Rice research delivers
Sep 02, 2022
GLENNONVILLE & PORTAGEVILLE, MO – Last week wrapped up the 2022 Missouri rice field days. Producers met at the Missouri Rice Research Farm in Glennonville on Tuesday for the annual Missouri Rice Research and Merchandising Council field day.
David Martin, chair of the Council Board of Directors, welcomed approximately 150 attendees to the first in-person field day since 2019.
“We had excellent speakers lined up for the event and were very pleased with the great attendance,” said Martin. “With the wet spring everyone had, it was very beneficial to hear how other producers’ crops are progressing as well as visit with other industry representatives.”
The morning’s tour stops included presentations on irrigation, insecticide seed treatments, rice agronomy, and row spacing in furrow-irrigated rice. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed lunch and presentations by State Senator Jason Bean and Missouri Farm Bureau Director of Marketing and Commodities David Althoff.
Approximately 300 people gathered in Portageville on Friday for the Fisher Delta Research, Extension and Education Center annual Field Day tours and lunch. This year’s event was dedicated to Missouri’s U.S. Senator Roy Blunt who is retiring this year. The morning included presentations by Governor Mike Parson, Congressman Jason Smith, University of Missouri Systems President and Chancellor Mun Choi, and many other elected officials.
Attendees then moved outside to join one of the four available field tours: Rice Agronomy and Insect Management, Soybean Breeding and Genetics, Cropping Systems and ESA Updates, and Weed Control in Cotton and Fungi Research. The event concluded with attendees and exhibitors networking over lunch. Attendees included producers, consultants, personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, industry representatives, elected officials, and local FFA students.
“This is a popular event and always draws a large crowd,” said Rance Daniels, a rice producer from Hornersville, Missouri. “It’s especially great to see the local ag teachers and their students taking the time to learn more about agriculture in the Missouri Bootheel. I hope to see them here again in the future as members of our great industry.”