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UC names Rice Yield Contest top yielders
Three California rice producers have been named top yielders in their respective production regions in the 2020 University of California Rice Yield Contest.
Their names will now be put in a drawing for a chance to win a John Deere Gator, said Bruce Linquist, UC Cooperative Extension rice specialist. The recipient will be named during the UC Cooperative Extension winter rice grower meetings in early 2021.
Each regional top yielder also will receive a coveted California Rice Yield Contest winner’s cap. Region 1 (NW): Gary Enos, 111.4 hundredweight (248 bushels per acre) with M-209 medium grain. Region 2 (NE): Eric Sligar, 127.9 cwt (285 bushels) with M-211 medium grain. Region 3 (S): Greg Driver, 123.5 cwt (275 bushels) with M-209.
Compare those yields to what Linquist expects as a state average for 2020: 85 cwt per acre from about 513,000 acres.
The information derived from the short questionnaire entrants complete sheds light on seeding rates, planting dates, fertility, weed programs and rotations that help maximize yield potential.
“We learn a lot from these yield contests,” Linquist said during a recent online California Rice Outlook presentation. “They are very useful for helping us with our programs on how to get the high yields that we all like to see.”
The state is divided into three production regions to minimize environmental variations that could affect yield. Region 1: West of Sacramento River and north of Highway 20. Region 2: East of Sacramento River and north of Highway 20. Region 3: South of Highway 20.
This year, the Gator was sponsored by BASF, Corteva, FMC, Syngenta, UPL, Valent U.S.A., Valley Truck & Tractor and Wilbur Ellis.
UArk’s Rick Cartwright among 6 inducted into Arkansas Ag Hall of Fame
The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame plans to induct six individuals in 2021 due to their leadership and service to the state’s largest business sector.
The newest class represents agriculture education, the seed industry, agri-business, row-crop production, agricultural/political advocacy, timber management, plus agricultural research and outreach.
The newest inductees are:
Retired Cooperative Extension Service director Rick Cartwright of Fayetteville. Prior to becoming Extension director, Cartwright was a plant pathologist focusing on rice diseases. Long-time ag educator Joe Don Greenwood of Hermitage. The late Russell Roy Reynolds, director Rick of the U.S. Forest Service Crossett Experimen- Cartwright tal Forest for 34 years. Former Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach of Manila. Mark Waldrip of Moro, founder of Armor Seed Co. Andrew Wargo III of Watson, farm manager for the 15,000acre Baxter Land Co. for more than 50 years.
Induction ceremonies for Class XXXIV have not been set. The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame board of directors has decided to forego the traditional timeframe of early March and is working to secure a date for mid-summer.
The new selections will bring to 176 the number of honorees in the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, begun in 1987.
Valent launches new seed treatment
Valent U.S.A. has launched the Zeltera Rice System seed treatment package for the 2021 season.
The system builds on the company’s existing NipsIt Suite with the addition of the Indiflin fungicide, the brand name for the active ingredient, inpyrfluxam.
An SDHI, it helps control Rhizoctonia solani, said Valent field market development specialist Mallory Everett. That pathogen is responsible for damping off, seedling blight and seed decay.
“We’re really excited about it because the Indiflin is from a different FRAC group – it’s an SDHI,” Everett said. “With strobilurin-resistant Rhizoctonia in Louisiana, this works really well because it’s a different mode of action.”
SDHIs belong to the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee’s Group 7 whereas strobilurins belong to Group 11.
In addition, the Zeltera system includes clothianidin insecticide, and metalalaxyl and metconazole fungicides – which are all part of NipsIt Suite. The Zeltera system, however, contains a higher rate of metalaxyl than NipsIt Suite.
The Zeltera system will be available through retailers, who will apply the treatment upon request to rice seed.
USDA-ARS researcher receives 2020 Rice Sustainability Award
Dr. Michele Reba, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, is the 2020 recipient of the USA Rice Sustainability Award. She was chosen for her leadership and innovative research around sustainable rice production.
Her specialties in civil engineering and hydrology make her unique in the rice research world. But what truly sets Reba apart is her ability to bring together university professors, ARS researchers, crop consultants and farmers to work on some of the most difficult research questions around water use in rice.
