Editor
I just finished the third of nine sessions of the Governor Dolph Briscoe, Jr. Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership program, known more commonly as “TALL.” This two-year program is administered by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and has been a phenomenal outlet to be exposed to agricultural policies, markets, trade, labor, water, and other environmental issues in our industry.
One of the biggest points emphasized recently in Austin and Sonora, Texas, was the importance of telling your story. There are several examples in this month’s edition of people willing to share their story on behalf of the industry, and I think it’s a great reminder for all of us to be just as vocal.
In this month’s USA Rice column, Jamison Cruce, vice president for government affairs at USA Rice, relays both the appreciation for the American Relief Act of 2025 and the hope for a new, relevant Farm Bill: “While this assistance comes as a great relief and is certainly appreciated, it is no substitute for a new Farm Bill with meaningful improvements to the farm safety net, including an adequate increase in the Price Loss Coverage program rice reference price — one that reflects accurate production costs and market conditions, enacted as early as possible to provide rice farmers with long-term certainty and security.”
Pages 16 and 17 house an article from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture detailing research on nighttime stress in rice that shares recent discoveries into this concept that will hopefully influence further research: “Vibha Srivastava, professor of plant biotechnology in the crop, soil, and environmental sciences department for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the genetic mechanisms of high nighttime stress susceptibility are not clear, but they know that an elevated respiration rate during high nighttime temperatures diverts energy from growth to repair and impacts the formation of biomass.”
This month’s cover story features the Fisher Delta Research, Extension, and Education Center in Portageville, Missouri. Dr. Justin Chlapecka, former state Extension rice specialist for Missouri, detailed some of the work they did in rice and research efforts in the state. His hard work at the center can be read about on pages eight through 10.
Rounding out a fun lineup for the month, Chalpecka’s wife Robyn, new Horizon Ag district field representative for Northeast Arkansas and Missouri, can be found in this month’s My Turn column sharing her incredible rice story.
It has been said by many in the ag industry that if you aren’t willing to tell and share your story, someone else will. I think this should push us to get out of our comfort zone and do what we can in order to both hold tight to and progress the industry we love so much. Because others looking from the outside might change it to suit their own vision of ag if we don’t.