Karsten Neuffer
Aug 16, 2022
HARRISBURG, AR – A good crowd – more than 150 people – and good weather were both present at the RiceTec Arkansas Field Day held here last Thursday evening.
After visiting with vendors and RiceTec representatives, producers from Arkansas and Missouri toured RiceTec trial plots of new and current varieties and technologies.
The tour highlighted two upcoming rice varieties, a hybrid medium grain and a high-yielding long grain variety. There also were updates on the FullPage® and Max-Ace® rice cropping solutions, the seed treatment Squad, and the company’s SmartRice sustainability efforts.
“It was good to be in-person again and able to tour the research plots” said Zach Worrell, a producer from Rives, Missouri. “It makes a difference to see the trials in person and not online, not to mention getting to talk with other producers face-to-face. We’re looking forward to seeing new RiceTec varieties released next year.”
When the program moved inside, Karsten Neuffer, RiceTec’s new Global CEO welcomed attendees to the Harrisburg facility. Although new to the company, Neuffer is no stranger to the world of agriculture or seed production having held leadership positions with Syngenta and Indigo Ag. He started with RiceTec on August 1.
Jarrod Yates, director of public affairs and government relations for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, then spoke about current farming challenges, the upcoming Farm Bill, and the impact the political climate in Washington could have on that process.
“We’re excited to welcome and congratulate Karsten on his new position,” said Josh Hankins, USA Rice director of grower relations and rice stewardship partnership, who attended the event. “It was wonderful to see so many producers and partners in person again and the RiceTec staff did an excellent job organizing this event.”
The evening concluded with the field day trifecta of dinner, door prizes, and goody bags.