OPTIONAL
Boost yield potential with the right field rotation.* The three-year rotation of the Provisia® Rice System, the Clearfield® Production System for rice, and herbicide-tolerant soybeans gives you the best chance of keeping weed-resistance under control—while growing more rice over multiple seasons. That means more flexibility, more control and more sustainable rice-planting years on more acres. Get your rotation in order and get cleaner fields that drive yields. Contact your BASF rep or Authorized Retailer for more information.
* When compared to fields not treated with a herbicide Always read and follow label directions. Clearfield and Provisia are registered trademarks of BASF. © 2023 BASF Corporation. All rights reserved.
B.C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes magazine said, “It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.”
Although Forbes is speaking the truth in this statement, how successful and bountiful the Autumn harvest is literally depends on the seed the farmer selects in the beginning. As university rice specialists stress in the Specialist Speaking column on page 18, choosing seed is one of the most important decisions a grower will make before the season kicks off.
EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION
Editor-In-Chief Carroll Smith csmith@onegrower.com
Associate Editor Cassidy Nemec cnemec@onegrower.com
Copy Editor Amanda Huber ahuber@onegrower.com
Digital Content Editor Katie Guthrie kguthrie@onegrower.com
Art Director Ashley Kumpe akumpe@onegrower.com
Publisher/Vice President Lia Guthrie 901-497-3689 lguthrie@onegrower.com
Carroll Smith Editor• “Seed selection decisions start earlier every year, with many farmers making decisions by December. Even with some decisions made, there is still a lot of time before the start of the season to fine-tune those selections and where to plant them.” — Dr. Jarrod T. Hardke, Arkansas
• “Varietal selection is an early and important decision a rice grower needs to make each year. In planning, first consider the maturity class that fits into your farming operations and climatic zone.” — Dr. Bruce Linquist, California
• “Variety selection is not a decision to be made lightly as it is the most important decision facing a producer going into the season. No other input can radically change the yield potential to the extent that variety selection can.” — Dr. Ronnie Levy, Louisiana
• “Many have already booked seed for the 2023 season, but for the remaining acres we’d like to provide some general recommendations based upon trial data and availability.” — Dr. Justin Chlapecka, Missouri
Hardke offers one more piece of advice for achieving a successful outcome: “Choose what makes the most sense for your specific situation and spread your risk. Rotate technologies and ‘don’t fence me in’ with a technology planted where it can’t be fully utilized.”
On a figurative level, planting the right seed can have a positive outcome as well as shown on page 16 — “Central Texas Rice.” When David Caudell found himself transplanted from Northeast Arkansas to Central Texas, he floated the idea of whether growing rice could be a feasible option in an area not traditionally known for rice production. The locals told him the land was so good he could grow anything. To solve the logistics of where he would send his rice, Caudell struck a deal with RiceTec for seed production. And so planting the right rice seed for his Central Texas operation has resulted in David Caudell achieving success in what some would call a long-shot situation.
To assist in selecting the right seed for your operation this year, be sure to visit ricefarming.com and check out the 2023 Rice Seed Guide.
Send comments to: Editor, Rice Farming Magazine, 875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017 or email csmith@onegrower.com.
Associate Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Carroll Smith 901-326-4443 csmith@onegrower.com
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In 2022, Horizon Ag variety PVL03 and the Provisia® Rice System provided many farmers with the strong overall performance needed in a particularly challenging year — high yields, impressive milling quality, blast resistance and unmatched control of weedy rice and resistant grasses.
It was confirmation for Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager, that rice farmers now have a proven Provisia variety that can more than hold its own against elite Clearfield® varieties.
“We have heard from farmers across South Louisiana who said that PVL03 did what it needed to do, in terms of high yields, and actually exceeded expectations by providing good milling quality in a year where millings, in general, were erratic,” says Dr. Walker. “PVL03 is the Provisia variety many in the industry were waiting for, and it was planted on a lot of acres this year. The proof of its value is in the impressive results farmers saw in their fields.”
Although there is another ACCase inhibitor herbicide system available for rice, it is important to understand it is not the same as the Provisia Rice System.
“Provisia varieties have good tolerance of Provisia herbicide, and the herbicide doesn’t need a safener,” says Dr. Walker. “It’s the best system available today for weedy rice. Farmers have heard all the stories out there this year about performance and issues with other technologies. The bottom line is we can’t afford to be safe on weeds.”
Horizon Ag CLL16 has been a standout since its commercial release, establishing itself as “the complete package” due to its consistent, high-end performance and agronomics.
Zack Tanner, a farmer in Bernie, Missouri, told Horizon Ag Arkansas field day attendees last summer that CLL16 is his go-to variety on his fields not under contract for seed production. “We’ve had some great yields with CLL16 over the four years we’ve planted it,” said Tanner. “Even when I’m thinking about furrow-irrigated rice, it’s a variety I like to plant because of its consistency, blast tolerance, height, vigor and yield.”
Nolan Evans, a farmer in Weiner, Arkansas, said he grew CLL16 last season for the first time after confirming its potential with University of Arkansas rice specialist Jarrod Hardke. “He said it was a good variety, so, instead of planting a few acres in it, I planted half my farm in CLL16,” said Evans. “I really like it.”
One of the unique benefits of CLL16 is that it is broadly adapted to perform across the southern rice region. From the Missouri Bootheel to the west of Houston, Texas, CLL16 has consistently shown that it can yield with or better than top-performing varietals and even hybrids.
“This is a variety yielding 200-plus bushels per acre consistently across a wide range of geographies while offering the advantages of a Clearfield® variety at a lower seed cost than hybrids,” says Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager.
With interest rates on the rise, consider taking advantage of 0% APR1,2 financing for Horizon Ag seed and BASF crop protection purchases, through our partnerships with John Deere Financial or Rabo AgriFinance.
