PORTAGEVILLE, MO - USA Rice sponsored and exhibited at the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Center Field Day on Friday. More than 500 people, including producers, agribusiness representatives, and local, state and national elected officials, as well as many new candidates for office attended an appreciation breakfast before going on field tours.
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) were keynote speakers. Each emphasized the importance of agriculture research with the global population growth that is projected as well as highlighting the Environmental Protection Agency overreach that is harming American farmers.
The field tours began late in the morning with the sun shining and perfect temperatures in the low 70’s, which made absorbing the valuable information presented that much easier. The rice tour discussed Bootheel productivity of a number of different cultivars from each rice-producing state, the use of coal burning power plant’s byproduct of gypsum as a sulfur source for field applications, and discussed evaluations of new technology available for farm management.
One, a phone app called Crop Water Use from the University of Missouri, is designed to help schedule irrigation and predict rice growth stages. Another phone app discussed is from Oklahoma State University and called Canopeo. It analyzes photographs of your rice crop taken with your cell phone to create a threshold that could help make midseason N decisions.
Both are excellent examples of technology helping farmers grow the food we need and love.