Her research, nearly all of which is conducted on farm in collaboration with producers, includes irrigation conservation, irri-
gation automation, rice straw management, edge-of-field monitoring of water quality and greenhouse gas emissions, and artificial recharge of the alluvial aquifer.
Reba leads the Delta Water Management Research Unit located on campus at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The unit’s mission is to conduct research related to agricultural water resources management at the plot, field, farm and watershed scales to further the knowledge base, evaluate technological solutions and inform crop production practices.
LSU AgCenter announces leadership changes
Dustin Harrell became the resident coordinator of the Louisiana State University AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station Feb. 1, replacing Don Groth, who retired at the end of January. Mike Salassi, AgCenter program leader for plant and animal sciences, made the announcement during a recent Louisiana Rice Research Board meeting. Harrell will continue his agronomy research, Dr. Ronnie Levy but he will no longer be the rice Extension specialist. Salassi announced that job will be taken over by Ronnie Levy, currently the Louisiana Master Farmer Program coordinator and previously the soybean Extension specialist.
Salassi also said the Master Farmer coordinator position will be filled by Donna Gentry, who has worked with the program since it began.
Harrell has worked at the Rice Research Station since 2006 as a research agronomist. He became the rice specialist in 2015 when Johnny Saichuk retired.
Harrell has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture science from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in soil science from Stephen F. Austin State University and a doctorate in agronomy from LSU.
Groth started working at the station in 1983 as a plant pathologist. He replaced Steve Linscombe, who retired in 2017, as resident coordinator.
Terry Siebenmorgen leaves global legacy in rice industry innovation
Terry Siebenmorgen was known around the globe for his work in rice processing. But closer to home, he was treasured by co-workers and friends alike for his optimism, unflinching support and kindness. Siebenmorgen passed away in early December
Terry Siebenmorgen accepts induction into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2019.
MARY HIGHTOWER, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS following a battle with cancer. He was 63. He is survived by his wife, Patty, sons Justin and Ryan, and preceded in death by his son, Matthew.
A native of Scranton in Logan County, Arkansas, Siebenmorgen earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas, his master’s degree from Purdue and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska, all in agricultural engineering. He began his faculty career with the University of Arkansas System in 1984 as a food engineer, working in several areas of food processing.
Starting in the late 1980s, Siebenmorgen focused on rice processing and in 1994 founded the world-renowned Rice Processing Program. It was an industry-interactive, multidisciplinary effort focusing on rice processing operations and with sponsors from across the United States, South America, Europe and Japan.
In 2019, Siebenmorgen was inducted into Class XXXII of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame. He was also inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in 2005 and the American Association of Cereal Chemists International in 2014.
Siebenmorgen earned several industry awards, including Riceland Foods’ Friend of the Farmer in 2012 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Rice Technical Working Group in 2016 and 2018. He also received the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Distinguished Food Engineer Award in 2007.
Before the panel of judges watched the first video in this year’s National Rice Month Scholarship Video Contest, the 2020 entries made an impression just by their sheer number — a record-breaking 107. “Since 2016, when the contest went solely to video and opened up to all high school seniors from one of the six major rice-producing states, the most entries received was 86,” said Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of communications, marketing and domestic promotion. “With most schools going to virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were concerned online video burnout could put a damper on entries. We even wondered whether a lot of kids would be deferring college due to COVID and take a year off from applying for scholarships.”
Obviously, that was not the case. With a new sponsor, American Commodity Co., and an increase in scholarship prize money, the entries came pouring in.
The grand prize winner was Molly Ellis from McKinney Boyd High School in McKinney, Texas, for her documentary-style video about the role rice played in the development of Katy, Texas. She received a $5,000 scholarship.
The $3,000 second prize went to Simon Portillo Perez from Lawndale, California, and the third prize award of $2,000 went to another Texas student, Aniya Misher Allison from El Paso.
USA Rice also awarded three $500 honorable mention prizes to Kayllen Barnette from Gridley, California; Jordan Mackie from Austin, Texas; and Anna Overton from Pantego, Texas.
View the six winning videos at https://www.reelricecontest. com/winners/.