For years, Horizon Ag has worked with BASF to bring new technologies to market that give rice farmers more options, flexibility and opportunities to improve profitability. Taking advantage of 0% financing can provide a significant edge when it comes to managing finances and cash flow.
Both programs are available from through September 30, 2023, with a maturity date of December 31, 2023. Contact your BASF Authorized Retailer or Horizon Ag Authorized Retailer for more information about these special offers.
Anew Congress will be seated this month, and one of the biggest items to cross their desks will be the new Farm Bill.
Farm Bills are never easy, and considering this is likely to be the first Farm Bill to cross the trillion-dollar threshold, it’s bound to attract attention, along with criticism from those who lack a full understanding of farming. But despite the sticker shock, there are ample reasons for that hefty price tag. After all, the Farm Bill isn’t just for farmers—it affects the daily lives of all Americans and safeguards our nation’s food security and economy as whole. In fact, 84% of the expenditures don’t go to agriculture; it goes to nutrition programs.
The 2018 Farm Bill, while a success story for rice and for agriculture in general, was more of an evolution than a revolution—a tweak rather than an overhaul. But as I’m sure you’ll agree, in 2018 the world was radically different. Today’s Farm Bill must contend with an unprecedented set of global circumstances, and frankly, it’s in dire need of improvement.
Since the current bill was enacted, the rice industry has faced one challenge after another: price stagnation in the face of skyrocketing input costs; supply chain disruptions due to covid, labor issues, inflation, and the war in Ukraine; hurricanes, floods, and drought; and unfair competition from India, which refuses to adhere to their WTO obligations. It’s not just rice farms that are impacted, but also mills, merchants, dryers, truck drivers, ag suppliers and the main street businesses of rural America that suffer too.
The Farm Bill’s Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program has been an effective safety net for rice, but is not equipped to deal with the litany of challenges mentioned above. Updates to the safety net are badly needed, and rice
farmers have made these improvements their priority.
Eligibility requirements for PLC assistance have become unnecessarily and arbitrarily burdensome, and are based on long outdated data. We need a dynamic PLC program that is responsive when prices stagnate and input costs spike. We need reference prices that take into account the true costs of production, which for rice are far higher than all other row crops. Additionally, payment limitations for this assistance have not kept pace with real world economics.
Farm Bill Conservation programs are critically important to rice farmers, but every rice-growing region across the country has unique growing conditions and utilizes different practices. There is no one-size-fits-all solution that applies to all regions. We approach sustainability as the wholistic, complex issue it is, and Farm Bill conservation programs must recognize the rice industry’s unique needs as well as our diverse benefits to the environment.
The Farm Bill’s Conservation Title should focus on locally-led, voluntary, and incentive-based conservation models, not regulations and mandates. It should make good business sense and be economically viable, benefiting both the environment and rural communities. And it should recognize that rice farmers were early adopters and advocates of these sustainability practices, and not take for granted that our industry has led the charge for the last 25 years.
USA Rice is dedicated to making sure the next Farm Bill works well for the rice industry. The USA Rice Farmers Board has approved the principles developed and refined by our Farm Policy Task Force throughout the year. We’re eager for our members to take these recommendations directly to Capitol Hill. Through visits with Members of Congress and testimonies before the House and Senate Ag Committees, we have already laid a solid foundation as we prepare to deliver a sound, unified message based on the real-world experience and expertise of rice farmers.
I suppose you could say we’ve spent 2022 doing field work. It’s almost time to sow our principles. We’ll keep you updated.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Anheuser-Busch are partnering to research and promote resource conservation for rice farming in Arkansas and the surrounding region. Their focus will be on preserving water quality and quantity and nutrient management.
The corporate “Smart Agriculture” goals were stated in Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 sustainability plan, written in 2018, said Bill Jones, rice agronomy manager for Anheuser-Busch.
Jones, who’s based at the company’s Jonesboro, Arkansas, facilities, said the beer brewer has been advancing methods to reduce water use in its beer making for years. With their “Smart Agriculture” goals, the company wants to extend those practices to the growers from whom they buy rice, mostly in Arkansas.
Rice is a key ingredient in the brewing process. Anheuser-Busch purchased 18.3 million bushels of rice directly from farmers in 2021. “This is 99% Arkansas rice,” Jones said.
“Our efforts are 100% directed toward developing skills and financial empowerment for our growers,” he said. “The long-term success of farms, including those in Arkansas, are vital for Anheuser-Busch’s ability to brew its beers with high-quality ingredients.”
For help convincing growers that these resource conservation practices are worth the effort, Jones reached out to Trent Roberts, associate professor of soil fertility and testing for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and Mike Daniels, professor and crop, soil and environmental sciences associate department head for the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Discovery Farms are privately owned Arkansas farms on which research and demonstration programs are conducted regarding the environmental impacts of ag production, Daniels said.
Jones and Roberts had collaborated in the past on nutrient management issues. The Discovery Farms provided an ideal platform for demonstrating practical water conservation methods.
“This program is funded by the Anheuser-Busch Foundation to advance innovative farming practices and drive sustainability,” Jones said. “The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is the most respected Land Grant Institution in rice research, and we are excited about our continued partnership to help support rice producers in Arkansas and beyond.”
“Bill and Anheuser-Busch have been very supportive of N-STaR (Nitrogen Soil Test for Rice) and the Green Seeker tool for nutrient management,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the partners are conducting four research projects:
• Cover crops in zero-grade rice fields.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Anheuser-Busch are partnering to conduct research on preserving water quality and quantity and nutrient management in rice production.
• Cover crops in furrow–irrigated, rice-soybean rotations.
• Enhanced fertilizer treatments.
• Nutrient management research on a Discovery Farm adjacent to an Anheuser-Busch facility in Jonesboro.
