Dr. Kent McKenzie RICE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
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PHOTOS BY VICKY BOYD
r. Kent McKenzie is a rice visionary whose career began in California, traversed Arkansas and Louisiana and ultimately landed back in his home state. While in graduate school at the University of California, Davis, he had a front row seat for the green revolution in California rice with the emergence of semi-dwarf varieties. McKenzie’s mentors included geneticist Neil Rutger and professors Maurice Peterson, Bill Webb and Charlie Bollich with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Texas. His rice experience continued to flourish when he moved to the University of Arkansas and studied under Professor Bobby Wells and others. From there, he traveled to Louisiana State University and joined a young, enthusiastic band of scientists at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in Crowley whose synergy propelled rice research forward. “The group included LSU’s Marlin Brandon, Pat Bollich, Tim and Sue Croughan, Don Groth, Steve Linscombe, Richard Dunand and John Robinson from USDA,” McKenzie said. “The administrative support from Duke Falkner and later Joe Musick was also a major contribution.”
Dr. Kent McKenzie is joined by his wife, Kathryn, at their home in Oroville, California.
This who’s who in the rice world not only advanced McKenzie’s technical accomplishments but also nurtured the importance of being a people person. Everyone liked him. Perhaps McKenzie’s lifetime legacy in rice was initiated to some degree by LSU AgCenter legend Marlin Brandon. In 1984, California rice farmers and Rice Experiment Station directors Jim Erdman and Gordon Wylie flew Erdman’s Cessna-182 from California to Louisiana to recruit him as director of RES near Biggs. Brandon accepted the position and, in turn, requested that the grower-owned RES bring on McKenzie in 1988 to lead the short grains and specialty rice breeding project.
“At the California Rice Experiment Station, I joined a mature and very productive program with experienced breeders in S.T. Tseng, Carl Johnson and staff,” he said. As a new breeder at the RES, McKenzie led the development of M-402, a premium quality medium grain; S-102, a popular short-grain variety; Calhikari-201, the first premium quality short grain; and Calamylow-201, the first low amylose-type short grain. With the passing of station Director Brandon, McKenzie rose to the position in 2000 and served with distinction until his retirement in 2020. During his tenure as director, McKenzie transformed the RES into a modern, state-of-the-art rice breeding and research facility that is well known nationally and internationally. Among his more recent rice-breeding accomplishments is the discovery of the ROXY trait, which imparts tolerance to oxyfluorfen herbicide. The ROXY Rice Production System, which uses propriety formulations being developed by Albaugh LLC, is expected to be commercially available in California for the 2023 season. “With the discovery of ROXY, I have been working with a new group of industry researchers and pest control advisors including Jim Cook, Joe Desmond, Matt Ehlhardt, and Jason Bowen to name a few,” McKenzie said. “I also collaborate with Chad Shelton and his team at Albaugh. All these individuals have contributed to further my education and understanding from a commercial perspective.” Colusa County rice grower Leo LaGrande said, “The modern varieties grown in California today are attributable to Kent’s hard work and dedication to an ever-changing rice industry. His continued collaboration with both growers and marketers has been a crucial component in developing them. Recognizing and developing genetic markers for rice cultivars has kept the California rice industry sustainable both today and into the future.” McKenzie said he is flattered and humbled to be recognized by his colleagues and friends on such a grand scale. “In all places and especially in my position at RES, I have truly enjoyed and benefited from working with the board members and growers who have committed their time, talent and dollars to support rice research,” he said. “I also have been blessed with the unwavering support of my wife Kathryn — my first lady of rice — and our families. It is tremendously gratifying to look back on a career and hear the message in this award. If I can borrow a phrase from the scriptures, it is ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’” In recognition of his professional accomplishments, graciousness and humility, it is a great pleasure to name Dr. Kent McKenzie the recipient of the 2021 Rice Lifetime Achievement Award.
