Rice Farming January 2019

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PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

JANUARY 2019

Louisiana brothers embrace the 4R’s to nurture soil USA Rice truck tour helps dispel fear of cooking rice

Clean fields Extremely grassy season tested Provisia rice

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Always read and follow all label directions, restrictions and precautions for use. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states. FMC and Command are trademarks of FMC Corporation or an affiliate. Clearfield is a registered trademark of BASF. ©2018 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved. 18-FMC-2416 12/18

March January2018 2019

COLUMNS

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Vol. 52, 53, No. 4 2

COVER STORY

4 From the Editor

Rice's long Would a ricehistory by anybucks other name still 'what's hotsmell in food' as sweet? trends

5 Guest USA Rice Update 6 Column The Bill gets in Rice Farm and sustainability under the wire

8 USA Rice Update D PARTMENTS RiceE industry sets priorities for the next Farm Bill 18 Specialists Speaking Growers have new tools in D EP ARTM NTS their toolbox forE2019 Rice business business scene scene

20 Specialist Speaking

ON THEherbicide COVER: South Louisiana rice Early mistakes can producer he was plague Ross youThibodeaux all seasonsays long pleased with the Provisia Rice System’s grass and weedy rice control.

Photo byCOVER: Vicky Boyd ON THE Armyworms once again plagued California rice growers in 2017.

Photo by Luis Espino, University of California Cooperative Extension

F E AT U R E S F E AT U R E S 6 Assuming stable U.S. rice acres 9 The yin and yang for 2019, look for a repeat of the Shorter supplies have shorn up the 2018-19 market market, but increased 2018 planting 8 14

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projections cloud long-term outlook.

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Commitment to the land Louisianaaid brothers embrace the 4R’s to Floods expansion

nurture soil and improve production.

Giant invasive snail threatens the rice-crawfish rotation in southwest Louisiana. #RideWithRice USA Rice truck tour gives away free rice cookers to dispel cooking rice.

New tools in thefears toolofbox

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Several new crop-protection products

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are available infind time rice for this year’s rice Researchers may double season. as a food crop and water filter

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The smell of success Missouri first variety, University releases of Arkansas breeding aprogram semi-dwarf grain releasesmedium new jasmine-type

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long grain.

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The California riceseason industryput prepares forProvisia what may Extremely grassy the new Ricebecome Systemannual to thearmyworm test. infestations.

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Clean fields

19 21 Industry News

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Farm & Gin Show recap

Tight world rice supplies mean any disruption could push markets higher.

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From The

Editor

Would a rice by any other name still smell as sweet?

Numbers don’t lie. For the 2018-19 rice marketing year, imports are expected to comprise more than 24 percent of domestic rice use — a record, according to figures from U.S. Department of Agriculture ag economist Nathan Childs. Of that, most will be Thai jasmine. Just 20 years ago, imports made up about 8 percent of domestic use.

Although some of the increased demand for the imported aromatics is from immigrants who grew up eating it at home, growth also is coming from U.S.-born consumers who like the flavor.

Ask consumers if they favor U.S.-grown foods over imports, and the bulk will likely say Vicky Boyd they want to buy local. But when they shop, Editor purchases tell a different story. Many consumers still don’t know that the United States grows rice, let alone aromatic varieties.

And therein lies the challenge.

Take the 100-plus bird watchers who participated in the recent Yellow Rails & Rice Festival near Thornwell, Louisiana. This is typically a well-educated population, yet many didn’t know the United States had a rice industry until after they listened to Louisiana rice grower Kevin Berken’s “Rice 101” presentation. They also weren’t aware they could buy U.S.-grown aromatic varieties similar to the Thai jasmine until they toured Falcon Rice Mill, which mills, packages and markets Louisiana-grown aromatic varieties.

If you asked these consumers to describe why they liked Thai jasmine, they would talk about the flavor and the good smell while they were cooking and eating it. But how often would you hear the term “aromatic”?

Perhaps something is being lost in the translation. When you describe a variety, such as Jazzman II or the new ARoma 17, as an aromatic long-grain, does the consumer really get it? Or do they hear a term they may be unfamiliar with so they stick with what they know they like — Thai jasmine?

At one time, some marketers described U.S.-grown aromatics as “popcorn” rice because they smelled like popcorn when you cooked them. It was a simple term that most consumers could relate to.

I’m not necessarily advocating we go back to that term, but I think we need to re-examine what descriptors resonate with the consumer. This also may mean reverting to the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle and using easy-to-understand words that capture consumers’ attention and taste buds. With four syllables, aromatic may be just too complicated a word for many end-users to grasp.

In journalism, we were taught to write for readers with a ninth-grade education.

Since I graduated, many now recommend writing for seventh- or eighth-grade educations. U.S. rice growers produce a great aromatic crop. But perhaps the marketers need to go back to school to find a simpler approach to connect with consumers.

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.

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Vicky Send comments to: Editor, Rice Farming Magazine, 875 W. Poplar Ave., Suite 23, Box 305, Collierville, TN 38017 or email vlboyd@onegrower.com.

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USA Rice

Update

The Farm Bill gets in under the wire

By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice

A

fter more than two years of work, discussing and debating policies and ironing out the kinks, the 2018 Farm Bill has finally been passed and signed into law, and it’s due largely in part to the perseverance and hard work of USA Rice members. You told us what you needed from the Farm Bill, and we took it to Capitol Hill.

You told your legislators what you needed from the Farm Bill, and they went to bat for you to champion your priorities. Throughout all the ups and downs of the past few years, you made your voices heard, and your hard work has finally paid off: The bill that passed as the congressional session came to a close included many of the provisions and changes we fought for, and I think we can all be very happy with the outcome.

Security and stability The 2018 Farm Bill will guarantee rice farmers some much-needed security and stability in the years to come. One of the most crucial issues for family-owned farms was the family definition in regard to the “actively engaged in farming” rules. The family definition will now include nephews, nieces and first cousins, which I know is imTWITTER: @RICEFARMING

portant to many of you who have struggled to make the safety net programs work for you due to your farm’s structure.

The Farm Bill is also a big win for conservation, as it reauthorizes the Conservation Stewardship Program and increases funding for both the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. This will allow the rice industry to continue to be a leader in conservation and sustainability efforts and enjoy greater program flexibility in the process.

International trade International trade promotion and food aid programs will also be maintained with guaranteed annual mandatory funding. We can now rest assured that those initiatives will continue to benefit the U.S. rice industry as we enjoy opportunities in expanding and developing foreign markets and get high-quality U.S. rice to those in need all over the world.

Let’s continue the momentum Rice has achieved a great deal with this Farm Bill, and now it’s time to continue this successful momentum on other USA Rice policies and priorities. As always, we’re grateful to the rice community for stepping up when it mattered and getting the job done, ensuring that Washington pays attention to what works for agriculture despite partisan bickering along the way.

But advocacy is a lot like farming — just because one job is done doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to do. The Farm Bill is behind us, but this month Congress welcomed more than 100 completely new members.

This means there’s going to be a lot of education about agriculture and specifically rice to get done. I’m sure we’ll call on you to help us, sharing your story and perhaps hosting tours of your operations. And like I know passing the Farm Bill was welcome news, I know you will rise to the occasion and continue to help us advocate on your behalf.

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Assuming stable U.S. rice acres for 2019, look for a repeat of the 2018-19 market

By Kurt Guidry

T

he activity of the rice market has been markedly lower over the last several weeks and looks to have gone into its typical slowdown as we head toward the holiday season and the end of the year. Current reports place rice bids in Louisiana at the $17 per-barrel ($4.72 per-bushel or $10.49 per-hundredweight) level, which has been the prevalent price offer for the past couple months.

In addition, some buyers have stopped making bid offers at this time, which just adds to the overall quiet tone in the market.

History would indicate this quiet tone will likely remain until sometime after the new year when we hopefully start to see additional activity in the market. The question remains whether this additional activity will bring higher prices.

Unfortunately, other than improving the demand projections for medium- and short-grain rice, the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand numbers really did not provide much spark for this market. Exports for medium- and short-grain rice were increased 3 million cwt in the December estimates.

This significant change in expected exports is being largely driven by sharply lower production in Australia and Egypt. This should help increase U.S. export prospects for the remainder of the marketing year.

The improved supply and demand outlook for medium-grain rice has pushed prices to the $21 per-barrel ($5.84 per-bushel or $12.96 cwt) level. This brisk pace to exports is expected to continue to support medium-grain prices in the short-term and could even provide some minor price improvement.

Long-grain demand up, so is supply Long-grain export numbers have also improved over last year.

However, unlike with medium grain, long-grain prices have not been able to ride this momentum. A couple of reasons likely point to the inability of the long-grain market to push prices higher.

First, long-grain production and supplies are projected to be up more than 11 percent higher in 2018. While total long-grain rice demand is also projected to be up by 5 percent, ending stocks are still expected to exceed the level seen in 2016 when prices

fell to less than $16 per barrel ($4.44 per bushel or $9.88 cwt).

So despite the better demand outlook, it simply isn’t enough to compensate for larger supplies and change the overall supply and demand outlook for long-grain rice.

Another reason is the remaining uncertainty regarding exports despite its positive start to the 2018/19 marketing year. While the much-publicized Iraq purchases earlier this year have been a welcomed site for the market and have helped the pace of export sales, until these types of sales become more consistent, there will likely remain a degree of uncertainty about the long run sustainability of rice export sales. And without more sustained, reliable demand, it is difficult to have overly optimistic view of the long run potential of the market.

Demand picture looks marginally improved Although there are some struggles still to overcome for the rice market, the bottom line is that the demand picture does look marginally improved. This should help limit downside price risk and could conceivably help strengthen prices in the $18-$19 per-barrel ($5-$5.27 per-bushel) range after the first of the year.

This would be particularly true if the market could become more comfortable with the direction of long-grain export demand.

Beyond that, price prospects for the 2019 production year will likely hinge on acreage and production. Examining projections for crop profitability in 2019 suggest relatively minor movement in rice acres. Simply put, there does not seem to be an attractive cropping alternative to pull rice acres away.

In fact, in some of the rice-growing areas, it is conceivable to see a slight increase in acres. The bottom line is that it seems unlikely that the market will see a significant shift in acres one way or another. Assuming stable rice aces in 2019 also likely suggests a very similar supply and demand situation and similar prices that were experienced in 2018.

Dr. Kurt Guidry is Southwest Region director and Extension economist with the Louisiana State University AgCenter in Crowley. He may be reached at KMGuidry@agcenter.lsu.edu.

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VICKY BOYD

Although there are some struggles still to overcome for the rice market, the bottom line is that the demand picture does look marginally improved.

RICEFARMING.COM

Finance Options Help Rice Farmers Manage for Improved Profitability Rice farmers looking for ways to strengthen their cash flow and financing outlook in 2019, and improve their profitability potential, now have two financing options when purchasing proven Clearfield® and Provisia® rice varieties from Horizon Ag. The latest offer, reflecting the close partnership between BASF and Horizon Ag, is for 0% APR financing for Clearfield and Provisia rice varieties, along with rice crop protection products from BASF. The program is offered through Rabo AgriFinance, part of the Rabobank group, for purchases from October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019.

“As we head into 2019, Southern farmers continue to experience a long trend of decreased farm profitability, year over year,” said Dr. Tim Walker, general manager, Horizon Ag. “With cash flow getting tighter and interest rates on the rise, it is more important than ever that Horizon Ag partner with farmers to help them address financial challenges and get the crop planted.”

Eligible rice varieties from Horizon Ag include all of its Clearfield varieties — CL111, CL151, CL153, CL163, CL172, CL272, and CLJ01 — followed by Clearpath® herbicide or Newpath® herbicide, along with Provisia variety PVL01 followed by Provisia® herbicide.

Customers can also finance other BASF crop protection products applied to their rice acres — Beyond® herbicide, Facet® L herbicide, Sharpen® herbicide or Prowl® H2O herbicide.

“We are excited about being able to offer the Rabo AgriFinance and John Deere Financial options for Horizon Ag customers.”

Products may be purchased at different times from one or multiple authorized retailers.

The Rabo AgriFinance offer joins a previously announced 0% APR financing program on Horizon Ag varieties and BASF crop protection products through the Multi-Use Account of John Deere Financial.

Walker noted that the key difference is that the Rabo AgriFinance program is specific to BASF and Horizon Ag rice products while the credit obtained through John Deere Financial is included in a farmer’s overall line of credit with John Deere.

With two programs available, farmers have more options to better manage their financing approaches while making the best decisions to improve their bottom line, he said.

“We are excited about being able to offer the Rabo AgriFinance and John Deere Financial options for Horizon Ag customers,” said Walker. “Combined with Clearfield and Provisia varieties that provide farmers with outstanding yield potential, grain quality and weed control, these programs reflect our ongoing commitment to improve rice farmer profitability this season and for years to come.”

For more information about either program, farmers can talk to their BASF or Horizon Ag representatives.

2019 Season Horizon Ag Variety Lineup CLEARFIELD PRODUCTION SYSTEM FOR RICE CL111 is a very early, semi-dwarf rice variety grown in all Southern rice states. It has become the most popular planted rice variety in South Louisiana over the past few years due to its excellent first- and second-crop yield potential.

CL151 is a very early, semi-dwarf variety that has been planted on more rice acreage than any other Clearfield variety or hybrid. It has the highest yield potential of any pure-line variety and has garnered many acres throughout the South, especially in the upper Mid-South.

CL153 is a very early, semi-dwarf rice variety that is widely adapted, having performed equal to or greater than CL151 across locations from Texas to Missouri.

CL153 has very good grain length, translucency and whole milled rice output, making it acceptable by the mills. It contains the Pita gene that confers broadspectrum blast resistance.

CL163 is an early, semi-dwarf rice variety and is the first Clearfield variety that has the “Dixiebelle” cook type that is preferred for rice processing. CL163 has also received favorable reviews for key export countries in the Western Hemisphere.

CL172 is an early, semi-dwarf rice variety that has good yield potential coupled with excellent milling properties. CL172 combines grain length, whole milled rice and translucency to provide a true package-quality rice acceptable for domestic mills and premium export markets.

CL272 is a Clearfield medium grain rice variety that has good yield potential coupled with excellent milling properties. This variety is comparable in yield to Jupiter but offers a better blast package and the ability to manage weeds using the Clearfield system.

CLJ01 is the first Clearfield aromatic “Jasmine” type rice variety and offers the ease and costeffectiveness of Clearfield technology — along with high quality and improved field performance over other “Jasmine” type varieties.

PROVISIA RICE SYSTEM PVL01, the first Provisia variety, provides tolerance to Provisia herbicide from BASF. This is the only labeled herbicide system that will effectively control ALS-resistant weedy rice. With the introduction of PVL01, farmers have the unique opportunity to integrate multiple herbicide tolerant rice systems in their fields, complimenting the existing Clearfield Production System for effective rotation practices.

Other limitations may apply. See full program terms and conditions for further details. Credit subject to approval by Rabo AgriFinance. Must be Rabo AgriFinance authorized retailer. Qualifying transactions must be submitted for payment by the program dates in order to receive the corresponding interest rate. Offer valid on qualifying purchases made between 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019. John Deere Credit offer limited to Multi-Use Account Agricultural customers with an available Special Terms Credit 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 2019, when the entire transaction amount is due in full. The principal balance, accrued interest, and all finance charges associated with the purchase are due in full on the customer’s December 2019 statement due date. Regular Multi-Use Account rates will apply after that date. Offer may be limited to qualifying products. No 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. Clearfield, Clearpath, Beyond, Facet L, Newpath, Provisia, Prowl H20 and Sharpen are registered trademarks of BASF. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2019 Horizon Ag, All Rights Reserved.

COURTESY THE FERTILIZER INSTITUTE

(from left) C.J. Durand, Jeff Durand, Earl Garber and Greg Durand work together on programs that improve the soil as well as rice production.