The test fields are contrasted with control plots that use traditional management practices. Roberts said the research will help them better understand how water conservation measures affect nutrient management.
“For our nutrient-use Discovery Farm near the Anheuser-Busch mill in Jonesboro, we will be doing field-scale comparisons of nutrient management,” Roberts said. In addition to better understanding the resource conservation benefits of alternate management systems, Roberts said the team will learn how those practices affect yield and profitability for Arkansas rice farms.
As research results come in and conservation practices are better understood, the Discovery Farms help distribute the information to growers, Daniels said.
“We want to show farmers how to do these things and encourage them to make changes voluntarily,” Daniels said.
Getting science-based information to their growers is key to Anheuser-Busch’s sustainability goals, Jones said.
“Growers are trying things, too,” Jones said. “If they try something and it doesn’t work, they’re reluctant to try it again. Sometimes the risks are too high. So, we are sharing the risk with them to help farmers understand the value of these projects.”
Jones said the aim of this research partnership is to develop an agricultural protocol that limits or reduces impacts on rivers, lakes and other groundwater sources.
By Milo Hamilton
What you need to know about the rice market in the United States is that the rice market in the Americas, North and South, is a major part of the demand base for U.S. grown rice; yet, the entire Western Hemisphere is only a small part, only about 5%, of the world’s total rice production and consumption. Most of the world’s rice grows and is consumed in Asia, where humankind rst cultivated rice many centuries ago. Now East is meeting the West in the case of U.S. rice consumption. Let me explain myself.
Milo Hamilton
I love an old Chinese proverb that says, “More precious than pearls or jade are the ve grains of which rice is rst.” Hence, the Chinese name for rice is Firstgrain, which is also the name of the rice advisory business I started 22 years ago. Rice is very precious to China. Over 70% of all irrigated water in water-short China goes to grow rice.
e Chinese know how precious rice and water can be. A Zen proverb says, “When you boil your rice, know that it is the water that is your life.” If your child is starving, you will sell your jewelry to feed your child rice. e United States hardly knows this kind of deprivation, and that is a great blessing that we in the United States have not experienced such dire hunger and famine.
ere are two critical things to understand about the U.S. rice market. U.S. domestic rice consumption is the only market in the Americas that is growing strongly; but the consumption growth is in the kind of fragrant rice that farmers grow in Asia. Imports are growing, and domestic demand in the United States is also growing for aromatic or fragrant rice, such as jasmine or basmati.
Let me explain myself here. It’s not a coincidence that U.S. rice consumption is increasing as the population of Asian Americans has been growing smartly. Charts 1 and 2, regarding the fragrant rice industry in the United States, are courtesy of Tanner Ehmke, lead agricultural economist at CoBank in Denver, Colorado.
Several factors are driving the growth in rice consumption in the United States: the value of the U.S. dollar, container rates and
the rapid growth in the Asian American share of the U.S. population. It’s not a coincidence that rice demand in the United States is going up with the in ux of Asian immigrants.
Since 2017, two factors have impacted the rate of rice imports: rising container costs and the uctuations and trends in the U.S. dollar. Rising container rates recently have curtailed Asian rice imports.
As container rates moved higher in price, Asian imports became less competitive with U.S. rice. Conversely, as the U.S. dollar strengthens, Asian imports become more competitive with domestically grown rice in the United States. With the recent disruptions in container rates that went extremely high, rice imports to the United States fell o . Now they are coming back with the end of congestion for containers landed on the West Coast. Also, it will be interesting to see if the weaker dollar recently negatively
A forecast for U.S. rice imports through 2060 and some re ections on how the world rice price really works
impacts U.S. rice imports in the period ahead.
e signi cant factor a ecting the demand for imports into the United States in the long-term through 2060 should be the projected rate of growth in Asian Americans. In Chart 3, Pew Research anticipates that this element of U.S. rice demand should grow by 85%. Asians, as we mentioned at the outset, are the largest consumers of rice in the world.
e challenge of the U.S. rice industry is to nd U.S.-grown, fragrant varieties that reward the U.S. farmer with good pro ts while meeting the discriminating taste of Asian consumers. If the United States cannot accomplish this task of rice breeding, a major share of the rice consumed in the U.S. will come from Asian suppliers over time.
Charts 4, 5 and 6 help explain how the world rice market works. e world rice market divides into two parts. First, there is China and India — or what is known as “Chindia,” which consumes about 51% of all the rice produced. e other half is what I call the Rest of the World or ROW. is half consumed about 49% of all the rice produced. e ROW includes some major rice countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia as well as many smaller countries like Nepal and Italy.
If you look a little closer at these two charts, the trend in rice imports and stocks-to-use ratio are di erent between Chindia and ROW. Imports in Chindia have moved irregularly higher since 2000 because China is the world’s largest importer of rice now. Imports into the ROW have risen steadily by over 20 million MT since 2000 to a major share of world trade. e signi cant di erence between Chindia and ROW is the trend in rice stocks/use. Since 2000, stocks/use in Chindia have moved irregularly higher until a couple of years ago but are now falling. Since 2000, stocks/
use in ROW have been falling since 2015. From 2008 to 2015, stocks/use rose greatly. en from 2015 to 2022, stocks/use have virtually collapsed. Currently, stocks/use in ROW are at the lowest level since 1995. More importantly, the stocks/use mentality has turned from “just-in-case” inventories to “hand-to-mouth” in the Rest of the World, or ROW.
e change in rice inventory philosophy since 2015 in most countries that import rice may be due to rice buyers assuming that India has rising stocks and rising production and has the cheapest rice in the world. So, why spend any money owning any more rice than the bare minimum? at’s a good question.
