Texas rice as far as the eye can see
Jan 20, 2022
EL CAMPO, TX -- Yesterday, rice farmers and industry professionals from across Texas gathered at the Western Rice Belt Production Conference here. Featuring speakers from the Texas Department of Agriculture, Ducks Unlimited, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and several area rice mills and affiliated businesses, the event also included a rice consumers seminar for homemakers, and a catered lunch provided by local agribusiness sponsors.
The day kicked off with the Texas Rice Council’s annual meeting.
Topics ranged from rice variety performance and row rice production to carbon credit economics and conservation, with a focus on opportunities for growers to take advantage of incentive programs and what to expect from the market and federal ag policy in the upcoming year.
Dr. Luis A. Ribera, Texas A&M extension economist and associate professor, emphasized that incentivization is crucial to reducing greenhouse emissions in agriculture.
“The way I see it, we have to eat,” said Ribera. “Everyone has to eat. We can produce all our food at only 9.6 percent of all greenhouse gasses globally. But can it get better? Sure, but there’s going to be a cost, and someone has to pay for it. And that’s the whole concept of carbon markets. There can be a solution, but the market or the government has to incentivize producers to change their most profitable practices.
George Knapek, Texas A&M extension economist and program manager for representative farms, provided attendees a comprehensive farm policy update, including an overview of what the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better plan could mean for the rice industry if that legislation were to pass, as well as an analysis on rising fertilizer prices, input costs, and inflation.
The Western Rice Belt Production Conference was a joint effort between Western Rice Belt planning committee, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the U.S. Rice Producers Association, and USA Rice.