MICHAEL FRUGE RICE FARMING In any career field, the talent search is always on. In sports that’s especially true. The Canadian hockey icon Wayne Gretzky was first noticed by north of the border media, when he scored 378 goals during the...

Dr. Jarrod T. Hardke ARKANSAS Skimp Wisely It seems as though we’re in a perpetual cycle of guessing how far we can reduce our inputs. Fertility is always in the mix of this conversation, and we all know it can be a...

Level The Playing Field For U.S. Rice Producers MOLLY BUCKLER KATY, TEXAS U.S. rice farmers are among the most efficient and responsible agricultural producers in the world. Yet efficiency alone cannot overcome a global market distorted by government intervention. Without stronger trade...

Dr. Manoch Kongchum of Thailand was named the 2026 Rice Researcher of the Year, and Mark Pousson of Welsh, Louisiana was named the Rice Farmer of the year at the 29th Annual National Conservation Systems Cotton & Rice Conference,...

CAMERON JACOBS ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA When USA Rice launched its national jasmine rice advertising campaign last September, the goal was straightforward: put U.S.-grown jasmine in front of American consumers and remind them that high-quality, aromatic rice is grown right here at home....

Vidalina Abadam, coordinator Andrew Sowell, Seth Wechsler, and Jennifer Bond, contributors U.S. All-Rice Export Forecast Is Trimmed The U.S. all-rice export projection for 2025/26 is lowered 2 million hundredweight (cwt) to 87 million this month, as a lower forecast for...

DENNIS B. EGLI LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY Recently I came across the statement that feeding the world’s population in 2050 would require 50 to 100% increases in yield. I have seen these figures before and wondered if they are valid. Afterall, 2050 is...

MATT SALANIK BRIGHTON AGENCY Markets Are Asking for More Specific Performance Walker noted that mills and export customers are becoming more precise in their requests. Rather than accepting broad categories of rice, buyers are increasingly focused on varieties with known performance characteristics. “Customers...

TODD MILLER  BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA Growing up in Rapides Parish as the son of a U.S. Air Force recruiter, LSU AgCenter entomologist Tyler Musgrove may not have been destined to become the state’s latest rice specialist, but an agriculturally rich upbringing certainly didn’t...

GABE SALDANA COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS Two new Texas A&M AgriLife Research projects are advancing rice breeding strategies to improve productivity for growers while creating new opportunities in health-focused markets. Led by Shyamal Talukder, Ph.D., AgriLife Research rice breeder, geneticist and assistant professor in the Texas A&M...

Dr. Bruce Linquist CALIFORNIA I often get questions asking how varietal choice can impact nitrogen (N) management. To begin answering this question, we conducted a trial at two locations in California that examined nine varieties at six N rates ranging from...

Dr. Will Eubank MISSISSIPPI Fertility Management Timing is everything when it comes to rice production, and in 2025, our timing for agronomic decisions was impacted. Persistent rains impacted many of our pre-flood nitrogen applications and the consequences showed up as combines entered...

RICHARD E. HICKS OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI Hello, as I take pen in hand I am staring out the window of my wife's camper, my son-in-law and I are in north Georgia fly fishing. Notice I did not say catching. Fishing is...

MOLLY BUCKLER / KATY, TEXAS With an estimated 15–20 percent reduction in long-grain acres this season, rice producers are facing a challenging and uncertain landscape. From shifting markets to rising input costs, the pressure to adapt and find new opportunities...

DR. ALVARO DURAND-MORAT / FAYETTVILLE, ARKANSAS As the 2025/26 rice season approaches, it is important to assess market fundamentals to anticipate challenges and position the U.S. long-grain rice sector for the year ahead. Globally, the rice market remains supply-dominated, a trend...