Arkansas Rice Federation Chair Dow Brantley
Feb 02, 2024
JONESBORO, AR – More than 200 rice growers and industry representatives gathered here yesterday for a joint meeting of the Arkansas Rice Federation and Arkansas Rice Council as planning for the 2024 season is underway and the Farm Bill remains unfinished.
Arkansas Rice Federation Chair Dow Brantley welcomed the group and thanked the many sponsors and speakers before introducing USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann. Bachmann told the crowd he was optimistic for the coming year because of the many opportunities he sees for rice with price competitiveness, continued trade promotion opportunities, and our support from within Congress, including a Speaker of the House from a rice-growing district.
Bachmann moderated a federal legislative panel that featured Fitz Elder, staff director of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee; Murray Miller, legislative director for Congressman Bruce Westerman; and David Manns, district director for Congressman Rick Crawford.
Elder stressed that Senator Boozman, the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is committed to, and believes he can broker a deal that will serve the farming community while promoting trade, ag research, and rural communities.
All the panelists agreed that strengthening the farm safety net was a must, but Miller explained the practical difficulties of moving farm bill legislation through the House with such a slim Republican majority, major appropriations bills needing to move first, and the legislative calendar being condensed because of the 2024 election looming.
Riceland Foods President & CEO Kevin McGilton moderated a panel on state legislative issues with several state senators, one representative, and Arkansas Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Cynthia Edwards that covered a variety of topics, including needed infrastructure projects, burn requirements, and more.
Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board Chair Jim Whitaker started off his panel, “The Importance of the Arkansas Rice Checkoff,” with a detailed accounting of the program and the return on investment Arkansas rice farmers receive.
“Farmers have paid in roughly $58 million over the past twenty years, and in just the last few years we’ve directly received more than $200 million through grants and production assistance programs to say nothing of the industry-leading research the university provides us on agronomic issues,” he said. “If you think you aren’t receiving value, you aren’t paying attention.”
Whitaker then turned to panelists Dr. Deacue Fields, vice president of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; Sarah Moran, chief operating officer of USA Rice; and Michael Klein, vice president of domestic promotion for USA Rice, to weigh in as well.
Fields talked about the many ways rice researchers at the University are sharing their knowledge and work with the rice community, including Dr. Jarrod Hardke’s weekly updates and many rice-related podcast segments.
Moran and Klein shared examples of USA Rice promotion programs, both international and domestic, and talked about other important projects, including the annual Rice Quality Symposium that is a part of the USA Rice Outlook Conference and the Rice Leadership Development Program.
The morning program concluded with Dr. Hardke leading a panel discussion on rice varieties with Keith Glover, president & CEO of Producers Rice Mill; Dr. Brian Ottis, marketing director at RiceTec; and Dr. Tim Walker, CEO of Horizon Ag. During their discussion of quality/variety issues and how these issues are impacting current and future markets, they all expressed strong agreement in their united desire to have more rice acres.
The meeting then broke for lunch that included brief presentations on the USDA Climate Smart program from USA Rice Director of Grower Relations Josh Hankins and Riceland Foods Director of Sustainability Adam Shea; as well as appeals for participation in additional programs from Michael Klamm, deputy regional director for the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and Chris Colclasure, director of the Natural Resources Division for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the entity administering the Arkansas portion of an $80 million climate smart grant called Alliance for Advancing Climate Smart Ag (formerly RIPE).
Dr. Tim Burchum, director of the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center, then provided an update on the project that is scheduled to open at the end of July and host its first field day on August 8. In the past, Burcham has had to rely on architectural renderings, but at this meeting, he showed renderings that then morphed into photographs of the actual spot in real life. Although still under construction, the actual progress and scale were impressive to see.
After Brantley conducted some brief Arkansas Rice Council business and announced the election results for the 10 rice districts, Arkansas Rice Executive Director Kelly Robbins recognized Tisha Gribble who has worked tirelessly marketing the Arkansas Rice Federation for 10 years and will continue to do so. Finally, Robbins, who had opened the program that morning, closed it, expressing his heartfelt thanks to all the speakers and attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors.