By Carroll Smith
Editor
You don’t have to strap on your blue suede shoes to travel to Memphis for the 2014 Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, but it might be a good idea to throw some comfortable walking shoes in your suitcase. With more than 400 exhibitors packed into and outside the Cook Convention Center, this year’s show promises to be a good one.
The show begins on Friday, Feb. 28, at 8:30 a.m. with the Ag Update Meeting in the lobby meeting room. For those involved in the rice industry, a particular interest in this segment will be the “Outlook for Rice and Wheat,” presented by Carl Brothers, senior vice president, Riceland Foods, Stuttgart, Ark. In addition to Brothers’ comments, a rice marketing seminar, “The U.S. Rice Farmer’s World Is About to Become a Lot Larger,” will be held Saturday afternoon at 1:30 on the Convention Center mezzanine level. The featured speaker is Milo Hamilton, Firstgrain, Inc., co-founder and senior agricultural economist.
The description of Mr. Hamilton’s seminar, as noted in the schedule of events, is as follows: “With U.S. long-grain acreage on the rise, the longgrain price may need to land more business to sell that acreage. Since 2010, that has not been the case. The Delta price was made in Brazil, which was the correct theme of last year’s seminar. Short term, that may mean lower prices, and there are longer-term implications as well. Massive change is under way in Asia, where 90 percent of the rice business is done. Milo Hamilton wrote the book on rice, When Rice Shakes The World, published on Amazon in January 2014. Attendees will learn about the book, the future of rice farming and the U.S. rice price for 2014 and beyond.”
“Rice is going to make a comeback this year with an acreage increase, and there are many reasons for rice farmers and rice agribusiness persons to attend the Gin Show,” says Tim Price, executive vice president of the Southern Cotton Ginners Association. “In the Mid-South, it’s clear that rice continues to be a very important segment in agriculture as witnessed by the number of products, services and equipment represented at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show. In addition to the exhibits, we have increased our emphasis on rice by including Carl Brothers’ rice outlook on Friday morning and Milo Hamilton’s rice marketing seminar on Saturday afternoon.” And, in addition to being informative, the Gin Show is fun for the whole family! Sign up for special raffles, which are held at many of the booths; stick around for the daily cash drawings; and put your name in the hat for the popular “Puppy Giveaway,” held at 3:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday afternoons. (Don’t forget that you have to be present to win)!
For more information about the upcoming show, feel free to contact Tim Price at (901) 947-3104 or visit www.farmandginshow.com. And please be sure to stop by the One Grower Publishing booth to say hello. See you there!
Send your comments to: Editor, Rice Farming Magazine, 1010 June Road, Suite 102, Memphis, Tenn., 38119. Call (901) 767-4020 or e-mail csmith@onegrower.com.