Jimmy Hoppe (in blue shirt) amid a crowd of 4-H students
Apr 07, 2023
JENNINGS, LA – This week, the Louisiana State University Ag Center in Jeff Davis Parish hosted their annual 4-H Achievement Awards Day to honor ag students for their work over the past year.
As part of the day-long event, 4-H’ers participated in Quiz Bowl competitions and received recognition for their accomplishments, but they also had the opportunity to learn about a variety of topics by visiting booths stationed throughout the Jennings Fair Grounds and getting their “passport” stamped as proof of participation.
Activities ranged from an education session with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries to a hands-on demonstration by the Jennings Fire Department on how to operate a fire extinguisher.
USA Rice and the Jeff Davis Rice Growers Association sponsored a booth to remind everyone to “Think Rice!” Local rice experts, Kevin Berken, Eddie Eskew, and Jimmy Hoppe explained the importance of rice to the local economy, the second largest rice growing region in the number two rice growing state, and answered questions on the basics of rice production, telling the rice story from the field to the table.
“Even though we live in an area with rice farms all around, there are still a lot of questions about how it’s grown and milled, and everything in between,” said Hoppe, a rice farmer from Iowa, Louisiana, who was inducted into the Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction in 2015. “You encounter some kids whose families are involved in rice farming, but you also get to enlighten many who don’t know the basics of our industry. The personal interaction helps them retain that knowledge and gives them a better understanding of how important rice is, not just to our parish but to the global community as we work to feed the world.”