Commitment to the land Louisiana brothers embrace the 4R’s to nurture soil and improve production

By Vicky Boyd Editor

E

ven before the term “sustainable” was popular, the Durands had adopted production practices that conserved and enhanced the natural resources on their rice and crawfish operation in St. Martin Parish, southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Over the years, the Durands have received multiple awards for their conservation efforts. Although Jeff Durand, one of the partners in the family farming business, says they appreciate the recognition, he says that’s not why they’ve adopted their sustainability philosophy.

Rather, they view the soil on their farm as a living organism that needs to be nurtured and improved for it to give back in terms of production. They also want to pass on the farm to the next generation in better condition than when they took it over.

Brother C.J. Durand, also a farm partner, echoes Jeff’s sentiments, adding the third-party accolades just reaffirm they’re proceeding in the right direction.

In 2018, The Fertilizer Institute named C.J., Jeff, brother Greg and their crop consultant, Earl Garber of Basile, Louisiana, as one of five teams of 4R Advocates for the year. And as Jeff quickly

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points out, they were the only ones selected to represent rice.

“One of the things we learned is we were on the correct path, and we felt grateful being recognized for it,” C.J. says. “With all of the farmers they could have chosen, they chose us, which was an honor.”

The 4R Advocate program recognizes agricultural retailers and their grower customers who are leading the way in implementing 4R Nutrient Stewardship on the farm. The 4R’s stand for the right fertilizer source, right rate, right time and right place.

Thinking outside the box The three Durand brothers started farming crawfish with their father in the early 1970s after he cleared woodlands near St. Martinsville. By 1980, they added no-till rice to the farming business.

About the same time, they founded Teche Valley Seafood Inc., which sells live crawfish and processed crawfish products directly to buyers. Their sisters — Connie, Margo and Joanna — oversee the seafood operation.

To help them with agronomic questions, the brothers turned to Dr. Johnny Saichuk, an agronomist with G&H Seed who eventuRICEFARMING.COM

COURTESY THE NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

ally joined the Louisiana State University AgCenter as rice Extension specialist. More recently, the Durands have sought the advice of Garber, an agronomist and certified crop adviser who recently retired from Pinnacle/Sanders.

“They challenge my knowledge and my ability to address agronomy needs on their farm because they’re thinking outside the box and thinking differently than conventional row-crop farmers,” Garber says.

“They’re looking to get their soil more productive. They’re not looking to be the biggest farmers, but they’re looking to be the most productive on the acres they have. But I enjoyed that challenge because I like a challenge.”

of loose straw that can occur as crawfish ponds are flooded after harvest. The floating organic material can become a problem as it decomposes and robs crawfish ponds of oxygen, Garber says.

The Durands have added tracks not just to their combine but also to their tractors for better traction and to reduce rutting and compaction in wet fields.

Drains in fields not destined for crawfish are boarded up after harvest to catch natural rain during the fall and winter to provide waterfowl habitat. Much like crawfish, waterfowl feed on leftover rice and help with straw decomposition.

The Durands strive for a no-till system where they don’t have to do any deep cultivation to prepare fields for planting between rice crops. If need be, they may run a diamond chain harrow in the field to smooth the soil surface.

Attention to detail As part of their rotation, rice fields are flooded shortly after harvest for crawfish production during the winter. The crustaceans not only provide an income stream in the rice off-season but also help recycle left-over plant residue, leaving the field nearly ready to plant the following spring.

A silver Gleaner combine, a machine more common in the Midwest than in the Ricebelt, is a fixture in the Durand’s fields during harvest. When asked about their choice, Jeff was quick to explain the Gleaner had more horsepower per pound of machine, making it lighter weight and better suited for typical South Louisiana wet harvest conditions.

They also use a Shelbourne Reynolds stripper header that removes the grain and leaves the straw standing. Not only does this type of header speed harvest, but it also prevents floating mats

(from left) C.J., Jeff and Greg Durant are firm believers in the 4R’s — right fertilizer source, right rate, right time and right place.

The Durands view their farm’s soil as a living organism that needs to be nurtured and improved for it to give back in terms of production.

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COURTESY THE NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

Focus on soil health The Durands typically grow three years of rice before idling the field to allow for land leveling touchup and soil sampling on a 2.5-acre grid. The results of the soil sampling guide variable-rate applications of potassium and phosphorus. The goal, Jeff says, is to create as uniform a crop as possible.

The brothers also are some of the few in the area to use the Haney Test, also known as a Soil Health Test, to gauge their overall progress, Garber says. The assay takes an integrated approach using chemical and biological data.

The outcome is a soil health score of 1 to 50 — the higher the better. It also provides an estimate of nitrogen fertilizer savings via enhanced soil health. Depending on the laboratory, the outcome also may include cover crop recommendations.

Lessons learned The brothers learned long ago the value of organic matter in the soil after they precision leveled a field that required deep cuts and fills. The following year they had pockets where they had filled in the deep cuts that didn’t produce as well as other parts of the field.

The Durands are still trying to bring that field back to health, but they’ve learned what to avoid.

Now when they level a field, they first remove the first 2-3 inches of topsoil and put it aside — a practice known as double cutting. The Durands then make their cuts and fills and finish by reapplying the topsoil.

Although the practice is costlier, Garber says it helps maintain the productive topsoil.

Slowly, the brothers have picked up nearby ground formerly in sugar cane. Each piece is precision leveled for more efficient flooding and water use.

To help revive the soil and improve organic matter, they plant about 250 acres annually of cover crops that include cereal rye, tillage radishes, berseem clover and hairy vetch in the idle fields.

Garber notes that South Louisiana is behind the Midwest when it comes to using cover crops.

“Cover crops are still very new in the rice and sugar cane area,” he says.

The Durands worked closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to find the best combinations. In turn, Garber learned what seed mixes retailers needed to carry.

One of the challenges remains establishing cover crops during South Louisiana’s frequently wet fall conditions, Garber says.

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PHOTOS BY VICKY BOYD

USA Rice truck tour gives away free rice cookers to help dispel fears of cooking rice.

Michael Klein (right), USA Rice vice president of communication and domestic promotion, gets ready to conduct a video interview with Marysville, California, rice producer Charley Mathews Jr. Mathews, also USA Rice chairman, toured Klein around the area in the #ridewithrice truck.

#RideWithRice

By Vicky Boyd Editor

U

SA Rice took to the road this fall to promote the virtues of U.S.-grown rice and try to demystify cooking of the grain.

As part of the #RideWithRice program, USA Rice staff in a bright green decorated pick-up truck traversed the Midwest to the Pacific Coast, giving away Aroma brand rice cookers along the way. They asked people to “get creative — start with rice” and #ThinkRice.

The stops were strategically chosen to target consumers who may not be well-versed in U.S.-grown rice or preparing the grain, says Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of communication and domestic promotion.

The #RideWithRice promotional effort also provided opportunities for Klein and Deborah Willenborg, USA Rice director of marketing and communications, to talk with consumers.

“We easily interacted with more than 1,000 consumers on each leg and gave out 800 cookers on each leg,” Klein says. “The truck is doing its job of attracting people so we can start a conversation.”

With the help of social media, the #RideWithRice effort generated thousands of additional digital interactions from followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, he says. They were invited to

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add the hashtag, #RideWithRice, to their posts. Used in conjunction with social media posts, hashtags designated by the # symbol are similar to key words and provide an easy way to search for or follow hot topics and subjects in general.

An easy way to cook rice The idea for the rice cooker give-away stemmed from earlier USA Rice research that showed some consumers could be intimidated by cooking rice.

“Everybody liked the idea of doing something with rice cookers,” Klein says.

But he was quick to add they weren’t trying to displace using a sauce pan on the stove for consumers who have had success with that method.

“Rice cookers aren’t the only way to cook rice, but they’re certainly a very easy way to cook rice,” Klein says.

Initially, members of the USA Rice Domestic Promotions Committee looked into giving rice cookers to couples who were registered and planning to marry in September, which is National Rice Month.

