ARLINGTON, VA – Water is arguably one of the most important inputs to rice farmers, and water use is both a hot button environmental issue and a cost issue. Episode 17 of
The Rice Stuff podcast explores the importance of water use efficiency and some of the many tools available to farmers.
Scott Matthews farms 800 acres of rice near Weiner, Arkansas, and is widely recognized as a rice irrigation guru. Scott is an innovator in emerging rice irrigation technologies and is known for treating irrigation like a math problem. Dr. Drew Gholson is a renowned rice irrigation researcher and extension scientist at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center. Drew also serves as the director of the National Center for Alluvial Aquifer Research. These two rice irrigation experts join Steve Linscombe and Lydia Holmes to share their timely insights.
“I think listeners will find the discussion quite informative – from alternate wetting and drying to multi- and side-inlet irrigation and more, our guests open up about what they’ve seen work well and why it is all so important to rice growing,” said show cohost Dr. Linscombe.
Lydia Holmes, director of sustainability for USA Rice and a show cohost, shared a key takeaway from the episode.
“As we’ve discussed many times on the podcast, even the slightest change to an operation can have a big impact – not only to your bottom line but to the sustainability achievements of the industry, and as Dr. Gholson says, adding something as simple as a flow meter could make a world of difference.”
New episodes of
The Rice Stuff are published on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. All episodes and additional information can be found on the podcast’s dedicated website at
thericestuffpodcast.com. The site includes a “Podcast 101” section on the “About” page for people new to the medium and a means to reach out to the show hosts and guests via the “Talk to Us” button.