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PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES
APRIL 2019
Tracked sprayer allows for wider boom, less rutting
Arkansas’ truth-in-labeling law targets rice imposters
Let the sunshine in Solar systems help growers cut electric bills
March 2018 April 2019
COLUMNS
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Vol. 52, 53, No. 4 5
COVER STORY
4 From the Editor
Rice's longnew Arkansas’ history truth-inbucks labelinghot 'what's lawintargets food' trends rice imposters
6 Guest Column 6 Rice Update RiceUSA and sustainability Arkansas steps up fight against pretenders 8 USArice Rice Update
Rice industry sets priorities D PARTMENTS for Ethe next Farm Bill
Let the sunshine in 8 10 Here to stay?
18 Industry News D PARTM ENTS RiceE business scene 19 News 20 Industry Specialists Speaking
Solar systems help growers cut electric bills while raising their environmental stature.
20 Specialist Speaking
The California rice industry prepares for what may become annual armyworm F E AT U R E S infestations.
Rice scene Keepbusiness eyes peeled this season for rice planthopper Early herbicide mistakes can ON THE COVER: Hood’s plague you all A.J. season long
200-kilowatt solar system generates about 75 percent of the electricity used by the nearby ON THEtorage COVER:bins. Armyworms once grain-s again plagued California rice growers Photo in 2017.by Vicky Boyd Photo by Luis Espino, University of California Cooperative Extension
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12 Pay attention to burndown F E Aplant-back T U R E S intervals, preplant herbicide choices 9 The yin and yang
Shorter supplies have shorn up the
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On track market, but increased 2018 planting
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Floods aid expansion
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UC gains better understanding rice-crawfish rotation in southwest about weedy rice challenges Louisiana.
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New tools in the tool box
projections long-term outlook. New groundcloud sprayer design allows for wider boom, less rutting and improved efficiency Giant invasive snail threatens the
A deep-rooted commitment Producers embrace cover crops to boost soil health, profitability
Look thethe Soybean Southe-newsletter supplement Sign upforfor monthly following page 12 in the the Arkansas, at ricefarming.com to have exclusive Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and industry news andofcontent delivered Texas versions Rice Farming . directly to your inbox.
Several new crop-protection products are available in time for this year’s rice season. ards Nom
Please check award category:
of the Year
q Rice Farmer acres. at least 200
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Rice Lifetime Achievement Award recognize deserving leaders within the University ofand Arkansas breeding rice industry. Nomination form on page 5. program releases new jasmine-type long grain. Achievem
Stay up-to-date with the latest from Rice Farming.
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The smell of success Rice Awards: Since 1992, the Rice Farmer of the Year, Rice Industry Award
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leaders who those rice candidates recognize to identify ent Award your help in your area should Achievem Rice Lifetime industry. We need Award and industry members to the innovation to consider which Rice Industry the Year, determination and the time g materials. , Farmer of make a copy Please take The Rice and supportin ated dedication s awards. n form, please ed or l this form have demonstr of these prestigioumail or scan/emai one nominatiocan be download more than and n forms who are worthy submitting form. Nominatio of these honors m. If you are the be recipients arming.co you fill out
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following: consider the paper, please and education. of efficiency. ation for te piece of higher level local community to reach goals. achieve a of recommend industry, will while trying On a separa agriculture and the rice manage risk, to send letters across the Rice Belt emerged is helpful that have from more profitable,
It also and/or hurdles of judges to become guidelines. to farming and overcome for the industry ents. A panel the above Dedication in terms of ion to succeed accomplishm better ways at the Determinat identify new and the nominee familiar with his/her will be made to are please describe Innovation official presentation this form, the rice industry who where an December 2019 issue. in to completing in the Rock, Arkansas, In addition from other individuals Awards. 2019, in Little Farming magazine Rice Dec. 8-10, USA Rice and Rice the nominee of the 2019 Ag, Conference, recipients Rice Outlooksponsored by Horizon select the at the USA in a special will be honored recipients also will be featured The award They awards luncheon.
salute
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18Rice Far m & Gin recap Consultant Of Show The Year: Acknowledge an outstanding consultant or
Nominate an consultant outstanding or pest control adviser (PCA) Consultant for the Rice of the Year Award. “At Corteva Agriculture Agriscience, DowDuPon Division of consultant t, we understand s have a rice the industry,” vital role in says Brooklynne Dalton, product manager for rice herbicides , Corteva Agriscienc ™ e , Agriculture of DowDuPon Division t. “Consultan being askedts have a big task to be experts in current conditions on , evolving technologi productiones and individual needs to manage successful help growers operations “As a thank-you, . we are sponsoring of the Year the Rice Consultant Award to provide opportunit y an who exceed to recognize those contributio expectations for their ns to the rice industry.”
pest Tight controlworld adviserrice (PCA) whose contributions supplies mean any to the rice industry exceed expectations. Nomination form on page 17.
disruption could push markets higher.
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MARCH 2018 APRIL 2019
N O M I N A T I O N
F O R M
Please Additiona use a separate page l recommen and industry dations via for biographical/profes letters or members emails from sional informati are also See instructio encourag ed to provide other farmers, on. ns at bottom consultan left to submit support for ts Consultan t’s Name: these materialsthe nominee. Company . Name:
Mailing City:
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Email: Please describe ZIP: the a good candidate dedication, leadership recipient for the 2019 and innovation will be honored Rice Consultan special that makes in a four-page recognitio t of the this person Year Award. will be provided n event. salute A The RCOY for the awardone-night’s hotel in Rice Farming award magazine stay and recipient round-trip and at a and the nominator travel to the event .
Submit nomina tions by June 30, 2019. Options to materials: submit supporting E-mail: csmith@on egrower.co Mail: Carroll m Smith 7201 Eastern Germantow Ave. n, TN 38138 Online: ricefarming .com/rcoy
Your Name: Address: City: Phone:
State: Email: S P O N S O R E D
ZIP:
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Abbreviated Rules. No who are Purchase 18 age or older years of age or older Necessary. Contest at the time at the time ends on 6/30/19 of entry at 11:59:59 and serve of entry and possess as a rice PM (CT). knowledge Trademarks consultant To or as a pest and/or experienceenter, go to http://www.ricefa of Dow AgroSciences, control adviser in the DuPont in the rice rice farming industry. rming.com/rcoy. or Pioneer, farming Nominators Entrants and their industry. must be affiliated must be Void where legal residents companies prohibited. legal residents of or their respective of the the fifty (50) Sponsor: Dow AgroSciences United Statesfifty (50) United owners. and District States and District LLC, 9330 of Columbia of Columbia Zionsville Road, Indianapolis,who are 18 years of IN 46268.
