the board originally floated the proposal in November 2016. At the heart is leaving an average of 40 percent of water ... Read More »
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” so the proverb goes. Faced with tight budgets, the Louisiana State University AgCenter needed to take a hard look at Extension agents in its parishes and invent a more sustainable way to provide services to its clientele. “Our hope is to get to a level from a budget standpoint where we’re much more sustainable,” ... Read More »
I recently attended the Field to Vase Dinner held on the grounds of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Not only was the event a feast for the senses, but it also allowed California’s cut flower industry to showcase its incredible array of flowers, sustainability and family run operations. As part of the dinner, attendees feasted on lamb produced just ... Read More »
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