India, the world’s second largest rice producer and largest rice exporter, has the cheapest rice because its currency has been collapsing relative to the U.S. dollar, and they also heavily subsidize the inputs to grow rice. Altogether, the impact of rice subsidies and a devaluating currency account for the disparity between export o ers from India versus from the Americas. Since 2015, ROW rice stocks have declined from 18% of consumption to about 12.5% of consumption. at decline is worth about 7-9 million MTs of lost import demand. In both halves of world rice consumption, rice imports have been in a strong upward trend. At some point, rapidly rising import demand will lock horns with declining stocks/use and drive rice prices higher as happened in 2007/2008. Now, ROW rice stocks/use are considerably lower than in 2007/2008.
It’s a known fact that the stocks of rice in China are a state secret and, therefore, at best, are just an educated guess. at is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the past has looked at rice statistics also without including China in world totals. For example, trade sources tell me that in 2022 China lost 15% to 30% of all the rice grown in the South of China, which is about 48% of all the rice grown in China. But USDA reports its production down only 1% in 2022. We know the drought was bad because its hydro-electric output was severely reduced, forcing China to turn to more use of coal in 2022.
Since 1960, stocks/use in the ROW is now at the lowest level since 1995 and headed lower. In addition, India, concerned about its rice stocks, recently implemented a steep export tari on non-brokens rice exports and a ban on brokens rice, a preferred type of imports for China that is used for feed because it is cheaper than domestic corn. It’s not clear that Chinese rice stocks are available for export at current price levels either.
World rice production in 2023 may decline due to the resurgence of the COVID pandemic inside China, or the unavailability of input nutrients or inputs that are not a ordable. Many buyers could begin to build reserves, just-in-case. We are moving away in any case from a tightly connected and globalized world of buying and selling into something more unpredictable and more dangerous as the United States reduces its military support of global grain trading to protect against bad actors.
As of this writing, several key rice markets are elevating in price in the Americas and Asia. When a market leans too far in one direction, such as hand-to-mouth/just-in-time buying, the price of the commodity can get away from the buyers.
Technically at least, my long-term averages in Chart 7 suggest a potential breakout to the upside in 2023 as occurred in 2007, the last
time commodity in ation was on a global tear. I see the 5-year moving average already has crossed over to the upside of the 17-year moving average. Our Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator is still in a buy mode. ( e MACD oscillator is one of the most popular and widely used technical analysis indicators that traders and analysts use to gauge momentum in markets). e last crossover to the upside occurred
in mid-2007, 15 years ago and the price did not look back until it reached a new high in 2008. If the market can move above the previous highs up ahead, and global in ation remains in an uptrend, the high for the 2022 and 2023 crop years may lie ahead of us, not behind us.
As they say, the market will tell its tale. None of us know for sure what will happen in 2023. But we must continue to learn. Eric Ho er in his book, e True Believer, said, “In times of change, the future belongs to the learner, while the learned will nd beautiful ways to cope with a world that no longer exists.”
With so much change coming our way soon, we need to be learners. Or as Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of a Nazi death camp, advised us, “Do not be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” She also said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
Milo Hamilton is Senior Economist and CEO of Firstgrain Inc., Austin, Texas. Contact him at 512-658-8761 or milo@ rstgrain.com.
The annual Rice Awards were presented again on Dec. 8 in Austin, Texas.
The new Rice Leadership Class was announced in Austin, Texas, in conjunction with the 2022 Rice Outlook Conference. The new leadership class is composed of (from left to right): Justin Chlapecka, Missouri; Jarod Holzhauer, Gillett, Arkansas; P.J. Haynie, Pine Blu , Arkansas; Charles Payne, Lafayette, Louisiana; Alex Struckmeyer, Arbuckle, California; Matthew Hendricks, Freeport, Texas; and (not pictured) Christi Bland, Sledge, Mississippi.
Kennedy Rice was the recipient of the 2022 USA Rice Sustainability Award. Mark Isbell (right), vice chair of the USA Rice Sustainability Committee, presented the award to Kennedy Rice CEO Meryl Kennedy Farr (left).
The 2022 Distinguished Conservation Achievement Award was presented by the USA Rice Conservation Committee Chair Leo LaGrande to Isbell Farms of Lonoke, Arkansas. Chris Isbell (left) accepted the award on behalf of the family.
As you head up the Mississippi River, the Delta soils run out pretty quick after you hit the Missouri state line. From south to north, there are about 85 miles of soils suitable for rice production from the state line to just south of Cape Girardeau. Five counties nestled in the Bootheel account for close to 95% of the state’s 180,000200,0000 harvested acres, earning Missouri number four in rice production.
The potential for slightly cooler weather in the Bootheel allows for both good yields and quality to thrive in the area. But, due to Missouri lying on the northern outskirts, the rest of the Mid-South’s rules often don’t exactly apply to how we can manage rice. The University of Arkansas and others have been conducting planting date studies for decades; however, the northernmost site for those historically has been located near the I-40 corridor. Due to our geographical differences, we felt it necessary to define what works this far north, and what doesn’t…
Due to Missouri lying on the northern outskirts, the rest of the MidSouth’s rules often don’t exactly apply to how we can manage rice.
In March of 2022 we initiated the first of what will be an annual, ongoing study in the Bootheel region. The Missouri Rice Council’s Research Farm was the sole site for 2022, with five planting dates spaced approximately three weeks apart from March 17 to June 13. Although the March 17 planting took 36 days to emerge and much longer to start thriving, numerically it outperformed all other planting dates, with an average over all cultivars of 206 bushels per acre (bpa).
While only one year of data, early frosts (Oct. 18-20) exposed our vulnerability in
planting late rice. Later cultivars, especially the inbred varieties that were still in the milk to soft dough stages, were heavily damaged by the frost events while moisture seemed to drop immediately — as did yield potential. The rice averaged 139 bpa across all cultivars; however, that ranged from 184 bpa in one of the better-performing hybrids to near 100 bpa in some of the later varieties. The wide range of yields indicated that planting rice is still on the table through early June, but cultivar selection becomes that much more critical the later in the calendar we get.