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From The
Editor
Arkansas’ new truth-in-labeling law targets rice imposters The Arkansas Legislature recently passed a measure that sets strict definitions for a host of agricultural products, including rice, and requires food companies to accurately label their products. Gov. Asa Hutchison subsequently signed it into law, creating Act 501. The state legislation is an offshoot of efforts by USA Rice federally to have the Food and Drug Administration establish a standard of identity for rice. Both drives were prompted by several companies marketing vegetable- and legume-based products — some of which even resemble rice kernels — under the “rice” moniker. Although Arkansas rice producers may benVicky Boyd efit from the new law, Lauren Waldrip Ward, Editor executive director of Arkansas Rice, says it has far-reaching implications. “Yes, our rice farmers have spent decades developing a brand that consumers associate with safe and wholesome food,” she says. “But it’s not just about the rice farmer — this protects all Arkansans, so consumers know what they’re purchasing. It just requires the food companies to tell the truth.” Titled “Truth in Labeling of Agricultural Products that are Edible by Humans,” Act 501 establishes definitions for beef, beef products, pork, pork products, poultry, meat, meat products and rice. Rice, as defined in the act, “means the whole, broken, or ground kernels or byproducts obtained from the species Oryza sativa L. or Oryza glaberrima, or wild rice, which is obtained from one (1) of the four (4) species of grasses from the genus Zizania or Porteresia.” The law, to be enforced by the Arkansas Bureau of Standards, also contains penalties depending on whether the mislabeling was unintentional or intentional and whether it was a first or subsequent offense. Although Arkansas’ labeling requirements will be stricter than those nationally, Ward says she doesn’t believe they infringe on interstate commerce. “The federal law says you can’t discriminate against any product to protect an economic interest,” she says. “We can’t say, ‘California, you can’t ship wines to Arkansas because we already have wineries.’ We feel we’re protecting a non-economic interest, which are Arkansans.” Ward says she also doesn’t believe the new labeling requirements will place an undue burden on food manufacturers. “I don’t think requiring them to tell the truth is any undue burden,” Ward says. “We don’t have any problems with these products. We just want consumers to be informed with transparent labeling.” She compared the mislabeling of vegetable-based rice imposters to automobile branding. “You can’t put a Cadillac label on a Kia and call it a Cadillac,” Ward says. “I don’t think you can put a rice label on cauliflower and call it rice.”
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RiceFaRming EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION Editor Vicky Boyd 209-505-3612 vlboyd@onegrower.com Copy Editor Amanda Huber ahuber@onegrower.com Art Director Ashley Kumpe akumpe@onegrower.com
ADMINISTRATION Publisher/Vice President Lia Guthrie 901-497-3689 lguthrie@onegrower.com Associate Publisher Carroll Smith 901-326-4443 csmith@onegrower.com Sales Manager Scott Emerson 386-462-1532 semerson@onegrower.com Circulation Manager Charlie Beek 847-559-7324 Production Manager Kathy Killingsworth 901-767-4020 kkillingsworth@onegrower.com For circulation changes or change of address, call 847-559-7578
ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC Mike Lamensdorf President/Treasurer Lia Guthrie Publisher/Vice President ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS — One Grower Publishing LLC also publishes COTTON FARMING, THE PEANUT GROWER, SOYBEAN SOUTH and CORN SOUTH magazines. RICE FARMING (ISSN 0194- 0929) is published monthly January through May, and December, by One Grower Publishing LLC, 875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017. Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, TN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to OMEDA COMMUNICATIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT, P.O. BOX 1388, NORTHBROOK, IL 60065-1388. Annual subscriptions are $25.00. International rates are $55.00 Canada/ Mexico, $90.00 all other countries for Air-Speeded Delivery. (Surface delivery not available due to problems in reliability.) $5.00 single copy. All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. RICE FARMING is a registered trademark of One Grower Publishing LLC, which reserves all rights granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in association with its registration.
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2019 Rice Awards Nomination Form The Rice Farmer of the Year, Rice Industry Award and Rice Lifetime Achievement Award recognize those rice leaders who have demonstrated dedication, determination and innovation to the industry. We need your help to identify candidates who are worthy of these prestigious awards. Please take the time to consider which industry members in your area should be recipients of these honors and mail or scan/email this form and supporting materials.
Categories: Please check the box of the appropriate award category:
q Rice Farmer of the Year Award • Must farm at least 200 acres. • A farmer who has successfully achieved goals in his/her farming operation, rice industry association, community improvement/development, innovative production practices and/or environmental stewardship.
q Rice Industry Award
If you are submitting more than one nomination form, please make a copy before you fill out the form. Nomination forms can be downloaded or submitted online at www.ricefarming.com.
Nominee’s name Nominee’s address Nominee’s phone number/email address Nominee’s rice acreage (if applicable)
• Has been in the rice industry for more than five years. • A researcher, Extension person, government/association leader, etc… who has demonstrated commitment to the rice industry through innovative practices, industry association, community involvement/development.
Your name
q Rice Lifetime Achievement Award
Your profession
• Has been in the rice industry for more than 10 years. • An industry leader who has provided great contributions to the rice industry through industry associations, community involvement/development, innovative practices/projects that have advanced the industry.
Deadline:
June 30, 2019
Number of years involved in the rice industry (if applicable)
Your address Your phone number/email address Your signature
Date
Please send completed form & supporting materials to: Carroll Smith 7201 Eastern Ave., Germantown, TN 38138 Scan/Email: csmith@onegrower.com
On a separate piece of paper, please consider the following: Dedication to farming and/or agriculture and the rice industry, local community and education. Determination to succeed and overcome hurdles that have emerged while trying to reach goals. Innovation to identify new and better ways for the industry to become more profitable, manage risk, achieve a higher level of efficiency. In addition to completing this form, please describe the nominee in terms of the above guidelines. It also is helpful to send letters of recommendation for the nominee from other individuals in the rice industry who are familiar with his/her accomplishments. A panel of judges from across the Rice Belt will select the recipients of the 2019 Rice Awards. The award recipients will be honored at the USA Rice Outlook Conference, Dec. 8-10, 2019, in Little Rock, Arkansas, where an official presentation will be made at the awards luncheon. They also will be featured in a special salute sponsored by Horizon Ag, USA Rice and Rice Farming magazine in the December 2019 issue.
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Update
Arkansas steps up fight against rice pretenders, but FDA still lags
F By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice
or the past several years, we have been taking on rice pretenders — that’s food marketed as some new-fangled rice that contains no rice at all. And last month, pretenders were dealt a heavy blow, thanks to a common-sense bill passed by the Arkansas Legislature that promotes truth in labeling of agricultural products. The bill establishes a standard of identity for rice in Arkansas, meaning you can’t call your product “rice” unless it is made from whole or broken kernels from the Oryza sativa L., Oryza glaberrima plants or wild rice. This is important because rice still lacks a federal standard of identity — something we are working with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to fix. As the number of rice pretenders on the market continues to grow, consumers are confused, the reputation of rice is being harmed and these vegetable products are taking sales away from us.
The Arkansas Rice Federation’s bumper sticker promotes a message similar to that of a bill passed recently by the Arkansas Legislature.
