• By Luis Espino • Over the years, I have heard from several growers and pest control advisors that after a dry winter like we just had, the soil profile can be really dry, and it may take longer to flood fields. Additionally, with the increase of area under fallow, water losses to seepage may be larger than usual, also ... Read More »
Aggressive watergrass challenges California growers and researchers who seek effective control programs. • By Vicky Boyd, Editor • A new weed in the watergrass genus continues to bedevil California rice producers and researchers as they try to identify it and develop herbicide programs to control it. Kurt Richter, who farms with his family near Colusa, is among those who have ... Read More »
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed three, including rice producer Kim Gallagher, to the California Water Commission. Joining her are Amy Cardalis, a member of the Yurok Tribe and its general counsel, and Fern Steiner, an attorney and member of the San Diego County Water Authority Board. They still have to be confirmed by the state Senate. The California Water ... Read More »
Corteva Agriscience plans to hold two California rice grower meetings via Zoom this season rather than the usual in-person get-togethers. One is scheduled for 9-11 a.m., Feb. 3, and the second one, a repeat, will be held from 9-11 a.m., Feb. 10. Each one is free, but you must preregister to receive a link to the Zoom conference. The agenda ... Read More »
The California Department of Water Resources conducted the first Phillips Station snow survey of the season Dec. 30. The manual survey recorded 30.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 10.5 inches, which is 93% of the Jan. 1 average for this location. The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and ... Read More »
During the 2020 season, 31 new suspected weedy rice samples were received and six were confirmed to be weedy rice. Three came from new sites in Sutter, Yuba and San Joaquin counties. The other three came from already infested fields. Additionally, we received five samples that could not be identified and need to be tested in the lab to evaluate ... Read More »
Three California rice producers have been named top yielders in their respective production regions in the 2020 University of California Rice Yield Contest. Their names will now be put in a drawing for a chance to win a John Deere Gator, said Bruce Linquist, UC Cooperative Extension rice specialist. The recipient will be named during the UC Cooperative Extension winter ... Read More »
• By Peter Bachmann • The first-ever commercial shipment of U.S.-grown rice was unloaded in China Oct. 27 following more than a decade of regulatory and political effort by USA Rice to establish a two-way trading relationship with the nation. The premium, medium-grain Calrose rice was grown in California and sold by ADM Rice Inc. to a private importer under ... Read More »
• By Bob Johnson • Now in its second year, a long-term project intends to learn whether rice farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta can succeed economically while helping to preserve the region’s uniquely carbon-rich peat soils. Dawit Zeleke manages 350 acres of medium-grain rice on Staten Island in the delta for the Nature Conservancy, a worldwide environmental organization that ... Read More »
• By Vicky Boyd, Editor • Despite delays caused by permitting and rain, Northern California rice producer and fifth-generation farmer Bill Weller finally began realizing his dream of producing farm-to-glass craft beers in his own brewery in January. The 40-barrel Farmers Brewing facility is located on the family’s farming operation north of Princeton, with Weller growing the medium-grain Calrose rice, ... Read More »
Rice Farming A One Grower Publication