ARLINGTON, VA – On
Episode 72 of
The Rice Stuff podcast, co-host Lesley Dixon gives a recap of the 2nd Annual Discovery Farm Showcase, which she attended recently in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Hosted jointly by Anheuser-Busch and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, the showcase gathered local rice farmers, leading ag researchers, and industry partners as well as their families for a day of music, food, and fun. The party kicked off with presentations from extension specialists on the latest cutting-edge science in soil fertility, weed control, water management, and sustainability. The festivities continued with a live band, local food trucks serving Arkansas rice, cornhole games, and even photo-ops with a real Budweiser Clydesdale horse. The event celebrated the integral partnership between the University, Anheuser-Busch, and the rice farmers who contribute so much to their products.
Dixon sat down with Trent Roberts, a soil fertility extension specialist with the University of Arkansas; Eric Vaught, a rice farmer in Hickory Ridge, Arkansas; and Bill Jones, the rice agronomy manager at Anheuser-Busch, to discuss the collaborative relationship between farmers, researchers, and industry end-users.
“With the rice industry being so niche and unique, it requires folks both private and public to come together to understand the best practices, and the best marketing strategies, to ensure the success of northeast Arkansas rice,” said Jones. “We feel it is our role to connect those practices to the farmers and ensure that we are building resilience on the rice farm, so as climate and the financial environment is ever changing, we can ensure that the farmers who have supported us since 1976 will be here long into the future.”
“I think this event is going to get bigger and bigger over time,” said Vaught. “A-B is the largest single end-user of U.S.-grown rice, with the majority of that coming from Arkansas, so a successful Anheuser-Busch is good for the rice industry.”
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.