Call these wannabes what they are It has never been our position that these other products shouldn’t exist. If adventurous consumers want to eat their cauliflower in crumble form or if people like to eat lentils and chickpeas in a narrow, extruded shape, that’s their business. We just insist they be called what they are and not what they aren’t. They are vegeta-
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bles in different shapes; they are not rice. We are all aware that there is a kitchen tool commonly called a “potato ricer” that chefs use to make super smooth mashed potatoes or gnocchi. Now someone has figured out that you can put other foods through the machine, and you get something that kind of looks like rice. It isn’t rice. It doesn’t taste like rice. It doesn’t cook like rice. It doesn’t have the same nutritional value as rice. Yet unscrupulous companies are taking advantage of consumers’ love of rice and marketing this mush as rice. Rice is a grain, not a shape We’ve asked the FDA to confirm this – they have already signed on to the United Nations’ international food standards, or CODEX, that does just this. So why not bring some of that common sense home? Without an official standard of identity, we need to rely on people’s sense of fairness and moral compass. In letters to food manufacturers, retail store and media companies that distribute recipes, we have repeatedly asked them to label their products accurately, as either “riced or minced” or something similar. And we ask them to display these products in the correct part of their stores. They are vegetables and should be displayed with other produce. It is worth noting that the Green Giant brand, owned by B&G Foods, is doing it right. They initially launched a product called “cauliflower rice,” and we lodged our objections to the name. Today, they have no fewer than 11 vegetable-based, rice-shaped products, but they refer to them as “Riced Veggies.” We appreciate their honesty and wish them success in helping Americans eat more vegetables. But not everyone has this sense of honor, and so we will continue to work to protect “rice” and encourage FDA to give us our standard of identity. Then we will have the ammunition we need to be aggressive in the fight against rice pretenders. RICEFARMING.COM
Reduce Competition For Nutrients, Water Alex Dean Dean Crop Services Marion, Arkansas In the summer of my junior year in high school, I started working with Arkansas crop consultant Eddy Cates. He kept me around while I was in college and even guaranteed me work in the winter pulling soil samples. After graduating from Arkansas State University, I worked for him fulltime for a couple years and then set up Dean Crop Services in the fall of 2011. This season marks my eighth rice crop on my own. In looking back, 2018 was a challenging year for rice farmers. We experienced cold weather early in the season, and it took six weeks to get a stand in some fields. Although we had a lot of weeds, we managed to get them under control and ended up with a good rice crop in many places.
Strategy To Manage High-Stress Weeds In my area, we have problems with barnyardgrass, flat sedge, sprangletop, signalgrass, nut sedge, indigo, coffeebean and smartweed. I recently heard that a yield loss of 2.4 bushels occurs each day barnyardgrass is left in the field. If you take that number to the end of the season, that’s a lot of rice left on the table because of barnyardgrass. Our strategy to prevent high-stress weeds from taking up nutrients and water needed by the rice crop is to have a herbicide plan. This includes overlapping chemistries to control herbicide-resistant weeds. We also rotate rice with crops such as soybeans and corn and change up herbicides to avoid resistance or keep it from becoming a bigger issue. Our herbicide program typically starts with a burndown. We also run Command herbicide behind the planter on every acre to prevent barnyardgrass and sprangletop from coming up. We don’t want to bring out the “big guns” too early or we won’t have anything to fall back on. Two to three weeks later, we apply an early post tankmix of Facet and Prowl H2O to get another residual herbicide out there. In some situations, we apply a tankmix of Grasp SC, Facet and Permit Plus herbicides pre-flood to control a broad spectrum of weeds, such as barnyardgrass, nutsedge and signalgrass. If sprangletop is present, we hit it with Ricestar herbicide. To take care of any barnyardgrass and sprangletop escapes after we flood up, we rely on Clincher SF herbicide. In addition to herbicide management, I also assist my growers with other aspects of rice production that contribute to a successful operation. For example, I pull soil samples and run them through Field RX — a Webbased precision ag program — to create site-specific field prescriptions. This allows us to make variable-rate phosphorus and potassium applications where needed in each field. As the 2019 rice growing season get underway, we will continue to move forward with our most efficient and effective production practices, keep an eye on costs and stay positive.
• B.S. degree in plant science — Arkansas State University • Has consulted for 15 years and started Dean Crop Services in 2011 • Consults on rice, soybeans, cotton, corn, wheat and grain sorghum • Member of Arkansas Agricultural Consultants Association • Member of the First Baptist Church in Marion, Arkansas • Married to Brittney for 10 years May 4. Daughter: Ava Claire, 8; Son: Layton, 6 • Enjoys deer hunting, duck hunting and crappie fishing. Also spends time watching Layton play baseball and Ava Claire participate in cheerleader competitions
Recap: Reduce Rice Weed Competition
t
1. Our strategy to prevent high-stress weeds from taking up nutrients and water needed by the rice crop includes overlapping chemistries to control herbicide-resistant weeds. 2. Our herbicide program typically starts with a burndown. We also run Command herbicide behind the planter on every acre to prevent barnyardgrass and sprangletop from coming up. 3. Two to three weeks later, we apply an early post tankmix of Facet and Prowl H2O to get another residual herbicide out there. 4. In some situations, we apply a tankmix of Grasp SC, Facet and Permit Plus herbicides pre-flood to control a broad spectrum of weeds, such as barnyardgrass, nutsedge and signalgrass. If sprangletop is present, we hit it with Ricestar herbicide. 5. To take care of any barnyardgrass and sprangletop escapes after we flood up, we rely on Clincher SF herbicide.
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Let the sunshine in Solar systems help growers cut electric bills while raising their environmental stature. By Vicky Boyd Editor
C
hris Isbell, a partner in a family-owned farming operation near Humnoke, Arkansas, looks at his 300-kilowatt solar-generation system as just another crop. “Essentially, we’re farming the sun anyway,” he says. “Any crop you raise is just a power plant for the sun. It’s interesting to me that as we grow the crop, the energy from them is turned into food and energy for animals or humans or it’s fuel for fire. We’re just taking what God has given us and turning it into a different form of energy.” Isbell isn’t the only Delta farmer who has started cultivating solar energy as a way to reduce electric bills. Doug Hutchings, CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based Delta SunEnergy, says he receives requests from growers almost daily to examine their energy bills and determine whether solar may offer an economic benefit.
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A sunny outlook Arkansas is well suited for solar, Hutchings says, ranking 11th in the nation for solar insolation – the amount of average daily solar radiation that strikes the state. He credits much of the recent interest to the Arkansas Public Service Commission adopting public policies that enable on-site solar generation coupled with favorable economics. Among those is the state’s net metering policy, which provides 1-for-1 credits for generators. Net metering can be viewed as a kind of electric bank account. For every kilowatt hour generated and fed into the power grid, solar system owners receive a 1 kWh credit in their account. Each credit will offset 1 kWh of use. Unused credits carry over for two years, after which time the utility will pay the generator a much-discounted rate for anything left over. As a result, most solar systems are sized
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to generate slightly less electricity than will be used during the year. Meter aggregation also has made solar systems attractive to agriculture, Hutchings says. This allows an operation with grain bins, pumps and other electric-powered machinery in several locations but in the same service area to combine their electric use and have it offset by a single solar system. In the case of Isbell, he can put his meters in order by their return-on-investment and have the credits from his generation applied to them to maximize the value. Determine if solar is a fit A.J. Hood, who has a 200-kW system near Tillar, Arkansas, recommends any producer interested in solar first collect their electric bills and have a solar provider, such as Delta SunEnergy, conduct an economic analysis. Then they can present the results to their accountant to see if it makes financial sense based on their tax and other financial situations. Hood did just that and received a call back from his accountant in a matter of hours. “When your accountant is standing behind you, you need to do this,” he says. As Hutchings points out, a solar system may not be for everybody and depends on their electric use and rate schedule. The minimum size that provides an economic advantage is typically about 100 kW, which will generate about $15,000 in annual electricity savings, he says. Delta SunEnergy also evaluates the distance to the closest interconnection, since these systems feed into the electrical grid. Hood was approached in early 2018 by the principals who formed Delta SunEnergy about possibly installing solar. After
“Essentially, we’re farming the sun anyway... We’re just taking what God has given us and turning it into a different form of energy.” his accountant gave him the thumbs up, the system was installed and began generating power in May 2018. The 624 solar panels, visible to passersby on Highway 165, essentially offset about 75 percent of the electricity needed to dry rice in the six adjacent 30,000-bushel grain-storage bins. “It takes a lot to dry rice down, so we typically burn a lot of electrically in that one location,” Hood says. The solar system is expected to reduce his energy bills by about $30,000 annually. Financial incentives Through 2019, people who install solar receive a 30 percent tax credit, Hutchings says. The amount will step down in subsequent years. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture offers Rural Energy for America grants that pay up to 25 percent of a renewable energy system’s cost. Hood took advantage of both, which reduced payback for his $300,000 system to roughly four years from six without them. The system performed so well that he expanded it by 33 percent to the current 200kW size. Delta SunEnergy even handled a lot of the paperwork for his USDA grant proposal. “It really cut down on my (payback) time — it’s one of the things to think about when making your decision,” he says.
