Production

Aim for efficiency Dr. Jarrod Hardke Arkansas Rice Research Entomologist, University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service [email protected] Repeat after me — when I look to cut costs this year, I will not cut my fertility program. Again, I will not ... you get the idea....

Projects seek to demonstrate benefits of cover crops to rice production. By Vicky Boyd, Editor Trent Roberts, a University of Arkansas soil scientist, is out to be a myth-buster when it comes to cover crops and rice. Through a three-year project he’s...

Select Hybrids, Varieties for Profitability Dr. Jarrod Hardke Arkansas Rice Research Entomologist, University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service [email protected] Given current economic conditions, each decision has a major impact on having a positive return for the season, and it all starts with rice cultivar selection....

The Arkansas Agriculture Department would like to remind potential applicants that it is accepting applications for the 2015 Arkansas Century Farm program. The program recognizes Arkansas’s rich agricultural heritage and honors families who have owned and farmed the same...

This time of year, there is a Rice Outlook Conference involving the six states that produce rice. And for most of the California attendees, the top activity for the three days was to watch the weather back home. We had left for the conference after some welcome rain the week previous, and now there was promise of more. A lot more. More than we received in all of 2013. And while the storm wasn’t as “epic” as it was hyped to be, it was a welcome change. The five inches of rain filled rain gauges, helped the decomposition of the remaining rice straw in the fields and filled bypasses and flood plains along the river.

To help manage his rice crop, from winter planning sessions all the way through the season, Rehermann depends on the advice of Eric Benzel, a PCA with Big Valley Ag Services in Gridley. “The members of the family from which...

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...

At certain times of the year, gusty winds howl across California’s Sacramento Valley, known for its rich adobe clay soil and home to the Sutter Buttes, described by many as the smallest mountain range in the world. For generations, farmers have grown rice in this area of the state, and producer Frank Rehermann is no exception. In 1972, fresh from the Navy, Rehermann began his journey as a California rice farmer with the assistance of his father-in-law, Ron Harrington. One piece of property that they farmed was owned by the Righero brothers, who originally began the process of wrestling the unleveled ground with sloughs running through it into good, farmable rice fields. Later, using an old D-7, Rehermann continued straightening the levees throughout the property to achieve greater efficiency. Today, he knows those fields well and has used that knowledge to help shape his rice production strategies. Rehermann has to be mobile because his operation is spread out, encompassing property at Live Oak, the Riceton area and the White Ranch – located on the other side of Richvale – that he began leasing from Minnie May White in 1973. In all, Rehermann farms 900 acres of rice, planting 50 percent to M-206 and the remainder to M-205.

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.

Mississippi Delta growers keep rice in the mix After graduating from Mississippi State University (MSU), Chico and Pete Williams returned to the family farming operation near Hollandale, Miss. Their grandfather, Leo Williams established the farm in the early 1940s and...

ACR project begins in Califronia, aims for Mid-South expansion The American Carbon Registry (ACR) has recently listed a first-of-its-kind project aimed at rewarding rice growers for voluntarily reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Emission Reductions in California Rice Management Systems project...

"One of the things that I enjoy is the challenge of Mother Nature," says Nik Wallenda, a 35-year-old American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil and high-wire artist. Described as "The King of the Wire," he is known for his high-wire performances...

Producers hope for eventual, meaningful risk protection for rice. Now that the dust has finally settled on the new Farm Bill – the Agricultural Act of 2014 (AA 2014) – one can understand why they say legislating is like making...

Gregory Harmon - G&H Seed Company Inc., Field Sales Representative Crowley, La. I grew up in Crowley, La., on a rice, crawfish and soybean farm. Throughout high school and college, I spent a lot of time helping out wherever I...

When your back’s against the wall, you tend to think out of the box. If you find yourself in Arkansas rice farmer Jackie Ray Banks’s circumstances, you may have to think outside of the window, the planting window. Consider this...