⋅ BY DEBORAH WILLENBORG ⋅
It was a packed house at the Bolivar County Extension Auditorium for the Mississippi Rice Council Annual meeting recently. President Kirk Satterfield welcomed and thanked attendees and provided both his President’s report and the Mississippi Rice Promotion Board’s report for Chairman Patrick Swindoll who was unable to attend.
President Kirk Satterfield
Doctoral candidate Anna Smyly gave an update on the research being undertaken at the Delta Research & Extension Center, including a three-year irrigation and fertility study, and an in-depth analysis of tailwater recovery systems.
Bolivar County Extension Coordinator Laura Jane Giaccaglia provided a detailed account of 2024’s promotion activities, starting with representation and merchandise sales at the Cotton & Rice Conference, Gin Show, and other events. She talked about the emphasis on nutrition messaging that is resonating well with consumers and featured in their cookbook, “Between the Levees.” She highlighted the activities at, and growth of, the 4th annual Delta Rice Festival and discussed plans that are underway to mark the 35th National Rice Month later this year. She then introduced the reigning Delta Rice Queen, Sloane Walker.
Ms. Walker shared her impressive stump speech about the importance and significance of rice to the Mississippi Delta, thanked the group for her $2,500 scholarship, and shared her plans to begin studying agriculture law at the University of Mississippi in the fall.
Programs
Parker Frew from Delta Wildlife/Delta F.A.R.M. was pinch hitting for the Ducks Unlimited team and provided an update on the Climate Smart Commodity program that is a joint project of USA Rice, Ducks Unlimited, and the National Black Growers Council.
Satterfield then turned the program over to staff from the Natural Resource Conservation Service to update the group on their programs. Gary Barbati and Patrick Pitt explained the ins and outs of the EQIP and CSP programs, including the application process.
“If you have any questions at all, visit your local field office — there’s one in every county here, and staff there can help walk you through the process with your application,” Barbati said.
National and Global Emphasis
Satterfield turned the attention to the national and global level, praised the work USA Rice does on behalf of the industry, and introduced USA Rice president & CEO Peter Bachmann. Bachmann thanked attendees for their continued support and spoke about the current uncertainty in Washington stemming from the first few weeks of the Trump Administration. “I think of chaos as a ladder, and that presents opportunities for us,” Bachmann said. “Particularly when it comes to economic issues like trade.”
He covered the new promotion funding the industry received at the end of the Biden Administration, as well as the temporary funding freezes that are impacting the rice industry, tariffs and potential trade friction that could disrupt the industry further, and the lack of a Farm Bill — noting that, “when I was here last year, I said I thought we would get a new Farm Bill soon; well here we are, still no Farm Bill.”
Despite these challenges, Bachmann shared that he remains quite optimistic for the industry, noting that while he was speaking, the U.S. Senate confirmed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins who he is looking forward to working with.
Promotional Efforts
Bachmann then introduced vice president of communications & strategic development Michael Klein to provide additional updates.
Klein offered a quick glimpse into USA Rice’s international promotion activities including trade servicing activities, social media programs, and retail promotions in key markets. He then shifted to talk about domestic promotions, including the robust foodservice program, social media influencer activities, retail partnerships, and the new “Grown in the USA” labeling program.
He closed sharing a major success story from the USA Rice Domestic Promotion and Communications teams: bringing the Sara Moulton TV show to Mississippi.
“We always envisioned Sara filming in the USA Rice Council’s four states,” Klein said. “We did Louisiana with Randy Thibodeaux in 2016, Arkansas with Eric Vaught in 2017, California with Matthew Sligar in 2019, and then the pandemic shut everything down. But we always knew we wanted to get to Mississippi, and we finally did in 2024!”
Satterfield closed the meeting by thanking everyone in attendance and all presenters. There followed, as always, an outstanding meal of fried catfish, hushpuppies, coleslaw, Mississippi rice, and a peach dessert.