USA Rice Washington Staff Visits the Pelican State

BUNKIE, LAKE CHARLES, CROWLEY, & MER ROUGE, LA – USA Rice Washington staff brought a break in the recent rain here for industry visits and to talk about the crop year ahead.
 
USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann, Chief Operating Officer Sarah Moran, and Vice President of Communications & Domestic Promotion Michael Klein first met with the Central Louisiana Rice Growers Association (CenLaRGA) where President Michael Fruge expressed the frustration and anxiety many Louisiana rice farmers are feeling because of unusually low crawfish harvests in particular.
 
“We don’t know if it’s the drought or the extreme heat we experienced last summer, or something else, but a lot of folks depend on crawfish to make the whole operation pencil out,” he said.
 
Bachmann shared an update on the Farm Bill process, explaining that the election year shortens the timeline to realistically get major legislation across the finish line.  Moran talked about the USA Rice partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote rice overseas and the recently announced $1.3 billion Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) that USA Rice plans to participate in.  Klein shared information about domestic promotion programs including working with food influencers and retail partners.  He also encouraged attendees to subscribe to the USA Rice Daily (where they can read this article), listen to The Rice Stuff podcast, and mark their calendars for the 2024 USA Rice Outlook Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, December 8-10.
 
USA Rice’s man in the bayou, Kane Webb, also joined the group to provide an update on the industry’s Climate Smart Program that will open to applications in the near future.  Kyle Soileau with Ducks Unlimited explained the scoring system being used to evaluate program participation.
 
Before adjourning, CenLaRGA elected new officers with Seth Brown taking the role of president, Logan Lemoine stepping into the vice president’s role, and Chris Lemoine as  secretary/treasurer.

Bachmann, Moran, and Klein met with USA Rice Domestic Promotion Committee Chair Robbie Trahan before heading to Lake Charles to visit the Farmers Rice Mill and Port of Lake Charles where export markets and potential new trade deals dominated the conversation.
 
In Crowley, Bachmann spoke before a group of farmers, exhibitors, and others at the annual meetings of the Louisiana Rice Growers and the Louisiana Rice Council.

“Quite a lot goes into facilitating these annual gatherings,” said Webb.  “Thanks go to Jon Streete and Farmer’s Crop Insurance for hosting the meal at the CenLaRGA meeting, and to all the sponsors who contributed to the success of the LARC/LARGA meeting and trade show.”

USA Rice staff then headed north, stopping in Mer Rouge to meet with USA Rice Millers’ Association Chair Meryl Kennedy Farr to discuss several issues, including rising imports and market trends before crossing the border into Arkansas.  To be continued…