But Klein says they soon discovered that September is the secRICEFARMING.COM

ond most popular month for weddings, only to June, and about 250,000 couples tie the knot in September.

Taking a page from the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile, they briefly considered the feasibility of driving around in a big grain of rice.

The committee also toyed with tying into food trucks, since they’re currently popular. Eventually, they settled on a hybrid plan that involved a specially decorated pick-up truck that stopped at locations nationwide to give out rice cookers.

USA Rice contacted a handful of rice cooker manufacturers, and Aroma Housewares of San Diego, California, responded with the most attractive arrangement.

USA Rice had worked with Aroma in the past, but the nation’s largest marketer of rice cookers was more in the background, says Aroma director of marketing and branding Kevin Lin. “We talked about this campaign, and we thought it was a wonderful idea,” Lin says. “We have the same vision as well (as USA Rice) to help American consumers not be afraid to cook rice. And where we can, we can provide the tools to make that happen.”

Aroma also took to its social media channels and alerted its followers as to the rice truck’s pending stops along the route, he says.

Quick turn-around With a tight two-month planning window, USA Rice put out feelers to both Chevrolet and Ford for a pick-up truck. Cavenaugh Ford Lincoln LLC in Jonesboro, Arkansas, responded with a competitive price and provided extensive advice about must-have options, such as spray-on bed liners.

To help underwrite the cost, USA Rice sold raffle tickets to rice industry members for a chance to win the truck filled with a suite of different Aroma rice cookers. The winning ticket — purchased

by Michael Fruge, a Eunice, Louisiana, rice producer — ­ was drawn during the last day of the Rice Outlook Conference.

Katie Maher, USA Rice director of strategic initiatives, designed the catchy graphics that adorned the truck wrap. The specific shade of bright green is the same as is used in other #thinkrice promotional materials.

The promotional committee approved the truck concept in June and it was launched in September.

“Within two months, we got the truck, got the design, got the route and launched it,” Maher says.

The winner of the truck raffle also received six different rice cookers from Aroma Housewares.

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Victoria Callahan, 2018 International Rice Festival queen, draws the winning ticket for the #RideWithRice truck raffle at the USA Rice Outlook Conference as A.J. Sabine holds the microphone.

On the road again The 5,000-mile tour included three legs: Midwest and Upper Midwest, Pacific Northeast including Northern California, and Southern California. During each leg, Klein also took the opportunity to visit rice industry leaders and recorded video interviews as they drove around nearby countryside.

In Northern California, for example, he visited with USA Rice Chairman Charley Mathews Jr., who farms near Marysville.

Using three GoPro cameras mounted inside the truck, Klein talked with Mathews, who provided a guided tour of the area around his farm and recounted the area’s rich history. Mathews also discussed rice farmers’ conservation practices as he pointed out flooded rice fields filled with waterfowl and the importance of export markets to the industry.

Yes, there is a free lunch During each leg, the USA Rice crew gave away 800 rice cookers. Why that number — because that was how many would fit in their rented chase truck, Klein says.

The give-away locations varied, depending on the region, and included farmers’ markets, a craft brewery, restaurants and city parks. Offering a free rice cooker provided a way to open the door to conversation.

“They don’t believe it’s free — they think there’s a catch,” Klein says. “But once they realize it’s free, they become very interested. We talk about recipes. We talk about farming.”

Mathews says the promotional effort turned out better than expected, adding it helps reconnect farmers to the end-user — the consumer.

“You really have to open your eyes to what people have to say, and this provides good guidance,” he says. “We talk farm to market. That means you have to add that relationship in and this adds that stepping stone.”

The only thing USA Rice representatives asked of rice cooker recipients was they answer three simple questions.

1. How often do you cook rice?

2. Are you more likely to eat rice at home or out?

3. What would make you more likely to prepare rice?

The results will be analyzed and should help direct future domestic promotional efforts, Klein says.

As an added incentive to put the cooker to use, recipients were told if they snapped a photo of a dish made with the appliance and posted it on social media with the #ridewithrice tag, they’d be entered in one of five drawings for $100 each.

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Clean fields

Extremely grassy season put the new Provisia Rice System to the test

PHOTOS BY VICKY BOYD

Louisiana rice producer Fred Zaunbrecher — who has grown the new Provisia variety, PVL01, two years for seed — says he is impressed with the robust tillering of the plants.

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By Vicky Boyd Editor

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rowers with resistant weedy rice who planted the first commercial Provisia rice variety in 2018 say the decision was a “no-brainer,” even though they knew it had a slightly lower yield potential.

The alternative would have been either suffering significant yield loss due to herbicide-resistant weedy rice or even worse, not being able to plant rice at all because the outcrosses had overtaken a field.

“So far, it looks really clean,” Dane Hebert, who had about 200 acres of Provisia rice near Maurice, Louisiana, said in late May. “It was so bad in the fields that I put it in that if I didn’t do something, I wouldn’t have had any production.”

He ended up harvesting about 45 barrels (162 bushels) per acre from the main crop, which he was “very pleased” with.

“The milling was off a little bit, but I was just so happy to manage a clean field,” Hebert says, adding he plans to plant it again this season.

His second-crop yield was about 10 barrels (36 bushels) per acre, slightly less than he hoped, but Hebert blamed it on rainy weather during pollination and grain fill.

Clean fields in a grassy year Hebert’s experience with the Provisia Rice System during the first year of commercial introduction was the norm rather than the exception, says Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager.

Yields of PVL01, the first commercial Provisia variety, averaged between 160-170 bushels per acre throughout the MidSouth.

But what caught many growers’ attention was the stellar grass control they experienced during 2018, a season that some old-timers called the grassiest they could remember.

“We definitely think for the dollar when you look at what people spent to control grass with the existing tools relative to

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what they got with the Provisia technology, hands down, I think it was the best grass control program out there,” Walker says.

Because Provisia only controls grass and is a contact material, he says growers will have to include residuals and broadleaf herbicides in their weed-control programs. Stewardship also will be crucial to maintain the technology.

“We need to steward this technology right out of the gate,” Walker says. “We finally have a tool that we’ve needed for a long time. There are no other tools being talked about at this time of this magnitude.”

Even if you don’t have IMI-resistant weedy rice, Walker says rotating Clearfield rice with Provisia rice will bring in a different mode of action and help preserve the Clearfield technology.

Extension specialists also recommend adding at least one year of soybeans in a three-year rotation to bring in still different herbicide modes of action not registered for rice.

Among the sequences they recommend are one year Provisia rice, one year Clearfield rice and one year soybeans. Another rotation involves one year Provisia rice, one year soybeans, one year Clearfield rice followed by another year of soybeans.

Improved Provisia varieties on the way Breeders point to the Clearfield rice variety development timeline and say the first few releases didn’t have the same high yield potential of current varieties. They expect Provisia varieties to follow a similar path.

Already, the Louisiana State University AgCenter has several experimental Provisia lines with higher yield potential in various stages of development, with at least one — PVL108 — nearing possible release for seed production as early as 2019.

In trials, PVL108 yielded about 10 percent more than PVL01, the current commercial Provisia variety. It also has a better disease package than PVL01.

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Ross Thibodeaux, who farms with his family near Midland, Louisiana, put Provisia rice in fields with the worst weedy rice infestations on their farm.

The result was clean fields.

“The field with the worst weedy rice pressure was our cleanest field and had no escapes,” he says.

Yields from his first crop of Provisia ranged from 33-42 barrels (118-151 bushels) per acre. Thibodeaux was in the middle of harvesting the second crop when contacted for this article shortly after Thanksgiving. But he says yields were not that good because of high disease pressure brought on by rains throughout the fall and that was despite the two recommended fungicide applications.

Thibodeaux says they plan to plant Provisia once again in 2019. Based on discussions with their consultant, they’ll use a slightly lower seeding rate and apply slightly less nitrogen to help manage disease.