PHOTO COURTESY DELTA SUNENERGY
Chris Isbell, who farms rice with his family near Humnoke, Arkansas, began ‘farming the sun’ last season with the installation of a 300-kilowatt solar-generation system.
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In addition, some producers may take advantage of accelerated depreciation, depending on their tax status, Hutchings says. Even after his panels have paid for themselves, Hood will continue to receive bills from his energy provider, Entergy Arkansas, for standby charges. But they will be miniscule compared to what his bills once were. Hutchings says Delta SunEnergy chooses from among a handful of solar panel suppliers based on their generation efficiency and anticipated lifetime performance. The systems have a 25-year warranty. Production decreases slightly during that period and is typically about 82 percent of what it was on the first day of operations. Dipping a toe in the solar pool Isbell’s system, which was also installed by Delta SunEnergy, came online more than four months ago. Although it hasn’t generated for a complete year yet, he says he was happy with how it has performed so far. “It’s done really well for the weather we’ve been having — it’s been so rainy and cloudy,” he says. The 300 kW of panels produce slightly less than one-third of the electricity used across all the family’s acreage, reducing their bill by about $45,000 annually. In addition to reducing Isbell’s electric bill from First Electric Cooperative of Jacksonville, the tax credit also was a selling feature. “It comes right off the top, and we can take the money and put it back into the system and get it paid off as quickly as we can,” he says. Because the technology was so new to the state, Isbell says, he wanted to dip his toe into it before getting wet. Seeing how it has performed, Isbell says he’d now consider installing more. The 140 acres that host his array was not good rice ground and
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VICKY BOYD
A.J. Hood’s 200-kilowatt system offsets about 75 percent of the electricity needed to dry rice in the six adjacent 30,000-bushel grain-storage bins.
had not been cropped for years. With the panels taking up only about 1 acre, Isbell says he has plenty of room to expand. Smartphone app Both Hood and Isbell monitor their systems using a smartphone app, which shows real-time generation. Hood says he’s also been surprised at how much electricity he has generated this winter, even though it has been cloudy and rainy much of the time. In fact, high summer temperatures can actually decrease the panels’ efficiency slightly, Hutchings says. “My results were pretty fascinating during the summer, but during the winter I was just shocked,” Hood says. “Even on a day when it’s been cloudy, any time the sun peaks out, we see that spike (in generation).” Displaying ‘the good that farmers do’ Eight rows of solar panels occupy about 1 acre adjacent to Hood’s grain bins. Although he could have had them installed closer together, he wanted enough space between them so his crew could mow and keep the system presentable. It’s high visibility on Highway 165 also offers a chance to educate the public about farmers’ commitment to the environment. “To the general public, the farmer is the enemy,” Hood says. “They don’t realize the conservation practices put in place. This helps the general public see the good that farmers do. It’s something to be proud of.” Isbell agrees: “It plays into what we’re already doing with the sustainability and carbon credits.” He was referring to an effort by his family as well as a handful of other growers who documented their greenhouse gas reductions and sold carbon offset credits to Microsoft. RICEFARMING.COM
Kellogg’s OKs Titan medium grain for use in its cereals
University of Arkansas rice breeder Xueyan Sha says Titan medium grain averaged 200205 bushels per acre in performance trials, about 10 bushels more than Jupiter.
K
ellogg Co. of Battle Creek, Michigan, will now accept contracts for Titan medium grain for a portion of its 2019 volume of rice for cereal, based on an announcement the company made in December 2018. Titan is a high-yield, very short-season, medium-grain rice variety released from the University of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture’s rice breeding program in 2015. It offers some improvements over Jupiter, an earlier release from Louisiana that is a favorite among producers who grow medium-grain rice for cereal markets. University of Arkansas rice breeder Xueyan Sha says Titan averaged 200-205 bushels per acre in performance trials, about 10 bushels higher than Jupiter. Cereal chemistry is similar to Jupiter, Sha says, but grain size, dimensions and quality are improved. Its milling yield is 59 percent head rice, it has low chalkiness and grain color is whiter than Jupiter. “The cereal industry and general export markets will find its grain characteristics and quality very desirable,” Sha says. Titan matures four to six days earlier than Jupiter, he says. It’s a semi-dwarf plant similar in height to Jupiter, but Titan has improved resistance to lodging. Titan also has better resistance to leaf blast than Jupiter, Sha says. It is moderately susceptible to bacterial panicle blight. Foundation seed for Titan has been available to seed growers and dealers since 2016. It has been widely available to rice producers since 2017. Jarrod Hardke, Extension rice agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, says Titan was grown on approximately 70,000 acres in Arkansas in 2018, which accounted for 40 percent of medium-grain acres. “It should maintain a similar market share or greater in 2019,” he says.
VICKY BOYD
The University of Arkansas contributed this report. TWITTER: @RICEFARMING
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Pay attention to burndown plant-back intervals, preplant herbicide choices By Jarrod Hardke and Tom Barber
If and when you’re making burndown applications, the idea is to go as cheaply as possible to get the job done. We also want to avoid tillage passes for a couple days after application to make sure we give the products time to work. If we mess it up, weeds will come back and be even more difficult to control. Glyphosate is included as a part of most burndown applications, but you may need to add something to it depending on herbicide resistance and your specific situation. Ryegrass resistance is increasing south of Interstate 40 and may require Select followed by Gramoxone. On bigger ryegrass, it will take 16 ounces of Select Max + COC. Note the plant-back intervals for common burndown herbicides. For 2,4-D and dicamba, we need a 1-inch rain after application before we begin counting down. All others listed are based on time from application. Plant-back intervals for common burndown herbicides Herbicide
Plant-Back Interval
2,4-D
21 days
Dicamba
22 days
Elevore
14 days
Select / Select Max
30 days
Valor
30 days
FirstShot
Immediately
Glyphosate
Immediately
Glufosinate
Immediately
Gramoxone
Immediately
Sharpen
Immediately
Herbicide choices before planting It is increasingly likely that planting will follow very closely behind tillage activities. In some cases, the drill may chase the tillage equipment out of the field. With that in mind, we need to be proactive in our herbicide management. Command may be applied up to 14 days before planting. In a situation where we may not be planting immediately but within 14 days, it may be wise to make a Command application immediately following completion of tillage activities to prevent grasses from emerging. In instances where the window leans toward 14 days, a higher labeled rate of Command may be successful at providing longer
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COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
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onditions are not optimal for making burndown herbicide applications right now. Generally, we’re looking for a few days of highs in the 50s and 60s before and after a burndown application.
