Marketing

USA Rice Federation is the problem solver for the industry. By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice Federation One of the most valuable players any organization can have is a Problem Solver. Whether you are talking about business, sport or philanthropy, people...

LOUISIANA Dr. Dustin Harrell Extension Rice Specialist [email protected] You could not ask for two consecutive rice production seasons better than we have seen in the past two years in Louisiana! Record yields were achieved in 2013, and 2014 yields were not far behind. The...

While there is always a chance of a few surprises, it appears that 2014 was a good production year with aboveaverage yields and good to very good quality being reported. Now the focus will be on finding enough demand for rice supplies that are estimated at nearly 10 percent higher than the previous year. Based on USDA's October 2014 supply and demand estimates, demand is expected to increase by seven percent for the 2014/15 marketing year. While positive, this increase isn't expected to be enough to keep ending stocks from experiencing a sharp increase – nearly nine million hundredweights (cwts), a 27 percent increase from last year and five percent above the five-year average. While domestic rice usage and total rice exports are expected to increase during the 2014/15 marketing year, the slow start to export sales has placed a cloud over the market. The reported good quality of the 2014 crop and the current lower prices should help continue to support domestic demand. The struggle with demand has been in the export market. To this point, total rice exports are down 13 percent from a year ago. With exports for the 2014/15 marketing year expected to be up by 10 percent, this market will need to see a significant improvement in export business moving forward to meet those expectations. And while it is still very early in the marketing year, the slow start is concerning. This is especially true for longgrain milled rice exports, which are currently running 27 percent behind last year's pace. Without some improvement in export business, there seems little to entice mills from moving from current price levels.

Rice Scientists Recognized Two LSU AgCenter scientists were honored at the 2014 35th Rice Technical Working Group’s meeting held Feb. 18- 21 in New Orleans. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, received the Distinguished Rice Research and Education Award, and...

California Rice benefits from the communications revolution It all began with "Of Rice and Rain," 207 words from Sacramento Valley rice grower Tom Butler on the impact of rainfall during the fall 2010 rice harvest. His was the first blog...

Are we moving forward? Now that the Farm Bill has been signed and that debate is over, it’s time for the U.S. agricultural community to give some serious attention to improving access to the Cuban market. In all honesty, it’s...

When examining the current market situation for rice, there seem to be two different sets of supply and demand fundamentals whether considering shortterm market movement or longer-term, new crop price prospects. In the short term, the supply and demand conditions...

Costa Rice: A beautiful place to talk about rice. You never hear a bad word about traveling to Costa Rica. Fishing, volcanoes, gorgeous beaches, rain forests, jungle, exotic wildlife, great food and friendly people have been the reason many make...

USA Rice seeks fair and equitable trade for our industry Now that the Farm Bill is behind us, the U.S. rice industry adds renewed focus to a key priority - trade. Producer, miller and export leaders will meet in Washington...

Joey York - Crop Production Services Inc., Des Arc, AR I have been on and around a farm for most of my life. After graduating from Arkansas State University, I came back to the family farm at Little Dixie for a while,...

By Carroll Smith Editor Buzzwords, which can be a word or a phrase, catch on from time to time in society, business groups, industries, the media, politics, etc. A popular buzzword in agriculture these days is sustainability. In rice, as well...

By Dwight Roberts President and Chief Executive Officer, USRPA The U.S. rice industry spent years, decades, building a reputation for high-quality shipments to both domestic and export buyers. The superior quality of our rice resulted in prices to growers being higher than...

By Brian Otis, Ph. D. RiceTec Hybrid rice is changing the way rice is grown in America for the better. Hybrids gained an initial foothold in the U.S. market in 2003 and have achieved an average market growth of almost 40...

By Kurt Guidry LSU AgCenter After not having a supply and demand report from the USDA in October due to the government shutdown, the November World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report was highly anticipated by many of the commodity markets....

By Dr. Kurt Guidry LSU AgCenter From a fundamental supply and demand situation, the rice market continues to show signs of improvement. In its March supply and demand report, the USDA once again lowered ending stocks for the 2012/13 marketing year...