Two years in the books Fred Zaunbrecher, who farms with his brothers Bill, Paul and Phillip near Duson, Louisiana, has two years’ experience growing PVL01 for seed. In 2017, harvest was delayed in Puerto Rico, meaning Louisiana received seed later than most seed producers liked.

Concerns about lower-than-normal germination also prompted recommendations to increase seeding rates to about 70 pounds per acre.

Because the new Provisia variety tillered extensively, plant densities were too great and resulted in increased disease pressure from sheath blight and blast.

During 2018, Zaunbrecher says he planted about 50 pounds per acre following the recommended rate of 50-55 pounds per acre.

He applied a half rate of Command before planting, then returned with his first application of Provisia about two weeks later.

The weather turned cold, and Zaunbrecher says he saw slight crop injury in one field, but the plants grew out of it as the weather warmed.Walker says seeing a crop response from an ACCase

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2018 was a learning year When a new product is launched commercially, small issues that weren’t anticipated frequently crop up during the first season.

Such was the case with the Provisia Rice System, although most were manageable, says Alvin Rhodes, BASF tech services representative for Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

“When you have a new technology, you often have to do things a little differently, and the same is true Provisia, which contains the with Provisia,” he says. active ingredient quizalofop, is “We’re all learning about it.” paired with Provisia rice varietProvisia herbicide, which contains the active ingre- ies bred using traditional methdient quizalofop, is paired ods to tolerate over-the-top with Provisia rice varieties applications of the herbicide. bred using traditional methods to tolerate over-the-top applications of the herbicide.

Among the issues during 2018 was crop response when temperatures dipped below 55 degrees during or shortly after Provisia applications.

“There was more crop response than we expected, and it was amplified where there was overlap,” he says.

Rhodes recommended growers continue with their normal production practices, and the rice soon grew out of it.

This season, he advises not spraying Provisia if temperatures are forecast to drop below 55 degrees during or shortly after the scheduled application.

For 2019, he says BASF recommends a Provisia rate of 13-16 ounces per acre, with a standard application of 15.5 ounces per acre. The label allows for two applications per season totaling 31 ounces per acre.

Rhodes also recommends adding crop oil concentrate and using at least 5 gallons of water per acre by air and at least 10 gallons of water by groundrig.

The first Provisia application should be made at the two- to three-leaf rice stage, followed about 14 days later by a second Provisia application.

Within two to three days of the second application, growers should flood their fields. Otherwise, they may see another flush of grasses, he says.

“If they have very large fields that take water a long time to get across, they will have more challenges,” Rhodes says.

The choice of tankmix partners also may affect Provisia efficacy, he says. Adding triclopyr or propanil to Provisia herbicide can cause antagonism and should be avoided, Rhodes says.

But tankmixing Prowl, Permit or Facet with Provisia didn’t appear to cause issues in 2018, he says.

PHOTOS BY VICKY BOYD

Looking back on 2018 In late May, Ross Thibodeaux said his family’s 650 acres of Provisia rice near Midland, Louisiana, “looked great.”

Like Hebert, Thibodeaux chose fields with some of the worst weedy rice problems to try out the new Provisia system.

“The rice really stools — it has a lot of tillers on it. It’s a beautiful crop,” he said in late May. “If we make 40 (barrels), we’ll be happy.

In some of these fields, you’ll be making the same or maybe even more and not having to deal with all of the weedy rice problems.”

A barrel, a measurement of rice in Louisiana, is about 162 pounds.

Thibodeaux says his fields remained clean throughout the season, except for a few escapes around the edges where they couldn’t maintain the water. They spot treated those with a backpack sprayer.

herbicide, such as Provisia, is not unusual when plants are under stress.

What Zaunbrecher noticed is not only did the Provisia pick up barnyardgrass, but it “annihilated” sprangletop.

Their 380 acres averaged 43 barrels, or about 155 bushels, per acre. The 2018 milling quality of his Provisia also was much better than the previous year’s.

Zaunbrecher did not ratoon the Provisia fields, instead putting them in crawfish. He notes a suggestion to avoid second cropping because it can potentially increase outcrossing.

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Researchers find rice may double as a food crop and water filter

MATT MOORE, USDA-ARS

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COURTESY AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE

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ew research has found rice plants can do more than just produce a crop — they also can clean runoff from farms before it gets into rivers, lakes and streams.

This idea came to Matt Moore, a U.S. Department of Agriculture research ecologist based in Oxford, Mississippi, who grew up on an Arkansas rice farm.

As water drains from agricultural fields, pesticides used on those fields can be carried along. Moore wanted to prevent the chemicals from leaving fields in a way that was easy and cost efficient for farmers.

“We wanted something that was common, that could be applied in a lot of different places, but something that’s non-invasive,” says Moore, who works in the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Water Ecology and Ecology Research Unit.

The idea came to him while he was driving to his family’s farm in northeast Arkansas.

“We’re big rice farmers,” he says. “Cheesy as it sounds, I was driving around trying to look for some inspiration and it just hit me: What about rice?”

So researchers planted four fields, two with and two without rice. They then flooded those fields with a mix of three pesticides — diazinon, atrazine, permethrin and permethrin — plus water to simulate runoff during a storm. They repeated the trial for two years.

The researchers found that levels of all three pesticides were lower in fields where they’d planted rice. How much it dropped ranged from 85 percent to 97 percent, depending on which pesticide they measured.

The process, known as phytoremediation, harnesses plants and their roots to clean up water. Instead of those chemicals being in the runoff water, they were captured in the rice plants.

In real life, this pesticide-cleaning ability of rice could be used in a few ways. To start, farmers could plant rice in drainage ditches already on their A delivery system applies a simulated farms, which would storm runoff containing pesticides and “let rice clean up water to rice and control (bare) systems. water that runs off into your field before it runs into a river, lake or stream,” Moore says. “Dreaming big, eventually we could get to the point where you could use rice fields as constructed wetlands,” diverting runoff into rice fields so they naturally take those pesticides out of the water.

In tests to see how well vegetated drainage ditches like this one reduce agricultural pesticide and nutrient runoff, ecologist Matt Moore (left) and soil scientist Martin Locke assess the biomass of plants growing in the ditch.

One big question Moore hopes additional research can answer is whether those chemicals end up in the edible part of the rice plant — the grain itself. If it doesn’t, rice could be that natural water filter while also being a food source.

“It’s potentially huge for developing countries to be able to use this as a crop and water cleaning technology,” he says.

For now, though, Moore is excited about the potential of a crop that his own family has been growing for generations.

“We’re just trying to use simple techniques that are easy for the farmer, that are economical, that are still environmentally friendly,” he says. “Farming seems like a not-for-profit business these days, which I full-well understand. How can farmers use the landscape that’s already there? How can they maximize that while helping the environment and their bottom line? Rice could be it.”

Moore’s research was published in a recent issue of the “Journal of Environmental Quality.”

The Agronomy Society of America contributed this article.

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Fall-applied residual herbicides are commonly used to control glyphosate-resistant Italian ryegrass — one of the most troublesome weeds in Mid-South row crops.

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UC farm advisers ID new weedy rice biotype During the 2018 season, University of California Cooperative Extension rice farm advisers were contacted by several growers and pest control advisers to inspect plants suspected to be weedy rice.

When the identification was difficult, farm advisers grew them in the greenhouse to determine if they were weedy or not.

Of these, only five turned out to be weedy rice. The infestations in these fields ranged from a few patches to just one plant.

Unfortunately, one of the five positive samples turned out to be a new type of weedy rice. This new type, which they are calling type 6, has reddish awns early after heading and black hulls at maturity. It is distinguishable from type 4 (which also has black hulls) by the height of the plants Type 6 is a new biotype of weedy rice (type 6 is tall, type 4 is not).

Growers managing infested fields should found in California. Five other biokeep working to reduce infestations. In types had previously been identified. some infested fields, the farm advisers were not able to find any weedy plants this year. This doesn’t mean the fields are free of weedy rice, because seeds can survive in the soil for several years. However, it indicates that infestations are being reduced. This is very good news.