Another interesting trend that revealed itself was the ability of hybrid cultivars to maintain yield potential through some of the later plantings. Hybrid cultivars achieved, on average, 100% of yield potential through April and then began to decrease slightly in May. Inbred varieties, on the other hand, averaged near a 4.5 bpa decrease weekly from the earliest planting, March 17. While one year of data at one site is certainly not the end-all be-all, this
does suggest that it’s more important to plant rice early for Missourians.
Arkansas does not always show the same trends we’ve seen in 2022, so it will be interesting to see what unfolds as we continue this research. Trials will continue at the Rice Research Farm and will hopefully be expanded to a second site. While we rarely get to choose when our planting windows will occur, knowing the yield potential of individual cultivars through these windows can assist our farmers with deciding exactly what to plant when. These trials are meant to be an addition to other factors, such as timing out maturities and harvest to be as efficient as possible.
It should also be noted that all seed is treated with a fungicide and insecticide treatment. We would not recommend leaving seed in the ground for 36 days without a good jacket! If you’d like more information about these trials or others, data is routinely uploaded to our website at extension. missouri.edu/programs/rice-extension or missouririce.com. As always, eat MO rice!
The Thibodeaux Family in Crowley, LA
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*These statements are not a guarantee of performance, nor do they constitute a warranty of fitness for a particular use.
Having grown up in the expansive rice country of Northeast Arkansas, David Caudell never had any intention of moving to Texas. However, after coming down to visit an area near Hearne, Texas, with fertile soil and plenty of trees to complete the picturesque landscape, he was sold.
Prior to being persuaded to come down to Texas, Caudell worked for Versatile Tractor for 10 years, acquiring a territory from Oregon to the Carolinas. This seemed to prepare him for his future career as the farm manager for Goodland Farms.
“The old timers around here tell me ‘Goodland’ got its name because it was ‘good land.’ It is and is some of the most fertile land I’ve farmed or been around in my life. It doesn’t matter what you plant; it’ll produce,” he said.
Goodland Farms covers a large area and could easily intimidate any other farm manager, but not David Caudell.
“I like a challenge.”
Caudell said he fell in love with the place when he came down to visit and asked — as any good Arkansan involved in agriculture would — if he’d be able to raise rice and was given a defiant “You can raise as much rice as you want to raise” answer.
“Growing up, basically all I knew was rice. If you give me a choice of planting any crop, but only one crop, I’d plant everything in rice,” he said.
He suggested the biggest problem in that area, being part of the Central Texas region rather than the normal, more coastal regions for rice, was logistics on where to send the rice. About a year into the job, Caudell connected with RiceTec and worked out a deal with them for seed production.
Overall, rice farming in this area worked well for all parties involved. Caudell said they grow about 400 acres of foundation
and production seed rice. One field is row rice, while the rest is all on a normal, levee-based system.
“This was basically like virgin land for rice; we wanted to raise rice, and they needed a place to raise that rice,” he said.
Production rice would’ve been too much of a hassle to transport such long distances from Central Texas and wasn’t feasible, so seed rice was the perfect solution. “We grow foundation seed for them and what they call ‘production seed,’ which comes
from the foundation and will be sold to the consumer for seed rice,” Caudell said before adding they have ample land to have a good rotation system to keep growing that seed rice year after year a possibility.
Caudell is dedicated to Goodland Farms and agriculture as a whole.
For about five years now, he’s been project manager for a farm getting put together in Tanzania. His heart for agriculture and the people in it shows in his current role.
“I absolutely love it down here. Not just
the farm, but the community and very good people in this area. I can’t stress that enough.”
Caudell spoke to the discouraging labor situation he’d seen not just in pockets throughout the U.S., but nationwide, noting he observed many labor troubles all over the country in his previous role.
“I’ll give all the credit for this farm to the labor I have here,” as he emphasized the longevity of everyone on the farm — a good number ranging from 30 to 50 plus years of employment with Goodland Farms. He said that told him a lot about the labor and ownership of the place and made his decision to pack up and move a much easier one. “I’ve got a crew here who I’d put up against anybody; I am so blessed.”
Caudell talked about some factors they consider while growing rice in Central Texas.
“Irrigation gets everybody on everything, but with rice, that factor is kind of taken out because it’s a given,” he said.
Removing irrigation as a wait-and-see issue, he said they do use a large amount of water. “Water is valuable… rice does require lots and lots of water. at’s one of the things about going to the row rice; you’re not having to maintain the ood on it and are just able to run it through the rows.”
He added they have weed pressure in pigweed and grasses that they target in various ways, taking into account appropriate measures that should be taken with seed rice versus what could be done with conventional rice.
As was the consensus in 2022, Caudell said input prices are a massive hindrance to their operation at Goodland Farms.
“Everbody raves about commodity pric-
es; I think I’d take half the commodity price to see half the input cost because the inputs are killing us.”
Caudell would like to see increased eciency in the coming years.
“We’ve just got to be able to produce more for less, but there is a certain point where savings cost. You’ve got to gure out where that point is so you’re not spending a dollar to save a dime.”
“Growing up, basically all I knew was rice. If you give me a choice of planting any crop, but only one crop, I’d plant everything in rice,” Caudell said.
Professor/Rice Extension Agronomist University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uada.edu
Seed selection decisions start earlier every year, with many farmers making decisions by December. Even with some decisions made, there’s still a lot of time before the start of the season to fine-tune those selections and where to plant them.
An increasing problem in recent years, with additional herbicide technologies available, is what we’re planting in which fields. It’s getting a little too common to “fence ourselves in” by planting one herbicide technology surrounded by fields of another. This often prevents us from getting the full benefit out of a weed control technology we need and may also lead to future problems due to inefficient herbicide use.