Glyphosate-resistant ryegrass is becoming an increasing problem, especially in the southern half of Arkansas.
residual activity. In an ideal situation, tillage would be completed, a Command application made, followed by an activating rainfall and then by planting. Once rice has germinated, a follow-up application of a pre-emergence herbicide such as Prowl or Bolero (and other combinations) could be made to overlap the residual and keep the field clean. Although Command can be used in both Clearfield and non-Clearfield systems, we can also make early applications of Newpath in Clearfield systems. It may be advisable to use Newpath preplant incorporated where we feel we can incorporate and then plant within seven days. A surface application of Newpath following completion of tillage may also be successful. If using Command or Newpath early, it will be very important to follow those up with Prowl, Bolero and/or more Command, especially in fields with a bad barnyardgrass history. If, for some reason, planting is delayed past 21 days due to weather, we will essentially have to start over. Even if fields are planted within 14 days, fields should be checked for emerging grass for a potential glyphosate plus residual spray prior to rice emergence. It may also be advisable, depending on the situation and planting date, to include Sharpen at a 2 ounce rate for some broadleaf residual activity. These are just suggestions, and individual situations will dictate the most appropriate program. Dr. Jarrod Hardke is the University of Arkansas rice Extension agronomist at the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart. He may be reached at jhardke@uaex.edu. Dr. Tom Barber is a University of Arkansas Extension weed scientist based in Lonoke. He may be reached at tbarber@uaex.edu. RICEFARMING.COM
Successful Louisiana promotion starts with rice By Kane Webb USA Rice
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nalysis is in on a new effort undertaken by the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board late last year, and the results are even better than expected. Last year, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry made additional promotion funds available for use in state as a part of the Certified Louisiana program. One of the caveats was the money had to be spent promoting Louisiana ag products. The Louisiana Rice Promotion Board successfully obtained a $100,000 grant through the program and used the funds to encourage Louisianans to “Start with Rice.” “The ‘Start with Rice’ message that had emerged after a few rounds of national USA Rice research resonated with us, and we decided to roll it out to the public and see if they agreed,” says John Owen, a Rayville rice farmer and chair of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board. The program consisted of 17 unique radio commercials broadcast across 11 radio stations almost 6,000 times as well as two large billboards and several prominent bus benches in the Shreveport/Bossier City and Monroe markets. The radio stations supplemented the program with digital leaderboards and banners on their websites. On average, residents heard the Louisiana rice radio spots more than 18 times while the billboards were seen approximately 5.5 million times during the sixweek campaign. “Following the program, we went back into the market to gauge our effectiveness on three levels,” Owen says. “We tested for ad awareness and recall, to see if the ads had an impact on people’s attitude toward rice and finally to see if it encouraged consumers to purchase more rice. We are very pleased with the results.” TWITTER: @RICEFARMING
Two billboards and several prominent bus benches in the Shreveport/ Bossier City and Monroe markets urged the public to “get creative — start with rice.” PHOTOS COURTESY USA RICE
Recall was high with consumers who say they saw the ads being significantly more likely to associate rice with the positive attributes mentioned in the ads — quick preparation, versatile, nutritious, creative and empowering. And 54 percent were able to correctly identify the ad sponsor. Owen says consumers who were aware of the ads were statistically more likely to indicate they were going to use or purchase rice three or more times in the next month.
The Department of Agriculture and Forestry also took note and approved another $100,000 grant for the promotion board to build on their success this year. “We’re excited and encouraged by the results and appreciate the support of (LDAF) Commissioner Mike Strain and his team, who are helping us stop at nothing to get consumers to start with rice,” Owen says. This article first appeared in USA Rice’s “The Daily.” APRIL 2019
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On track New ground sprayer design allows for wider boom, less rutting and improved efficiency. By Vicky Boyd Editor
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andy Chrisman had an “aha” moment during the 201617 winter when he came up with the idea for a rubber-tracked sprayer with a wide boom that would be more efficient than traditional steel-wheeled rigs. A Williams, California, rice producer who also runs a custom-application business, Chrisman had Iron Tree Solutions fabricate his dream machine in time for a trial run during the 2017 season. After a few modifications, the rig was launched commercially in 2018. “We were struggling with all of the steel wheels getting stuck and couldn’t cover the ground we needed to,” Chrisman says of his inspiration. The new sprayer — built on two sets of 9-inch rubber tracks with a 105-foot-wide boom — proved so successful he ordered two more built for the 2019 season but with 120-foot booms.
Business just ‘snowballed’ The track vehicles are part of a fleet that Chrisman and David Dunlap, also a Williams-area rice farmer, have built since they started their custom-application business 10 years ago with two steel-wheeled sprayers. Business has “snowballed,” and the two now have a stable of six steel-wheeled sprayers along with the one rubber-track rig. Along the way, they also designed and built six large nurse trucks to service the sprayers.
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Much of their growth is due to California’s regulations that impose buffers of up to 4 miles for aerial application of selected rice herbicides near sensitive crops, Chrisman says. Buffers for ground applications near sensitive crops are significantly less. “A lot of people just don’t want to deal with the chemicals and the rules and regulations,” he says. “And it takes a certain economy of scale to be efficient.” Nearly all of their custom work involves rice herbicides, including Clincher CA, Regiment CA, propanil and Grandstand tankmixes. Why tracks? Steel-wheeled sprayers tend to cut through the hardpan of a rice field, causing the spray booms to swing wildly as they do. In the process, the wheels also bring up the heavy hardpan soil, creating ruts and ridges that can cause harvest challenges for draper-headers running close to the ground to pick up lodged rice. The ideal behind the rubber tracks is to spread the weight out more evenly and reduce the pounds-per-square-inch pressure so the machine doesn’t breakthrough the hardpan. This also significantly reduces the boom swing, allowing for a much wider boom. And many of the ruts from the tracks in the top few inches of soil tend to melt during the season, providing a more even surface at harvest, he says.
RICEFARMING.COM
With a 105-foot-wide boom — tip to tip — the original track sprayer can cover about 50 acres per hour. That compares to steelwheeled tractors with 60-foot booms, which can treat about 30 acres per hour. The two new rigs, with 120-foot booms, should be even more efficient, Chrisman says. But the track sprayers are limited to a 500-gallons tank to keep down the weight and avoid breaking through the hardpan. The track sprayer itself is guided by GPS as is each 10-foot segment of the boom. This helps minimize overlaps and skips as well as ensuring the crop protection product is applied only to the rice, he says. The guidance system also helps in triangular or other oddly shaped fields, where the spray operator doesn’t have to worry about manually shutting off portions of the boom to treat corners. Based on a geo-referenced field map, the GPS-guided spray controller automatically shuts on and off the appropriate boom segments. Satisfied customers Kurt Richter, who farms with his family near Colusa, hired Chrisman last season to spray about 1,000 acres of rice using the track rig. The fields were mostly on alkali or recently cut ground where other sprayers would have gotten stuck. “Amazing,” is how Richter described the results. “It’s built like a tank,” he says. “The other boom (on a steelwheeled tractor) kind of flops as it’s hitting ruts. And to watch this thing spray, the boom doesn’t flop at all. You don’t have those waves of herbicide. You have one straight line out there going straight down. It gives better coverage and more consistent application of the herbicide, plus it’s fast.” Richter was so impressed with the outcome that he’s already contacted Chrisman about doubling the acreage sprayed this season. Chrisman also used his track sprayer to put out herbicide trials last season for Jim Cook, director of research and technology for Colusa County Farm Supply in Williams. “It wasn’t so much by design as luck that this was going to be used for the trials. That having been said, it’s a very impressive piece of equipment,” Cook says. What caught his attention was how well balanced the machine
This tractor body mounted on steel wheels is a mainstay for applying herbicides by ground to California rice.
