Dec 09, 2022
AUSTIN, TX – The suggestion to “go with what you know” when challenged with adversity held true for programming at this year’s 2022 USA Rice Outlook Conference.
“Both speakers at Thursday’s General Session were fan favorites we’d booked at smaller USA Rice gatherings earlier in the year,” said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. “We thought their powerful messages were worth sharing with a larger audience so we invited them to Outlook.”
First up was Dr. Seth Meyers, chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who delivered the agency’s characteristic unbiased information and data-driven analysis with enthusiasm. The upbeat vibe continued with Steve Lerch’s presentation on connecting with customers. The strategic marketing consultant showed funny videos and examples of off-beat social media campaigns to demonstrate new opportunities to connect, convince, and sell to more technologically advanced, digitally dependent consumers. Lerch encouraged everyone, from global rice brands to family farmers, to embrace new communications tools and find ways to care about the things your customers care about.
“At Thursday’s annual Awards Luncheon we celebrated the accomplishments of rice industry leaders, and welcomed the members of the new rice leadership development class,” said Ward. “Stay tuned to the USA Rice Daily in the coming days for more information about these outstanding individuals.”
Also on Thursday’s schedule was the third U.S. Rice Quality Symposium. More than a dozen buyers from Latin America joined seven public and private rice breeding institutions and a crowd of USA Rice members to evaluate and taste test 21 varieties developed especially for the Latin American market.
Today’s programming featured Barb Dartt, with The Family Business Consulting Group, who offered insight and practical applications on how to build the relationships and structure to enjoy both the family dinner table and the family meeting room. Prior to the conference, Dartt met with several USA Rice members and shared their “real world” examples of keeping family dynamics positive.
Conference closer Outlook mainstay Jim Wiesemeyer, Profarmer’s resident farm policy expert, unpacked the 2022 elections and the implications for agriculture going forward.
The two general sessions bookended more than 10 hours of educational programming on diverse topics from gene editing technology to renewable energy, consumer consumption trends, organic rice production, and the future of ag banking, to name a few.
A panel of USDA Climate-Smart grant recipients reviewed their plans to implement proposals to improve air, water, and soil quality and make a substantial impact on the environment in the future. And, research universities in all six major rice producing states, as well as Florida, provided their state outlook and research reports.
“We based our agenda around ‘tried and true’ topics and speakers, and they really delivered over the past two days,” said Ward. “Standing in the middle of the Exhibit Hall, you could survey the Corteva Agriscience Stage on one side and The Rice Foundation Innovation Stage on the other, and hear the buzz of our members exchanging information and ideas they’ll use to prepare for what’s new in 2023.”