With that aside, here are some thoughts on cultivar selection for 2023. For conventional cultivars, RiceTec (RT) XP753 continues to lead as it has for years. RT7401 and the new RT7302 appear to be competitive and may be worth a look, but XP753 hasn’t been dethroned just yet. The Nutrien variety DG263L continues to look good and should be the most widely planted long-grain variety in 2023. Ozark (limited seed) is a new public variety that appears to compete with DG263L and shows a clear advantage
Varietal selection is an early and important decision a rice grower needs to make each year. In planning, first consider the maturity class that fits into your farming operations and climatic zone. There are three maturity classes for California medium grains: very early (M-105), early (M-206, M-209, M-210 and M-211) and late-maturing (M-401, M-402 – both premium medium grains).
Consider how planting varieties of different duration at different times affects harvest operations. Second, think about your climate: M-105, M-206 and M-210 are considered broadly adapted varieties that will do well in most California rice-growing areas. However, in the coolest areas of the region (southern Sacramento Valley and Delta), M-105 out yields M-206. If you are in a blast-
over Diamond and ProGold1.
Clearfield (CL) varieties and FullPage (FP) hybrids offer tolerance to imazethapyr and imazomox herbicides. RT7521 FP and RT7321 FP will continue to be the most widely planted cultivars in 2023. These two hybrids are competitive with one another, but each year, one performs a little better than the other — unfortunately, it’s been impossible to predict which one will lead each year, so planting a mix is a good idea. RT7421 FP is a new offering that performed similar to the other FP hybrids last year. CLL16 has performed well the past few seasons and appears very durable. CLL18 (limited seed) offers higher-end yield potential compared to CLL16 but is less durable. Another variety, CLL17, can be an option but has disease concerns.
Provisia (PV) varieties and MaxAce (MA) varieties and hybrids offer tolerance to quizalofop herbicides. RTv7231 MA (variety) has good yield potential but only fair milling yields, while PVL03 can have similar yields with better milling yield. RT 7331 MA (hybrid) offers similar yields to other hybrids, making it an excellent option; but seed will be limited.
Medium grains did not perform very well overall in 2022 — blame the heat combined with some disease susceptibility. The medium grain market should have increased demand moving forward. Jupiter’s share of medium-grain acres will continue to fall, while acres for Titan, CLM04 and Lynx should increase. These increases may be short-lived as the new variety Taurus should debut in 2024.
ARoma 22 is a new aromatic long-grain variety that has performed similar to ARoma 17, but with a more market-desirable flavor and aroma.
Spread your risk by planting multiple cultivars as appropriate for your acreage and situation. Rotate technologies and “don’t fence me
prone area, consider M-210, which has broad resistance to blast. Both M-209 and M-211 are longer in duration than M-206. Both are also less suited to cooler areas (M-209 being the least suited). Duration is also important when thinking about drought and water limitations. Shorter duration varieties require less water.
The newest commercially available medium grain variety is M-211, which has high eating quality (comparable to M-401). In our statewide variety tests, in the warmer areas where it is best suited, it outyields all other varieties by two to three cwt/ ac and has produced the highest yields we have reported in our yield contest. Given its high yield potential, there’s a lot of interest in M-211. However, there are concerns with the milling quality of M-211. This variety needs to be harvested close to 20% as quality drops fast when harvested drier.
From a management standpoint to optimize yield and quality, be sure not to drain your field too early at the end of the season. This past year made a number of growers think twice about M-211. It was a longer duration variety, so fields had to be irrigated for a longer period. Also, many growers had trouble uniformly drying out their fields at the end of the season, and this caused milling quality problems. That said, I think M-211 has promise, but growers need to learn how best to manage it on their fields and under their conditions.
Performance of selected cultivars in the Arkansas Rice Performance Trials, 2020-2022.
Cultivar
CLL16
Grain Type
50% Heading
Grain Yield (bushels/acre)
2020 2021 2022 Mean
L 90 174 179 173 175
CLL17 L 86 169 166 162 166
CLL18 L 89 181
DG263L
L 83 202 197 185 195
Diamond L 88 179 178 174 177
Ozark L 90 192 192 192
ProGold1 L 90 173 177 173 174
PVL03 L 90 170 164 167
RTv7231MA L 77 188 181 185
RT7331MA L 83 194
RT7321FP L 83 198 213 181 197
RT7521FP L 86 184 201 201 195
RT7401 L 85 207 213 198 206
RT XP753 L 84 209 214 201 208
Jupiter M 88 168 175 152 165
Lynx M 87 176 173 175
Titan M 83 175 181 161 172
Taurus M 87 197 180 189
CLM04 M 87 164 165 160 163
in” with a technology planted where it can’t be fully utilized.
We get paid based on how many bushels we can produce (and milling yield), but the take-home money is the key. Choose the cultivars that provide you with the best net return. The bottom line is becoming increasingly important given production cost increases. Choose what makes the most sense for your specific situation and spread your risk.
Review the results of the Arkansas Rice Performance Trials at https://uaex.uada.edu/rice. The table below provides multi-year data, but the devil is in the details of site-by-site performance that can be found in the complete published data. Let us know if we can help.
Variety selection isn’t a decision to be made lightly as it is the most important decision facing a producer going into the season. No other input can radically change the yield potential to the extent that variety selection can. This decision can be challenging, but through the
LSU AgCenter, producers do have information at their disposal to improve this decision-making process.
Fortunately, growers in Louisiana have multi-environment data to use when selecting varieties. In addition to variety testing on research stations, the LSU AgCenter collaborates with rice producers to evaluate varieties directly on their farms. These trials provide valuable yield data from local growing conditions and agronomic practices. For best use of the “Rice Varieties and Management Tips” publication, we recommend judging variety yield results by looking at performance and stability. Performance refers to identifying the varieties that are high yielding in environments that best represent your local farm. Stability refers to the performance of a variety across multiple environments across Louisiana and other states. It’s important for growers to consider both factors when making variety decisions.