was, how it didn’t make deep cuts in the field like steel-wheeled rigs and how it made quick work of the applications. Reduced crop damage If there is a downside, it’s that the 9-inch-wide tracks damage rice plants underfoot, creating what Chrisman describe as an “ugly” field right after application. “The day of application is the worse,” he says. “If you come back a week later, it looks 10 times better.” But the tracks actually cause less overall crop damage than steel-wheeled rigs, Chrisman says. Compared to steel-wheeled sprayers, which result in about a 2.2 percent crop loss, the track sprayers cause only a 1.8 percent crop loss, he says. Much of the difference is due to the track rig’s wider boom, which allows it to treat about 60 percent more ground in each pass than a steel-wheeled machine. With the new sprayers’ wider booms, he says the crop loss should be even less. Despite the track rigs’ improved efficiency, Chrisman says they will still run steel-wheeled sprayers for smaller fields or in tight situations, such as around power poles, because of their nimbleness. “There’s still a place for these steel-wheel tractors,” he says.
PHOTOS BY FRED REHRMAN
Northern California rice farmer and custom applicator Randy Chrisman designed this wide-boomed spray rig to operate on two sets of rubber tracks.
TWITTER: TWITTER: @RICEFARMING @RICEFARMING
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UC gains better understanding about weedy rice challenges
2019
I Submit a nomination for the 2019 Rice Consultant of the Year Award. Recognize an outstanding consultant or pest control adviser (PCA) for his or her dedication, leadership and innovation in the U.S. rice industry. For more information, go to ricefarming.com/rcoy or go to Page 17 in this issue of Rice Farming.
Submit nominations by June 30, 2019.
S P O N S O R E D
n 2018, we did not see a large increase in the number of weedy rice samples and sites in California over the 2017 season. Acreage remains around 10,000 acres. We are encouraged by the number of suspicious submissions we continue to receive, which is a great indicator that lots of people continue to be on the lookout for weedy rice in their fields. The only way we can get rid of it is if we know that it is in a field. We did find one new type in 2018, which we are calling “Type 6,” but so far it has only been found in one field.
Weedy rice competition We also conducted a competition study in 2018, which gave us preliminary data on yield loss. Some of the key findings so far are: • Impacts on yield are the same between Types 1-5 (we did not yet have Type 6 to test) • Significant yield reductions start with as few as one plant per square foot • At one plant per square foot, reductions in grain weight per M-206 plant were more than 40 percent • At four plants per square foot, reductions in grain weight per M-206 plant were more than 70 percent
For most fields infested with the pest, weedy rice densities are around one or fewer plants per square foot, but we do have at least two infested fields that are at or above four plants per square foot. Looking forward: 2019 and beyond We have a large field research project starting this year at the University of California, Davis, campus. The field was seeded in 2018 with weedy rice to establish a population. From the field experiment, we hope to be able to get yield loss data, timing of flowering and emergence timing to better plan our herbicide applications, if using a stale seedbed. We urge growers and pest control advisers to continue to submit suspected samples for testing. The UC Cooperative Extension farm advisers will continue to collect samples, so please give us a call if you think you might have weedy rice. Again, we encourage folks to not remove suspected plants from the field to limit the spread of the seeds. For more information, visit the UCCE Weedy Rice website at http://caweedyrice. com/. The University of California Cooperative Extension Rice Team submitted this article.
B Y
Trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners.
PHOTOS COURTESY UCCE
Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Contest ends on 6/30/19 at 11:59:59 PM (CT). To enter, go to http://www.ricefarming. com/rcoy. Nominators must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and possess knowledge and/or experience in the rice farming industry. Entrants must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and serve as a rice consultant or as a pest control adviser in the rice farming industry. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. ™
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Weedy rice, Type 6
Weedy rice, Type 6, growing in a rice field. RICEFARMING.COM
2019
N O M I N A T I O N
Nominate an outstanding consultant or pest control adviser (PCA) for the Rice Consultant of the Year Award. “At Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, we understand rice consultants have a vital role in the industry,” says Brooklynne Dalton, product manager for rice herbicides, Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. “Consultants have a big task in being asked to be experts on current conditions, evolving technologies and individual production needs to help growers manage successful operations.
F O R M
Please use a separate page for biographical/professional information. Additional recommendations via letters or emails from other farmers, consultants and industry members are also encouraged to provide support for the nominee. See instructions at bottom left to submit these materials. Consultant’s Name: Company Name: Mailing Address: City:
State:
Phone:
Email:
ZIP:
Please describe the dedication, leadership and innovation that makes this person a good candidate for the 2019 Rice Consultant of the Year Award. The RCOY award recipient will be honored in a four-page salute in Rice Farming magazine and at a special recognition event. A one-night’s hotel stay and round-trip travel to the event will be provided for the award recipient and the nominator.
“As a thank-you, we are sponsoring the Rice Consultant of the Year Award to provide an opportunity to recognize those who exceed expectations for their contributions to the rice industry.”
Submit nominations by June 30, 2019. Options to submit supporting materials: E-mail: csmith@onegrower.com
Your Name:
Mail: Carroll Smith 7201 Eastern Ave. Germantown, TN 38138
Address: City:
State:
Online: ricefarming.com/rcoy
Phone:
Email:
S P O N S O R E D
ZIP:
B Y
Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Contest ends on 6/30/19 at 11:59:59 PM (CT). To enter, go to http://www.ricefarming.com/rcoy. Nominators must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and possess knowledge and/or experience in the rice farming industry. Entrants must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and serve as a rice consultant or as a pest control adviser in the rice farming industry. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners.
™
Industry
2016 as a Crawford County Extension agent. As a county agent, his job duties touched on all areas of agriculture, but his new position allows him to focus on what he studied in graduate school — soil fertility. “This position allows me to specialize in my strong suit,” Fryer says. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 2013, then earned a master’s degree in soil fertility from University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2015. “The terms ‘soil health’ and ‘soil quality’ have been around since the 1990s, but how to quantify those is still unclear,” Fryer says. His position will be initially funded through a three-year Natural Resources Conservation Service grant to research soil health in row crops using cover crops. The grant requires that at least 25 demonstration farms be planted. Follow Fryer on Twitter @ARsoilsGuy.
Anheuser-Busch, Indigo Ag partner on sustainable rice sourcing
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch and Boston-based Indigo Agriculture have partnered on a sustainable rice production program. Indigo has committed to delivering 2.2 million bushels of Indigo Rice to A-B that is grown using specific environmentally friendly production practices. Rice growers contracting with Indigo will reduce water and nitrogen use by 10 percent and achieve at least a 10 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to state benchmarks, according to a news release. For their efforts, growers will receive a premium, according to the release. The partnership is one of the first to offer grower incentives for sustainable rice production. The program also supports three of A-B’s 2025 sustainability goals: advancing smart agriculture, watershed health and carbon emissions reductions. The company buys rice from producers nationwide and mills about 2.6 million pounds per day at its Jonesboro, Arkansas, facility. The brewer is the largest end-user of rice in the United States, and rice is a key ingredient in many of its beers. Indigo Ag has commercialized a host of beneficial soil microbes it believes increase yield and crop quality.