New seed regulations come into effect in 2019. All growers should plant certified seed or seed that has been through a quality assurance program. Research and experience shows that the use of certified seed is the best way to prevent the introduction of weedy rice into new fields and stop the spread in infested areas.

Next year, the farm advisers will continue to work with growers and PCAs to identify and reduce the spread of weedy rice in California.

For more information on weedy rice in California, including photos of each biotype, visit CAweedyrice.com.

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lthough fall-applied residual herbicides are recommended to control glyphosate-resistant Italian ryegrass, some can be detrimental to the following year’s rice crop, according to recently published research.

Involved in the project were Mississippi State University graduate students Ben Lawrence and Henry Edwards; Dr. Jason Bond, MSU weed scientist; and Dr. Bobby Golden, MSU Extension agronomist.

The researchers looked at the effects of labeled rates and twice the labeled rates of clomazone (Command), pyroxasulfone (Zidua), S-metolachlor (Dual Magnum) and trifluralin (Treflan) in the fall before rice seeding. Of those, only clomazone is labeled for use on rice.

They then planted rice in the spring and measured seedling density and height 14 days after emergence. All but the clomazone treatment negatively affected seedling density and height. The three others caused injury to rice 28-36 percent greater than clomazone 14 days after emergence.

The plots also were taken to yield. Applications of 2X rates of pyroxasulfone, S-metachlor and trifluralin reduced rough rice yields compared to clomazone.

Based on their trials, the researchers say, “Of the herbicides evaluated, only clomazone should be utilized as a fall-applied residual herbicide treatment targeting glyphosate-resistant Italian ryegrass

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

Some fall-applied residuals may injure the following year’s rice crop

before seeding rice.”

Their research, titled “Effects of Fall-Applied Residual Herbicides on Rice

Growth and Yield,” appeared in the Weed Science Society of America’s “Weed Technology.”

RICEFARMING.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

Top left: MM17 is a semi-dwarf medium-grain variety with excellent yield potential released for the 2019 season.

Bottom left: MM17 is a cross between a short-grain variety developed in Italy and an experimental line from the Cooperative Uniform Regional Rice Nursery.

Above: MM17 is low in amylose, a naturally occurring starch, making it a sticky rice suitable for sushi.

Missouri releases first variety, a semi-dwarf medium grain

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esearchers in Southeast Missouri State University’s Department of Agriculture along with the Missouri Rice Research and Merchandising Council have released for the 2019 season a new rice variety bred for southeast Missouri.

Called MM17, it is a semi-dwarf, mid-season, medium-grain variety with excellent yield potential. It was developed by pedigree selection in Southeast’s Rice Research Greenhouse in Malden, Missouri, and at the Missouri Rice Research Farm in Glennonville, Missouri.

It is the result of Missouri rice breeding efforts over several years and represents the first released variety for the state.

Greg Yielding, director of emerging markets and special projects with the U.S. Rice Producers Association, and Dr. Mike Aide, agriculture professor at Southeast Missouri State University, say new rice varieties like MM17 create new market opportunities.

They also support farm profitability by creating expanded sales and export enhancements.

MM17 is available from Tanner Seed Co. LLC in Bernie, Missouri.

Yielding says the new variety was grown in 2018 at the Missouri Rice Research Farm. The rice was harvested and bagged,

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with some of the seed reserved for breeder seed, which is now ready for sale to growers.

MM17 is a cross between a short-grain variety developed in Italy and an experimental line from the Cooperative Uniform Regional Rice Nursery.

The regional rice nursery is a multi-state program where varieties are evaluated by breeders across a spectrum of soils, climates, disease and insect pressures.

The new variety was bred knowing Missouri rice producers value rice varieties with taste and appearance characteristics that create an eventful dining experience, Aide says.

MM17’s low amylose content, which is what makes “sticky rice” sticky, is ideal for medium-grain table rice and restaurateurs who serve traditional rice recipes, especially for sushi-type cuisine, he says.

Missouri is typically a long-grain rice-producing state where traditional elongated rice grain is grown. MM17, on the other hand, is a medium-grain rice having a more rounded shape. Palate approval is important in cultures where rice is routinely served, Aide says.

Southeast Missouri State University contributed this article.

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Growers have new tools in their toolbox for 2019 DR. DUSTIN HARRELL LOUISIANA Extension Rice Specialist dharrell@agcenter.lsu.edu

We have been fortunate to see new products on the market for rice over the past few years. These products have put more tools in the toolbox for us to use to manage our rice crop.

In 2018, we saw three new herbicides (Loyant, Gambit and Provisia), one new herbicide premix (RiceOne), one fungicide (AmistarTop) and of course, the new Provisia variety PVL01. We will be fortunate again in 2019 and will see several new products released that will be extremely useful in rice production.

Koch Agrisciences announced in January it will release its new urease inhibitor product, Anvol, for the 2019 growing season. The active ingredient in Anvol is duromide. This, like Agrotain and other NBPT-containing products, can be applied to urea fertilizer and will temporarily reduce ammonia volatilization.

Ammonia volatilization losses of nitrogen can be significant for preflood fertilizer applications in rice. I have had the oppor-

Don’t worry if you didn’t apply fall P and K DR. BOBBY GOLDEN

MISSISSIPPI Extension Rice Specialist bgolden@drec.msstate.edu As I write this article, I’m sitting in California at the Rice Outlook Conference with sunshine and 60-degree temps, but am reminded that is not the case back home in Mississippi.

Overall, most rice was harvested in good conditions, but many soybean fields were rutted out on many acres that will go into rice this year. Most field prep will be done when conditions improve, thus not many applications of fall fertilizer have been conducted. Don’t fret just because we’re later than normal — Mississippi State University data show that early spring or in-season applications of phosphorus and potassium will still provide the needed nutrition for the rice crop and in some cases be more available.

Research conducted in the rice agronomy program between 2003-2016 suggests spring and in-season applications of P provide the same yield level as fall applications when applied

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tunity to test this product for several years now. And my studies found that duromide has shown statistically equivalent protection from ammonia volatilization as other NBPT-containing urease inhibitors like Agrotain. However, duromide has shown improved protection over NBPT alone in some studies on low pH (acidic) soils. If you farm on acidic soils, you may want to consider giving Anvol a try in 2019.

Another big release for 2019 is the new IMI herbicide-resistant hybrid rice system called FullPage. RiceTec will be releasing four new FullPage hybrid varieties. RiceTec has partnered with Adama, which will provide the IMI herbicide for FullPage.

The FullPage system will be similar to the Clearfield system; however, instead of Newpath and Beyond, Preface and Postscript herbicides will be used. I have had the opportunity to test the nitrogen response for a couple of FullPage hybrids in 2018.

My trials showed that the yield potential of the FullPage hybrids are similar to RiceTec’s other hybrid offerings, and they will need a similar nitrogen fertilization rate. Little herbicide testing of the system at LSU has been conducted so far. However, I was told that the tolerance of the new FullPage hybrids is higher than the Clearfield hybrids. This will bode well for our early season IMI applications on young hybrids, especially if we are cold again like we were in 2018.

Syngenta recently received U.S. EPA registration for the Fortenza seed treatment in rice. State registration for Fortenza is expected soon barring unforeseen issues. If that happens,

prior to the two-leaf stage of rice growth and development on most Delta soils.

This data also suggested when you segment the soils based on pH (>7.5), it is more beneficial to apply P in the spring rather than the fall on soils with pH greater than 7.5. Therefore, let’s not worry that fall field prep and fertilization has not yet been finished, there is still ample time available to apply mixed goods fertilizer with no yield penalty.

As for new fertility products coming onto the market, there are a couple new N stabilizer products y’all will hear about this year. The first is a new NBPT product from Corteva agriscience called PinnitMax. PinnitMax is suggested to protect N from volatilization for 14 days, contains 50 percent NBPT in an easy-to-use formulation and carries a use rate of 1.5 quarts per ton of urea.