Variety yield potential is an important trait in selecting a variety, but other varietal characteristics should also be considered. How these criteria rank in importance to the grower may vary from one grower to the next and may vary from one field to the next. A few of these criteria for variety selection are discussed below.
Herbicide Tolerance and Weed Management Programs: Weed control continues to drive most producers’ management practices in rice. From seeding method to water management, weed control efforts are continuing to change. Regardless of the herbicide-tolerant technology utilized, application of residual herbicides and post-emergence herbicides are the best strategy to manage herbicide-resistant weeds. Furthermore, research has shown that early
weed control can maximize yield. Choosing the right variety for weeds or resistant weeds should be tailored to each eld.
Disease Resistance: Varieties of rice di er in susceptibility to diseases. Sheath blight is an important foliar disease of rice. is, and other foliar diseases, may cause signi cant yield losses. Blast may also be a major yield-reducing disease in any given year. ese and other diseases are rated to identify potential sources of resistance. Resistant variety selection is the most economical way for producers to manage diseases.
Planting Date: Some varieties are sensitive to planting date. Yields of some varieties tend to drop quickly if planted later in the season. Rice yields may be reduced by planting too early or too late outside of the recommended range. Seedling survival is not satisfactory until the average daily temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Wet conditions result in cooler soil temperature. Dry soils warm earlier. Vegetation on the soil surface results in soils staying cooler longer. Mulch increases the amount of incoming energy (radiation) reected, and it increases the amount of air space, insulating the soil surface. In the spring, a mulched soil will warm more slowly, but will have less day-night temperature variation. Mulched soils also tend to have a higher water content, contributing to slower warming. Environmental conditions may also vary by location and by year; therefore, the optimal seeding time is presented as a range of dates. If planting a variety at very low seeding rate, waiting for optimal weather reduces the risk of a failed stand.
Maturity: Most varieties will reach harvest maturity (20% grain moisture) within 30 to 40 days a er heading under normal con-
ditions. Medium grains normally require ve to seven days longer a er heading to reach harvest maturity than do long grains under similar environmental conditions. Di erent maturity varieties can spread harvest that better utilizes harvesting and drying equipment.
ese are only a few considerations when selecting varieties. Consult as many di erent sources as possible for information. Variety selection is the most important part of rice production. e 2023 “Rice Varieties and Management Tips” publication is available at https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1669217585621.
It doesn’t seem like we should already be thinking about a new rice crop, but here we are in 2023. While last year presented many challenges to producers compared to the past few years, most who chose to grow rice in 2022 were ultimately rewarded with a good price combined with slightly above-average yields. Many have already booked seed for the 2023 season, but for the remaining acres, we’d like to provide some general recommendations based upon trial data and availability.
Hybrid selection: Once again, hybrid acreage in Missouri has remained substantial at 65% to 70%. While a lot of hybrid seed is already booked, our trials showed that all hybrids did well when planted early. For conventional hybrids, XP753 remains a stand-
out, along with RT730. The newcomer, RT7302, performed very well in its first year of our testing. For those looking at herbicide technologies, RT7321 FP and RT7521 FP are both solid choices, and for its first year in our testing, the new RT7331 MA performed much better than its predecessor, RTv7231 MA.
Variety selection: DG263L continues to be a star in the inbred market and was the most popular inbred variety grown in Missouri in 2022. That trend will likely carry on in 2023 as it’s still yielding well. Ozark is a new University of Arkansas long grain option that was impressive in our trials, but be advised of limited quantity with the only seed supplier this year being the U of A. ProGold1 is another solid conventional option, and it’s consistently outyielded ProGold2 in our trials.
If you’re in the market for herbicide technology options, CLL16 continues to be one of the best options for Clearfield rice. CLL18 is a new release that outperformed CLL16 in some of our trials, but the very-limited seed availability will make getting your hands on it nearly impossible for 2023. Provisia varieties are another option, with PVL03 and RTv7231 MA performing similarly at our Missouri research sites.
In cultivar selection, your production system (flood vs. furrow-irrigated) absolutely matters. The table below summarizes our 2022 cultivar trials in both systems. You can find more information on cultivar trials and other studies at https://extension.missouri. edu/programs/rice-extension. Our crew wishes you all a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. As always, eat Missouri rice!
XP753 L 39 86 208 59-72 35 97 216 50-72
XP780 L 39 88 205 59-71 35 101 184 50-70
RT7301 L 38 85 212 56-72 36 96 209 51-72
RT7302 L 39 87 216 59-72 36 99 222 53-71
RT7401 L 38 86 198 57-71 34 99 203 53-70
RT7321 FP L 39 84 192 57-71 36 96 207 50-71
RT7421 FP L 39 87 190 57-71 36 100 196 50-70
RT7521 FP L 39 88 201 62-70 36 99 198 53-70
RT7331 MA L 38 84 208 60-72 35 97 214 52-72
DGL037 L 36 88 175 61-69 33 99 171 53-69 DGL2065 L 37 89 167 65-72 35 99 175 61-72
DG263L L 36 84 182 58-71 33 95 177 50-69 DGL293 L 37 95 155 60-69 35 105 141 42-63 Diamond L 38 89 177 64-71 36 100 181 54-70 Ozark L 39 90 185 65-72 36 103 177 59-71 ProGold1 L 38 92 172 64-71 37 103 179 55-70 ProGold2 L 38 91 166 62-72 35 103 160 55-71 CLHA02 L 36 89 167 63-70 34 99 177 57-71 CLL16 L 39 92 166 59-70 36 104 165 49-69 CLL18 L 40 91 177 62-70 36 102 182 54-69
PVL03 L 37 91 154 64-72 37 100 158 58-71
RTv7231 MA L 37 80 162 56-70 34 94 170 54-71
DGM004 M 37 90 175 63-70 34 102 184 54-70 Jupiter M 36 90 172 65-69 34 102 189 54-69 Taurus M 37 86 184 65-71 33 99 190 59-71
AVERAGE 38 88 183 61-71 35 100 185 53-70 * The Portageville late-planted rice was heavily damaged by blackbirds and is not included in average yield. ** Furrow-irrigated rice trials were planted at Glennonville on May 19, Portageville on May 11 and Fisk on April 27.