University of Arkansas to begin breeding new Provisia rice
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COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
University of Arkansas hires soils instructor
Since starting his new position as a University of Arkansas soils instructor Jan. 2, Matt Fryer had attended about a dozen grower production meetings around the state by mid-February. His goal was to get to know his clients and colleagues and vice versa. “I’m trying to go to as many meetings as pos- Matt Fryer sible to introduce myself face-to-face with county agents,” Fryer said. He began his career with Extension in
News
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will begin breeding new lines of Provisia rice, which uses nonGMO herbicide-resistant traits developed by BASF. The Division of Agriculture and BASF signed the breeding development agreement earlier this year. Bob Scott, director of the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas, says the timing will allow Division of Agriculture researchers to take advantage of the 2019 growing season to begin what will likely be a four- to seven-year process to develop and release commercially viable Provisia rice varieties. “We are very excited to begin our breeding efforts on BASF’s new Provisia technology,” Scott says. “The Provisia fields I looked at last year were put into some very bad resistant and weedy situations and were still some of the cleanest fields out there.” Through the new breeding agreement, Division of Agriculture researchers will focus on developing Provisia rice varieties that are primarily suited to Arkansas growing conditions. Donnarie Hales, rice portfolio manager with BASF, says that one of Provisia’s pri-
mary strengths is that it allows growers to keep more of their rice acreage in rice production by adding an additional herbicide rotation to their operation.
Adam Putnam
Ducks Unlimited names former Florida ag commissioner CEO
Memphis, Tennessee-based Ducks Unlimited has named former Florida agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam as its new CEO. DU’s current CEO, Dale Hall, will remain in place to help with the transition until his retirement on June 30. As ag commissioner, Putnam served in one of four statewide elected positions. He led the nation’s largest state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and was responsible for managing 1.3 million acres of state forests, running the state Energy Office and directing the state’s school nutrition programs. In a news release, DU President Rogers Hoyt of Uvalde, Texas, says the group sought a leader with a unique balance of conservation, policy and agricultural background. “In Adam, we feel we have hit on all three. Not to mention he’s an approachable, passionate and visionary person, so Adam was the perfect fit,” Hoyt said in the release. As ag commissioner, Putnam was a strong advocate for Florida’s water resources. During his tenure, he expanded Florida’s best management practices program through which farmers voluntarily adopt measures to reduce water and nutrient use. More than 7 million acres — about 53 percent — of agricultural land in Florida is now enrolled in the program. Prior to serving as commissioner, Putnam served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 2000. RICEFARMING.COM
Specialists
Delay nitrogen, delay yield DR. JARROD HARDKE
ARKANSAS Assoc. Professor/Rice Extension Agronomist University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu The hot, dry conditions of 2018 were the poster child for difficulty establishing a timely flood to incorporate nitrogen (N) fertilizer. To achieve consistently high yields, timely application and incorporation of preflood N is the most critical input in rice. Luck always helps, of course. The DD50 Rice Management Program (http://DD50.uaex.edu) is critical for timing preflood N. Originally developed to time midseason N applications, the importance has shifted to the preflood timing as we move more toward heavy preflood N rates. Under high heat conditions, rice can progress through the optimum preflood N window (three- to five-leaf rice) very quickly (350-550 DD50 units). Depending on the specific cultivar, the final preflood N date ranges from around 600 up to 900 DD50 units. Keep in mind, the final preflood N date is the date by which preflood N should be incorporated. That means the fertilizer has been spread and the field has been flooded. Be on time As with everything in rice production, that’s what we’re aiming
Speaking
for, but it doesn’t always work out that way. When we encounter adverse weather that prevents us from applying urea to dry soil prior to flood establishment, the recommendation is to wait for that dry soil condition. However, as we approach the final recommended time to apply preflood N, we need to consider which cultivar we’re growing and the upcoming weather forecast. Generally speaking, all cultivars begin to have reduced yield potential as we pass the final N date. However, the hybrids do not experience as dramatic a drop-off as pureline varieties. So we can technically make competitive yields for longer past the final N date with hybrids while varieties drop off faster — meaning we need to be more timely with preflood N for varieties to maximize yield potential. As we reach the final N date under adverse conditions, we need to have a plan of action. Recent research has shown that for varieties, a single preflood N approach or a traditional two-way split approach where the preflood applications are made to dry soil are the most efficient. However, when wet or muddy soil conditions are present, the best management approach for varieties is to use a two-way split application and elevate the preflood N rate by 20-30 pounds N per acre. Under the worst-case scenario where rains put a flood on the field, a spoon-fed approach is less N efficient but can produce similar yields if we make four to five weekly applications of 100 pounds urea per acre. It’s worth repeating that we should never apply the preflood N into a standing flood in a single application. Nitrogen is one of the greatest expenses in rice production, but it’s also the most directly rewarding. Let’s pay off on that investment by getting the N applied and incorporated on time and under the best conditions possible.
COURTESY MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
The final preflood N date — roughly 600-900 DD50 units, depending on cultivar — is the date by which preflood N should be incorporated. That means the fertilizer has been spread and the field has been flooded.
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Specialists
Speaking
Keep eyes peeled this season for rice planthopper DR. M.O. “MO” WAY
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Symptoms of the hoja blanca disease caused by a virus vectored by the rice delphacid.
RODRIGO AND DR. MARIBEL CRUZ
This month’s topic is right up my alley—BUGS! But first, I want to commend Vicky on last month’s editorial about the great things our U.S. rice industry has done and continues to do in terms of sustainability. This back-burner issue is moving to the front burner as competition for resources and environmental concerns heat-up. To read Vicky’s editorial, visit the Rice Farming website at https://bit.ly/2HCPbS9 It’s been too wet to work much ground in Texas, but temperatures are becoming more spring-like and Indian paintbrush is beginning to bloom (a long-time rice farmer told me he plants around the time these showy roadside flowers bloom). Regardless of rice variety, make sure you plant seed treated with an insecticide for rice water weevil (RWW) control. Last year was a bad one for this root-feeding pest. In some of my research plots, RWW caused up to 2,000 pounds-per-acre total yield losses on main and ratoon crops. If you control RWW on the main crop, you will get a yield benefit on both main and ratoon crops. NipsIt Inside and CruiserMaxx Rice seed treatments will control chinch bugs that normally feed on seedling rice. These insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts can reduce stands. Dermacor X-100, the other labeled insecticidal seed treatment, controls armyworms and stem borers while all three seed treatments control RWW. Be on the lookout for the rice delphacid or rice planthopper, which is an exotic pest from Latin America. We found it last year in Texas attacking ratoon rice. My gut feeling is that it will be here again this year and possibly in subsequent years. In 2018, in cooperation with crop consultants and private industry scientists, we found Endigo ZC provided good control of the rice delphacid. We and the Texas Department of Agriculture (thanks to Kevin Haack) submitted a request to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use of Endigo ZC under a Section 18 Emergency Exemption. EPA recently granted our request, so Texas rice farmers can use this product in 2019 and 2020 to control the rice delphacid if it is found again and is problematic. Many thanks to EPA and TDA for their work/approval. Endigo ZC is toxic to bees, so we must be mindful of these pollinators if and when this insecticide is applied. The area around rice fields to be sprayed should not harbor any bee-attractive flowers. EPA has requested farmers mow surrounding areas to remove flowers that are attractive to bees. Don’t worry about flowering grasses, because they are not attractive to bees. Also, bees’ peak
DR. MO WAY
TEXAS Rice Research Entomologist moway@aesrg.tamu.edu
Mostly rice delphacid nymphs are on this leaf — note the brown stripes on the sides of the nymphs.
foraging activities occur usually during the heat of the day, so spraying early or late can reduce exposure. We are cooperating with scientists in South America (CIAT/ FLAR) to evaluate selected southern rice varieties for resistance/ tolerance to the delphacid. In Latin America, the main method of control is resistant varieties. We also have plans to import seed of resistant varieties from CIAT/FLAR to try to incorporate resistance genes into southern U.S.-adapted varieties. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Louisiana State University and Texas A&M are collaborating in this effort. RICEFARMING.COM
BRUCE SCHULTZ, LSU AGCENTER
Specialists
Acres of furrow-irrigated rice in Louisiana could double or even triple this season.
