Rice Leadership Class Investigates Southern Rice Industry

STUTTGART, AR, April 13, 2006 — The 2006 Rice Leadership Development Program class members began their first session March 26 with a weeklong, firsthand look at rice production and marketing programs in the Gulf Coast.

Rice producer members Jeremy Baltz of Arkansas, Henry Kalfsbeek of California, Bubba Simmons of Mississippi, Buck Leonards and Ross Hebert of Louisiana and industry-related members Dr. Andy Kendig of Missouri and Brian King of Arkansas received an overview of several aspects of the rice industry with three days in Texas and two days in Louisiana.

The session began in Houston, where the class of seven attended a personal development workshop to learn two-way communication skills, positive assertiveness skills and personal communication styles. Riviana Foods Inc. hosted a tour of its instant rice plant later in the day and explained consumer and industrial marketing techniques.

The USA Rice Federation gave an overview of the rice industry, updates on its domestic and international promotion efforts, and summarized its organizational structure.

While in Houston, the class visited the largest domestic user of rice — Anheuser Busch, which purchases more than nine percent of domestically produced rice. Alumnus Michael Creed from Creed Rice, Inc. explained the role of international brokers and the various ways to ship rice internationally. The class also received an update on US Rice Producers Association activities.

In El Campo, TX, Linda Raun with Lowell Farms talked about organic rice marketing; from Rice Belt Warehouse, Inc. — the state’s largest rice storage facility — Dick Ottis and Jay Davis with Coastal Rice and Futures gave a description of their use of sales offices in south Texas.

During the class’s last day in Texas, RiceTec, Inc., Alvin, TX, gave details on the latest hybrid and specialty rice variety research. In Danbury, TX, producer-alumnus Traci Garrett Harvey explained her seed rice operation. Leadership class alumnus Mike Doguet used his rice mill, sod farm, cattle operation and crawfish farm to demonstrate the importance of diversification.

In Lake Charles, LA, Farmers Rice Milling Company explained Louisiana rice marketing. The class also toured the Agrilectric Power Plant, which burns rice hulls to power the rice mill and sells the surplus electricity. Wayne Zaunbrecher and alumni Christian Richard, Dane Hebert, and Jeff Durand sponsored a crawfish boil for the class. Howard Cormier, Dr. Jason Bond and Johnny Saichuk discussed salt intrusion problems producers are facing as a result of last year’s hurricanes.

The class viewed water leveling before taking a tour of the Louisiana State University Rice Research Station in Crowley, LA where alumnus Dr. Steve Linscombe summarized the latest rice research.

For the final day, the class visited Russell Marine Group, Metairie, LA. The Group explained its laboratory testing services and gave a tour of the mid-stream loading facility on the Mississippi River, where rice barges are off-loaded for international shipment.

John Deere Co. and Syngenta Crop Protection Inc. sponsor the Rice Leadership Development Program through a grant to The Rice Foundation, and the USA Rice Federation administers it.

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See: http://www.usariceimagelibrary.com/details.php?gid=65&sgid=&pid=75 for a high-resolution photo and caption from the event.

CONTACT: Chuck Wilson, (870) 673-7541, cwilson@usarice.com

USA Rice Federation is the national advocate for all segments of the rice industry, conducting activities to influence government programs, developing and initiating programs to increase worldwide demand for U.S. rice, and providing other services to increase profitability for all industry segments.