A similar product from the Koch Agronomic Services (makers of Agrotain) is called Anvol. Anvol is a second-generation ammonia volatilization inhibitor that contains Duromide technology, which is a new mode of action. Anvol received Environmental Protection Agency registration in late 2018 and will be available during the 2019 growing season.

Field trials and laboratory testing with both these new N inhibitor products have shown promising results.

As I conclude this column, I just got a text that tractors are running in some spots of the Delta, which bodes well for repairing harvest ruts and field prep for 2019. Let’s close the book on 2018 and look forward to a new rice-growing year.

RICEFARMING.COM

Specialists Fortenza should be available for the 2019 season. The Fortenza seed treatment has been tested by Dr. Blake Wilson with the LSU AgCenter, and his data has shown that Fortenza paired with CruiserMaxx Rice provided rice water weevil control comparable to Dermacor X100.

Fortenza will be sold as a standalone seed treatment product; however, it can be combined with other seed treatments like CruiserMaxx Rice or Vibrance.

Start the season off right with proper soil fertility DR. JARROD HARDKE

ARKANSAS Asst. Professor/Rice Extension Agronomist University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu Low commodity prices and increasing input costs have us looking for places to cut every year it seems. Unfortunately, soil fertility is one of the first places people look to find some savings.

Generally speaking, most growers don’t attempt to cut seeding rates much because you can see the results of low seeding rates. Likewise, most don’t cut nitrogen rates because they can see the benefits in the field.

With general soil fertility, it is much harder to see the benefits.

Phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) are just as critical for high yields as stand establishment and nitrogen. They’re all parts of the big puzzle.

Deficiencies of these nutrients are our typical concern because we get visual symptoms to tell us the plant isn’t healthy. Sometimes we only get the visual response when the deficiency is truly severe. Low P and you get short, dark plants with few tillers. Low K and you get brown spot and yellow/red firing of leaves. Low Zn and you get general yellowing and bronzing of leaves.

Unfortunately, correcting deficiencies alone does not fix underlying issues or return yield potential. We can have fertility issues without being visibly deficient. Part of this is related to various nutrients being present in the plant in the proper proportion to one another.

The 2018 season provided clear examples of this. Early in the season, more fields than usual displayed K deficiency (and not just in rice). By harvest it became clear that fields supplied with adequate K and not showing K deficiency, but that were over-fertilized with N, had stem rot and extremely low yields.

The N:K ratio was off and production suffered. So too much of a good thing — in this case N — can be a bad thing, especially if we don’t provide enough of the other good things the rice plant needs in balance.

The take-home message is to soil sample and apply the recommended rates. Applications made all the way up to planting TWITTER: @RICEFARMING

Speaking

will be beneficial. Remember that pounds of fertilizer are what count, so foliar products with only a few pounds of a nutrient cannot effectively replace granular fertilizers applied with much higher pounds of a nutrient.

Let’s start the 2019 season off right and avoid yield loss and salvage situations for deficiencies.

Variety selection is one of the most important decisions DR. BRUCE LINQUIST CALIFORNIA UCCE Rice Specialist balinquist@ucdavis.edu

In California, most farmers grow medium-grain varieties. The commercially available medium Calrose rice varieties have been selected to meet the high quality and yield standards for California.

Varietal selection is one of the first and most important decisions a rice grower will need to make each year. In making a decision, first consider the maturity class that fits into your farming operations and climatic zone.

There are three maturity classes: very early (e.g. M-104, M-105), early (e.g. M-205, M-206, M-209 and M-210) and late maturing (e.g. M-401, M-402 – both premium medium grains).

Thinking about your climatic zone. Both M-105 and M-206 are considered broadly adapted varieties that will do well in most California rice growing areas.

However, a closer look at our two variety trials in the coolest areas of the region (Davis and near the Sacramento airport) show that in the past five years, M-105 always yielded higher than M-206. Averaged across years, the M-105 yield advantage was more than 5 hundredweights.

So in these cooler areas, consider experimenting with M-105, if you have not already. The longer duration varieties, such as M-205, M-209, M-401 and M-402, should be grown in warmer regions, which are generally considered to be north of Highway 20. These varieties should not be planted late in the season.

In 2018, foundation seed of M-210 was released to seed growers. It is a Calrose medium-grain variety with improved resistance to the rice blast races found in California. It was developed from a DNA marker-assisted backcrossing program and is essentially “M-206 with additional blast resistance.” It is designed for those areas in California that have had issues with rice blast and replaces M-208.

In 2018, we saw higher-than-normal levels of kernel smut. In most cases, the levels did not reduce yields, but it may have significantly reduced grain quality at the higher infestation levels.

We found that long grains were more susceptible to kernel smut than other varieties.

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Specialists Speaking icy that only classes of certified seed (foundation, registered and certified) or foundation rice varieties may be planted.

Beginning in 2019, growers will be required to plant only certified seed classes or seed from an approved seed production system of any rice variety in California. While this policy will take effect in 2019, the rice industry strongly urged growers to plant certified seed in 2018 to limit the spread of weedy rice.

Effective in 2019, the California Rice Certification Act requires that all rice produced in the state come from seed enrolled in an approved certified seed program or a quality assurance program.

These steps were taken to ensure that fields are planted with seed screened for the presence of weedy rice types. Handlers will be requiring proof that rice delivered to the mills has been grown with seed that met these requirements.

Fertility management begins with soil sampling DR. M.O. “MO” WAY

TEXAS Rice Research Entomologist moway@aesrg.tamu.edu This month, Vicky wants me to talk about fertility management. First, make sure you take soil samples now to determine the need for NPK and micro-nutrients.

Sample your fields as prescribed by your land-grant university and the laboratory where samples are sent. Follow these instructions to the letter. If you plan on doing some land grading, take your samples afterward.

Second, tailor your fertility program based on the results of soil samples, variety selection, plans to ratoon the crop and projected planting date.

Third, use your experience and seed company and university recommendations to determine amounts and timings of fertilizer applications.

Fourth, carefully observe your crop throughout the growing season to determine if you need additional nutrients at specific times. For instance, it has been my experience that when a rice crop begins to yellow or becomes somewhat non-uniform in height, application of N is very important to avoid yield loss.

This means you need to watch your crop daily, especially when your crop is approaching panicle differentiation or PD. The vast majority of our farmers apply a urease inhibitor to urea if it is projected to take four or more days to get water across a field following urea application. This has proved to be a useful and efficient practice. By decreasing the loss of N to the atmosphere, not only is the farmer getting more bang for the buck but he or she is also helping to decrease air pollution.

Urea is now selling for about $410 per ton. Agrotain is selling for about $70 per gallon and is applied at 2 quarts per ton of urea (thanks to Toni Spencer with M&J Fertilizer in Winnie, Texas).

On another topic, I recently received notification from Kevin Haack with the Texas Department of Agriculture that a Specific Exemption for Endigo ZCX to control rice delphacid was submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

I hope to hear from TDA and EPA in the near future (at least before the beginning of the 2019 field season). Many thanks to Kevin for promptly and professionally performing a lot of work on behalf of our Texas rice farmers!

Lastly, I want to mention a great activity recently conducted in Wharton County, Texas. The state of Texas sponsored and paid for a “Pesticide Amnesty Day” where farmers brought unwanted pesticides for legal disposal. The Beaumont center also took advantage of this program. I hauled about 100 gallons and 50 pounds of unwanted pesticides to the Wharton County Fairgrounds, Nov. 28. I hope this activity continues in the future — good for the environment and good for our industry!

The state of Texas sponsored a “Pesticide Amnesty Day” recently at the Wharton County Fairgrounds to collect unused pesticides.

DR. MO WAY

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Chris and Judy Isbell of Humnoke, Arkansas, were named the 2018 Arkansas Farm Family of the Year at the recent Arkansas Farm Bureau’s annual convention.

The Isbells will compete with 10 southeastern state winners in the 2019 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year program in Moultrie, Georgia, in October.

The Isbells say they are humbled to receive the honor.

“I was shocked, when they called our name,” Chris says, “but we are very honored. Our farm is a group of people. It’s a family. It’s not just me. It’s not just Judy.

