JENNINGS, LA -- Rice industry stakeholders will receive the latest information on opportunities and challenges in major markets at several meetings scheduled next week throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
The Mississippi Rice Council Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, January 26, at the Bolivar County Extension Office at 406 North Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr, Cleveland, MS 38732. USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward and Michael Klein, USA Rice vice president of marketing and communications, will report on what the change in the U.S. administration will mean for rice and provide updates on the domestic and international rice promotion activities. For more information, contact
Chuck Wilson or call (870) 509-1200.
The Arkansas Rice Council and Arkansas Rice Farmers will hold their annual meeting and trade show Friday, January 27, at the Grand Prairie Center in Stuttgart. U.S. Congressman Rick Crawford, Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward, and USA Rice’s Ward will all be in attendance for the event, which will focus on providing growers with tools and resources that could positively affect their bottom line. For more information and to register for the event visit
www.arkansasrice.org/annualmeeting or call (501) 375-1100.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards will be the featured speaker at the annual joint membership meeting of the Louisiana Rice Council and the Louisiana Rice Growers Association on Tuesday, February 7. The event will be held at the Grand Marais Center, 919 North Lake Arthur Avenue, Jennings, LA 70546. A reception hosted by the Louisiana Rice Political Action Committee and a trade show will begin at 4 p.m. with program presentations, including a report from USA Rice, starting at 5:45 p.m. Dinner will be served. For more information, contact
Randy Jemison or on his cell at (337) 515-7250.
On Wednesday, February 8, The Northeast Louisiana Rice Growers Association will hold their annual rice forum at 9:00 a.m. at the Rayville Civic Center, Rayville, LA. In addition to receiving the latest rice production recommendations from LSU AgCenter scientists, USA Rice staff repeat the reports presented in Jennings the day before. The forum will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. and end with lunch. For more information contact
Keith Collins or by phone at (318) 728-3216.
A Southeast Arkansas regional rice meeting will be held at 4 p.m. following the northeast Louisiana Meeting on February 8, at the Delta Men’s Association Building, Highway 65 (north of Eudora), Eudora, AR 71640. USA Rice staff will repeat reports given in Rayville earlier that day and the meeting will conclude with dinner. For more information, contact
Justin Towery or by phone at (870) 510-0208.