From the Editor

It all starts with a seed — the right seed

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. • “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. Carroll Smith Editor

Carroll

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

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PVL03 and Provisia® Herbicide The Best System for Weedy Rice Control

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.”

CLL16 Go-to Clearfield® Variety for the South

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.

Get 0% APR Financing

HorizonSeed.com

1 Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023. Offer limited to Multi-Use Account Agricultural customers with an available Special Terms limit. Subject to the Multi-Use Account credit agreement and approval. Fixed 0% APR from the date of purchase, which may be prior to delivery, until December 2023, when the entire transaction amount is due in full. Regular Multi-Use Account rates will apply after that date. Offer is subject to change without prior notice due to unpredicted changes in market conditions. Changes to offer will not impact previously posted transactions. Offer may be limited to qualifying products. $5,000 minimum purchase required. Subject to merchant participation, see your local merchant for complete details. Multi-Use Accounts are a service of John Deere Financial, f.s.b. Always read and follow label directions. 2 Other limitations may apply. See full program terms and conditions for further details. Credit subject to Rabo AgriFinance approval, terms and conditions. Must be a Rabo AgriFinance authorized retailer. Qualifying transactions must be submitted for payment by the program dates noted above in order to receive the incentive interest rate. Always read and follow label directions. Clearfield® and Provisia® are registered trademarks of BASF. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. ©2023 Horizon Ag, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice

Another year, another Farm Bill

Arkansas Senator John Boozman (left) speaks with Betsy Ward (right) during USA Rice’s series of visits with Members of Congress during the 2022 calendar year. A new 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.