It’s Shane and Lisa; our son, Mark; and our daughter, Whitney, and their families.

Of all the people in that room, many of them I know and many I don’t, they are all worthy. It is an honor to be selected out of that group.

“People need to understand their food doesn’t just come from the grocery store.

Farmers are out there working hard every day to produce it. I’m just proud to be in a business that feeds people.”

The Isbells have cultivated rice in Lonoke County for more than 70 years and currently grow 3,000 acres of the crop.

Isbell Farms is a fifth-generation family operation and partners include Chris and Judy Isbell; their son, Mark, and his wife, Marda; their daughter, Whitney, and her husband, Jeremy Jones; and their nephew, Shane Isbell, and his wife, Lisa.

The Isbells pioneered and use “zero-grade practices” on their farm as a way to conserve water. They also were a member of a small group of farmers who marketed and produced the world’s first carbon credits created through rice production.

Chris has been farming for 50 years and has guided the farm’s shift to Japanese varieties. Of the 3,000 rice acres, approx-

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imately 100 are grown for the production of sake. They also provide specialty varieties to sake companies, boutique brewers and other businesses throughout the United States and the world.

of nature and promoting soil health with crop rotations and cover cropping.

The family has pioneered stewardship practices such as flooding fields rather than burning them to break down rice straw after harvest.

The other two award finalists were Rominger Brothers Farm, a diversified farm and ranch in Yolo County that has made significant habitat improvements, and Sweet Haven Dairy in Fresno County that has pioneered irrigation water management and conservation tillage.

California’s Lundberg Family Farms recognized for conservation efforts

Lundberg Family Farms of Richvale, California, was selected as the recipient of the 2018 California Leopold Conservation Award.

It is presented annually by the Sand County Foundation, Sustainable Conservation and the California Farm Bureau Federation.

Named in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award was created by the Sand County Foundation to recognize exceptional farmers, ranchers and foresters. It is presented in 14 states.

The Butte County family farming operation has a long commitment to sustainable farming methods that produce well-known rice products while improving and protecting the environment for generations to come, according to a news release. Started in 1937, Lundbergs have grown to be a multi-generational organic rice farm and innovative rice products processor.

When Albert and Frances Lundberg moved from Nebraska to California’s fertile Sacramento Valley to grow rice in 1937, they did not forget the short-sighted farming techniques and poor soil management they saw along the way. They impressed upon their four sons the importance of respecting the delicate balance

VICKY BOYD

Isbells named Arkansas Farm Family of the Year

News

(from left) Grower-members are Michael Durand of St. Martinville, Louisiana; Justin Nix of Maurice, Louisiana; Austin Littleton of Parma, Missouri; Austin Davis of Cleveland, Mississippi, and Matthew Morris of Carlisle, Arkansas. Representing the industry is Dr. Bobby Golden of Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center. Not pictured is Dr. Jason Bond, also with MSU DREC.

Rice Leadership Program names 2018 class

VICKY BOYD

COURTESY ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU

Industry

Grant Lundberg, center, accepts the Leopold Conservation Award from Ashley Boren (left), executive director of Sustainable Conservation, and Kevin McAleese, president and CEO of the Sand County Foundation. The presentation was made at the California Farm Bureau’s recent annual meeting in San Diego, California.

Five producers and two industry representatives were selected recently for the 2018 Rice Leadership Development Class.

During the next two years, they will spend four one-week sessions learning about rice production in the different U.S. rice-producing regions, leadership skills and how the federal government in Washington, D.C., operates. In addition, they will visit the Chicago Board of Trade to learn about futures trading and tour the John Deere combine plant in Moline, Illinois. The 2018 class is the 30th to be chosen since the program’s inception.

The program, open to rice producers and affiliated industry members age 2545, is designed to provide participants the tools they need to become future leaders within the industry.

Several graduates now fill various industry leadership roles, including Rice JANUARY 2019

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Foundation Director Dr. Steve Linscombe and USA Rice Chairman Charley Mathews Jr. Application forms will be available this summer at https://www.usarice.com/ foundation/leadership-program.

The program is funded by grants from the John Deere Co., RiceTec and American Commodity Co.

California Rice Commission Environmental Affairs Manager Paul Buttner received the ninth annual Distinguished Conservation Achievement Award for his role in shepherding unique conservation programs and fostering strong partnerships. Among them are the multi-million-dollar Waterbird Habitat Enhancement Program, the BirdReturns Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program in California.

In addition to the Rice Commission, WHEP partners include rice growers, Audubon California, Point Blue Conservation Science and The Nature Conservancy.

Most recently, Buttner has sprearheaded the first year of the Ricelands Salmon Habitat Pilot Project. Partners include the University of California, Davis, and California Trout.

Another recognition went to American Commodity Co. LLC, which won the second annual USA Rice Sustainability Award.

In presenting the honor, Arkansas rice producer and USA Rice Sustainability Commission Chairwoman Jennifer James noted how the Williams, California-based firm has incorporated sustainability into every facet of its operation.

Among ACC’s improvements include installing solar panels to generate electricity, improving water quality and striving for zero waste.

President and CEO Chris Crutchfield, who accepted the honor on behalf of the company, credited the employees for the accomplishments.

“It’s a way of life for us,” he says. “The ability to incorporate sustainability as well as remain profitable has really been what sets our team apart.”

ACC is a full-service handler and marketer of California-grown milled and paddy rice.

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USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward (from left) presents Caroline Benoit the $4,000 scholarship check. Daniel Abruzzini of Corteva Agriscience represented the contest sponsor.

Louisiana high-schooler produces winning rice video

Caroline Benoit, a high school senior from Belle Chasse, Louisiana, walked away with a $4,000 scholarship as winner of the USA Rice’s National Rice Month Scholarship Contest.

The contest, open to high school seniors in the six rice-producing states, involves creating a 3-minute video that promotes some aspect of the U.S. rice industry. The contest is held in September, which is National Rice Month.

In presenting the award, USA Rice President and CEO Betsy Ward says Benoit’s winning video, titled “Louisiana Rice,” was chosen from 86 entries.

Benoit, who attends Louise S. McGehee School in New Orleans, says she will use the money for her college education aimed at the medical field.

Second place and a $3,000 scholarship went to Kristina Kuewa of Torrance, California. There was a tie for third place between Andrew Davis of Red Oak, Texas, and Mariah Grajeda of San Bernardino, California.

The contest is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.

California rice grower wins state YF&R ‘Discussion Meet’

In discussing the future of California agriculture in a world becoming more reliant on new technology, a Yolo County contestant earned top honors in the California Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet held at the 100th CFBF Annual Meeting in San Diego.

VICKY BOYD

Two Californians feted for environmental contributions

Garrett Driver of Knights Landing emerged as the winner after addressing the topic of how the agriculture business can attract the best and brightest minds from science, technology, engineering and mathematics into agricultural careers.

In discussing how agriculture can increase its use of technology to solve challenges, Driver and other contestants suggested reaching out to companies, students and others to help identify STEMbased technological solutions.

“In our county, an Ag Start program is exploring options and opportunities for entrepreneurs or people established in the industry to do something different, whether it be a product or a service,” Driver says.

In discussing what Driver described as “the evolution of technology in agriculture,” the contestants identified areas of agriculture in need of high-tech solutions such as in mechanization or to help with reducing inputs.

Driver, a sixth-generation rice and rowcrop farmer and supply chain manager for Nuseed, will represent California at the American Farm Bureau Federation Open Discussion Meet in January at the AFBF Annual Convention in New Orleans.

Alysha Stehly of San Diego County was first runner-up in the contest. The other finalists were Brie Hunt of San Joaquin County and Tony Lopes of Merced County.

As the winner of the Open Discussion Meet, Driver earned $5,000 courtesy of sponsors Farm Credit, Kubota and K·Coe Isom. The first runner-up received $1,000, and the other two finalists each earned $500.

Garrett Driver, a Northern California grower of rice and other row crops, won the California Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet recently.

He will represent the state at the national Discussion Meet this month.

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