Dr. Qiming ‘Doc’ Shao RICE INDUSTRY AWARD
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PHOTOS BY VICKY BOYD
r. Qiming “Doc” Shao is a lifelong member of the global rice community. He spent his early years in Southern China working on his family’s farm where they grew rice, canola, peanuts, potatoes and wheat. In 1982, Shao enrolled in Southwest University, Chongqing, China, to pursue an agronomy degree. Following an internship in the cotton breeding and genetics lab, he was poised to study plant breeding and genetics with a focus on cotton in graduate school. But the agronomy department head at Nanjing Agricultural University recommended Shao switch his focus to rice instead.
Dr. Qiming Shao reviews milled or dehulled rice seeds to decide which ones are destined for the Puerto Rico winter nursery.
“At NAU, I studied rice breeding and genetics with my supervisor, Professor Lihong Zhu, who graduated from Michigan State University in 1948,” he said. “The more I studied rice, the more interest I had in it.” Shao began his professional career as a university professor in China before relocating to the United States to further his education at Louisiana State University. As a doctoral student, he spent time at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in Crowley, Louisiana, where he gained experience in breeding rice for the U.S. market. Th is training was complemented by his global understanding of the crop. “I enjoyed the teamwork aspect at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station and how unselfish the other lab members were in helping one another,” he said. “Drs. Milton Rush, Steve Linscombe, Don Groth, James Oard and many others were eager to guide me through lab and field work projects.” In 2004, he joined Bayer CropScience as a breeder
where he worked on global hybrid rice development. In 2015, Nutrien Crop Solutions acquired Bayer’s rice breeding program in El Campo, Texas. Shao is currently the senior rice breeder and drives product development and all breeding activities. He released his fi rst variety from Nutrien’s program in 2021. DG-263L is a long-grain rice focused on the Southern U.S. market, and more than 450 growers successfully grew the variety this year. “Randy Ouzts, Nutien’s U.S. rice manager, has traveled with me many times to the winter nursery in Puerto Rico and multi-location trials in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi,” Shao said. “His experience and suggestions have been crucial as I evaluate the elite breeding lines.” Dr. Steve Linscombe, director and senior rice breeder emeritus, LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, praises Shao as an outstanding breeder and geneticist. “His program has made and will continue to make huge contributions to the U.S. rice industry. An example is the recently released DG-263L rice variety. His program also has several outstanding candidate varieties — both pureline and hybrid — many of which will be available for commercial production in the near future. “One thing I truly admire about Doc is that he does not ask his crew to do anything he does not fully participate in as well. Th is is an important quality as most rice field breeding activities are carried out under hot, humid and mosquito-infested conditions.” Missouri rice farmer Zack Tanner said he feels privileged to have worked with Shao for several years as a seedsman increasing seed varieties the rice breeder has developed. “When you weigh Dr. Shao’s impressive work ethic, mutual respect of his colleagues and the positive impact his work is having on the rice industry, you will see he is very deserving of the Rice Industry Award,” Tanner said. Shao said his inspiration as a rice breeder is to breed better rice varieties for farmers and consumers so everyone can enjoy high-quality rice at the most economic price. His advice for young people interested in pursuing a successful career in agriculture is to work hard, keep an open mind and adjust their goals when the market changes. “I am very excited about receiving this award, but I would not be here without the help of all the incredible colleagues that I work with daily,” Shao said. “I am very appreciative of them.” It is a great honor and privilege to congratulate Dr. Qiming “Doc” Shao as the recipient of the 2021 Rice Industry Award.