The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Division of Agriculture’s research arm, released four new rice varieties in 2022.
CLL18 is a high-yielding Clearfield variety that will be available to growers in 2023 through Horizon Ag. It averaged 221 bushels per acre over two years in the 2020-21 Arkansas Rice Variety Advancement Trials conducted by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
“This was the highest-yielding nonhybrid Clearfield rice in the ARVAT for those two years,” said Karen Moldenhauer, professor emeritus and rice breeder for the experiment station. “It has looked very good in all of the tests it has been in.
“CLL18 is an excellent long-grain Clearfield line derived from the cross of Roy J and CL142-AR, made at the Rice Research and Extension Center at Stuttgart in 2011,” Moldenhauer said.
Two new conventional rice varieties, Taurus and Ozark, also debuted in 2022.
Taurus, a new medium-grain rice, could even be a gamechanger in the coming years for medium-grain rice growers in the South, according to Arkansas rice specialist Jarrod Hardke.
Taurus offered an average yield potential of 232 bushels per acre in the 2021 Arkansas Rice Variety Advancement Trials.
“Based on ARVAT data, Taurus has a significant yield advantage over all current medium-grain varieties in all test locations,” said Xueyan Sha, senior rice breeder for the experiment station.
Sha said Taurus was bred for MidSouth conditions and would be adaptable to wherever Jupiter or Titan are grown. Taurus is a cross between four other conventional varieties and has a more plump kernel than Jupiter. It outshined even the latest medium-grain varieties, Lynx and Titan, in the 2021 trials at six locations. Taurus brought in the highest average yield in a Clay County field with 249 bushels per acre.
Ozark, a new conventional long-grain variety, is a cross of Diamond and LaKast.
“Diamond has shown some issues the last two years,” Sha said. “It seems it has not been as consistent on yield potential, so this one we hope can be used as a re-
placement for Diamond. It’s definitely shown a yield advantage in the ARVAT.”
Ozark offered an average of 218 bushels per acre in the 2021 ARVAT conducted at six locations in Arkansas. Sha said the overall yield advantage of Ozark over Diamond is about 5%.
Ozark is agronomically similar to Diamond, with a plant height of 43 inches. Maturity for Ozark is a day or two earlier than Diamond at 88 days to 50% heading, Sha said. Lodging tolerance is also similar to Diamond’s, with a slight improvement in milling, especially head rice yield.
The station released a new jasmine-type aromatic rice called ARoma 22 amid rising U.S. demand for aromatic rice. Emeritus Professor Karen Moldenhauer and assistant breeder Debra Ahrent Wisdom developed it to fill that demand with an improved Arkansas-adapted variety.
ARoma 22 offers superior aromatics and color consistency over earlier releases, and equals several qualities looked for by consumers of imported Asian aromatic rice, sensory tests show.
ARoma 22 averaged 167 bushels per acre with high milling yields in five Arkansas Rice Variety Advancement Trials. ARoma 22 reaches 50% heading at 88 days with “excellent” straw strength, according to data collected from the Arkansas Uniform Rice Regional Nursery and reported in 2020 research trials.
After including funding into his 2022 May budget proposal, Governor Newsom signed a groundbreaking bill that will provide much-needed relief for small agricultural businesses during this historic drought crisis.
“With drought threatening California’s agricultural economy, businesses and jobs within our rural ag communities, this landmark $75 million program will help provide necessary drought relief to small businesses, that are vital links in keeping the Sacramento Valley’s ag supply chain connected,” said California Rice Commission president and CEO Tim Johnson.
The program offers $60,000 to $100,000 grants to qualified small businesses, including those that support the California rice industry. The grants will be open to
ag aircraft businesses, ag suppliers, ag service providers, ag trucking companies, rice dryers and mills as well as small or socially disadvantaged farmers.
“We especially want to show our appreciation to California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross for her leadership in creating this new drought relief program and for her continued support for California’s agriculture and the farm economy throughout this crisis,” Johnson said.
The California Rice Commission and coalition, including the Northern California Water Association, California Warehouse Association, California Agricultural Aircraft Association, California Tomato Growers, Ag Council of California and Western Plant Health Association, applaud Gov. Newsom and the California Legislature for proactive, bi-partisan support in this groundbreaking drought relief program.
In addition to rice variety announcements, other Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station rice research developments this year included:
• Chris Henry, professor and water management engineer, found that tailwater recovery systems show significant savings in row rice. He developed a recirculated irrigation system that makes row rice competitive with zero-grade flooded fields in water conservation and yield potential.
• Related research by Kris Brye, university professor of applied soil physics and pedology, indicated that improved water management could help decrease greenhouse gas emissions in rice fields.
• Griffiths Atungulu, associate professor of grain processing and post-harvest system engineering and director of the Rice Processing Program, developed on-farm drying guidelines that maximize quality and reduce energy use. Program researchers based the guidelines on a decade of data compiled from the program’s research.
• Nilda Burgos, weed physiology and molecular biology professor, co-authored a research paper that describes two genetic pathways to herbicide resistance in weedy rice. They confirmed herbicide resistance transfers from crop rice to weedy rice.
