Quality & Yield

Company with a stable of beneficial microbes launches an identity-preserved quality-based rice program. By Vicky Boyd Editor Boston-based Indigo Ag Inc., which launched an identity-preserved quality-based cotton program in 2016, plans to kick off a similar one for rice in 2018. Known as...

Aim for efficiency Dr. Jarrod Hardke Arkansas Rice Research Entomologist, University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu 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...

“Horizon Ag continues to be committed to improving rice quality, working with our public breeding partners as well as rice buyers to develop better-quality varieties that bring value not only to the end buyers and end users, but to...

Select Hybrids, Varieties for Profitability Dr. Jarrod Hardke Arkansas Rice Research Entomologist, University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu 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....

Dr. Steve Linscombe, LSU AgCenter Dr. Karen Moldenhauer, University of Arkansas Dr. Ed Redona, Mississippi State University, DREC Dr. Xueyan Sha, University of Arkansas In 2010, rice quality came to the forefront of the industry when the northern part of the Southern rice-production...

Despite the drought and a localized armyworm infestation, this season produced some very strong yields. By Randall “Cass” Mutters An overview of the 2015 rice-growing season in California would not be complete without mention of the ongoing drought. Statewide, the last...

Dr. Jarrod T. Hardke Arkansas Rice Extension Agronomist University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service jradke@uaex.edu If I had told growers in January that they should plant their rice in May to achieve the best yields and that mid-April would be terrible, I’d have been...

  John Oakes Vice President, Rice Farmers Grain Terminal, Inc. The role of Farmers Grain Terminal (FGT) in the U.S. rice industry is unique in that we are a large farmer-owned grain cooperative that also handles rice. FGT is headquartered in Greenville, Miss.,...

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.

In 1998, Dr. Milton C. Rush, a plant pathologist with LSU AgCenter, was looking for a rice variety with a natural resistance to sheath blight. In doing so, according to LSU rice breeder Dr. Steve Linscombe, Rush introduced a purple grain line into his program that he thought might have higher levels of sheath blight resistance. What ultimately occurred was something else entirely. As noted on purpleblackrice.com, when Rush crossbred a common Louisiana long-grain variety (Cypress) and a purple/black kernel variety from Sri Lanka (Hitan Kitan), he developed a new, high-yielding, early long-grain purple rice variety that he named Blanca Isabel. It is unique in that it has the cooking qualities, texture and taste of long-grain white rice and the health benefits of purple rice.

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.

Russell Marine Group is uniquely positioned in the rice and grain industries to where we have forged relationships at nearly every level, from seed manufacturers to foreign, importing rice millers. We recognize that the position creates a duty to the industry to help support and promote U.S. agricultural products whenever possible. Oftentimes, this requires stepping into roles regarding hot-topic quality issues of the year, logistics and operations in the export sector of the industry and maintaining an expertise on ever-changing government and trade regulations. Despite having the resources and logistical advantages over many rice-producing countries, the United States is vulnerable to losing export market share by not addressing quality issues brought up by our foreign buyers. The issues permeate the rice industry on all levels, from seed manufacturers and rice producers to rice exporters and foreign buyers. Many Central American rice millers have always advertised U.S. rice as their premium rice brand. Over the past two decades, they built a brand name and, therefore, justifiably charged a premium for a high-quality product. However, the prior three years’ quality issues have severely tarnished that reputation and branding; and our once loyal foreign importing rice miller base is now actively seeking alternative sources.