Speaking
decisions just like flooded rice. I should point out that this is only one year of data on one soil and by no means is it enough data to establish a best management practice for N use in furrow-irrigated rice. However, it is a good start and it does confirm, without a doubt, that N fertilizer management is different between the two water management systems. It should also be pointed out that this research was done without holding water at the bottom of the field. Commercial furrow-irrigated rice where water is held at the bottom of the field and is backed up as the rice gets bigger throughout the year will create different zones in the field. The flooded zone at the bottom of the field will act like normal flooded rice, the middle of the field may behave more like an AWD (alternate wetting and drying) field, while the top would act like the furrow-irrigated scenario similar to our research described above. We still have a lot to learn about furrow-irrigated rice and will continue to do research in this area.
Rethinking N management in furrow-irrigated rice Get ready for armyworms LOUISIANA LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station dharrell@agcenter.lsu.edu The amount of furrow-irrigated or row rice has increased significantly over the past two years. In Louisiana, approximately 2,500 acres of furrow-irrigated rice were grown in 2017. The acres in Louisiana doubled in 2018 to 5,000, and acreage in Louisiana is expected to double again or even triple in 2019. Acres of furrow-irrigated rice in the Mid-South as a whole could exceed 150,000 in 2019. However, there are still many unanswered questions when it comes to the practice. Nitrogen fertilizer management is probably one of the biggest areas of concern. Water management of furrow-irrigated rice directly affects N fertilizer efficiency. Soil moisture changes from wet to dry and back to wet again, negatively affecting fertilizer efficiency due to changes in soil N forms and an increased potential for N loss. Because of this, most furrow-irrigated fields will typically need more N fertilizer than normal flooded rice fields. Research at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in 2018 on a silt loam soil compared hybrid and conventional rice grown using furrow irrigation with rice grown using flood irrigation. The results indicated that furrow-irrigated rice needed approximately 100 pounds more urea than rice grown under a permanent flood. A second research trial found that spoon-feeding 100 pounds of urea three times using seven-day intervals beginning at the four-leaf stage of development was the best application scenario. A mid-season application (green ring to half-inch internode) would still be applied depending on in-season crop management TWITTER: @RICEFARMING
DR. LUIS ESPINO
CALIFORNIA University of California Cooperative Extension Rice Farm Adviser, Butte and Glenn counties laespino@ucanr.edu Armyworm problems in 2018 were not as severe as in 2015 or 2017. A pheromone trap network was set up to monitor the flight of adult armyworm moths. The traps give us an idea of when the high populations will occur, but they are not a direct way to measure the infestation level in a field. Last year, armyworm moth catches started to increase in late May, peaked in late June and then reached another peak in mid-August. In general, the timing is similar every year, but the peak in 2018 was reached approximately 10 days later than the peak we
LUIS ESPINO, UCCE
DR. DUSTIN HARRELL
A severe armyworm infestation can defoliate rice quickly. APRIL 2019
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saw in 2017. This may be why problems were not as bad last year; a later peak means plants will be larger when most of the worms reach damaging size, and so plants can withstand more injury. I did see more armyworms feeding on panicles last year than in 2017, but in most cases, an insecticide application was not needed. The trap monitoring network will be set up again this year. The key to successful worm management is monitoring. The most efficient way to check for worms is to look for signs of their feeding. As the numbers in the moth traps start increasing, inspect your fields more frequently. Armyworms grow quickly and can defoliate rice in a couple of days. I have heard several stories of growers that were gone for the Fourth of July weekend and came back to severely defoliated fields. Once defoliation is noted, check for worms. If they are present, pull the trigger if the defoliation is more than 25 percent of the plant’s foliage. Severe defoliation will result in shorter plants that mature faster, potentially reducing yield. During heading, look for blanked panicle branches. In many cases, by the time this injury is noticed, the worms are gone. But if you still find worms and close to 10 percent of the panicles are injured, a treatment is needed. Insecticide trials conducted last year showed that Intrepid and Dimilin can provide good control, while control with pyrethroids is deficient. Intrepid was used in 2018 because a Section 18 registration was obtained. Hopefully, we can get another Section 18 registration in 2019 to be prepared for outbreaks. Remember that Dimilin has a pre-harvest interval of 80 days, so it can only be used during a June-July infestation.
We may need to vary water weevil control under alternate water strategies DR. BOBBY GOLDEN
MISSISSIPPI Extension Rice Specialist bgolden@drec.msstate.edu As I write this article (March 20), we are finally seeing sunshine and drying conditions that we have all desperately been wanting. Here in Mississippi, rice planters will more than likely begin to roll Friday or Monday of next week on stale ground. Despite all the wet weather, we look to be in for an on-time start to 2019. There’s been a lot of recent interest in rice production systems using water management strategies that do not maintain a continuous flood, such as furrow-irrigated rice or AWD (alternate wetting and drying). So I felt it appropriate to highlight Read Kelly’s master’s degree work in this article. Read studied under Jeff Gore, Mississippi State University Extension entomologist, evaluating the effects of alternate water management strategies
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COURTESY MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
Specialists Speaking
Recent experiments suggest that draining a field is not an economically beneficial strategy to control rice water weevil larvae.
on rice water weevil density and control. Experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 throughout the Mississippi Delta on production fields and in small plots at the Delta Research and Extension Center. In production fields, Read’s data showed rice water weevil larval densities were greatest in the bottom of the field where standing water was present throughout the growing season. The uppermost portion of the field that remained relatively dry (never flooded) resulted in the lowest water weevil densities counts. This research suggests rice water weevil control strategies may need to vary with the field grade to maximize net returns based on insect control measures. Read’s small-plot research revisited draining of fields for rice water weevil control. Observations from these experiments suggested that draining a field is not an economically beneficial strategy to control rice water weevil larvae. Economic returns were greater in a continuous-flood system compared to that of a drained and reflooded field during years where rice water weevil populations were high. At low water weevil populations, there was no difference in profitability between continuous flooded and drained plots. This may seem counterintuitive; however, we feel the amount of root pruning from water weevil larvae levels in excess of 20 per core increased the likelihood of drought stress once the field was drained. Currently, the use of an insecticide seed treatment is recommended to provide effective control of rice water weevil populations and has proven to be the backbone for economical control and protecting rice yields for this important insect pest. RICEFARMING.COM
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