Dr. Steve Linscombe (left) presents Dr. Russell Ford with the Outstanding Scientist Award
Jun 12, 2024
NEW ORLEANS, LA – More than 250 people from more than 25 countries across six continents attended the 2024 International Temperate Rice Conference (ITRC) held here last week. USA Rice and the Louisiana State University AgCenter co-hosted the four-day event, and USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann was on hand to welcome attendees.
“Research within the industry over the last half of a century has led to monumental breakthroughs and growth in yields and production efficiency, and when you combine this impressive group of professionals from all corners of the globe with modern technology and turn them loose, our opportunities for advancement of the world’s rice industry are limitless,” said Bachmann. “While many of our countries compete across the world for export markets, we also share many common challenges and recognize the need to come together collectively to help address the climate-related target on rice’s back.”
Dr. Susan McCouch gave the keynote address. Dr. McCouch is world-renowned for her breakthrough research in rice genomics, and is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics Emerita in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University.
The agenda was packed with symposia on weed science advances and new tools in rice breeding. During the two days of scientific updates there were more than 100 oral presentations and more than 60 poster presentations covering research areas such as breeding and genomics, economics, post-harvest, weed science, pathology, entomology, and culture and soil science.
On Saturday, charter buses loaded with participants traveled to the Crowley area for a boots on the ground learning experience at two operations dedicated to Louisiana rice and crawfish production and research: GF&P Zaunbrecher Farms near Rayne, and Thibodeaux Ag Group in Midland.
The H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station also hosted the group for research updates from Drs. Kurt Guidry, Felipe Dalla Lana, Adam Famoso, Manoch Kongchum, and Ronnie Levy.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation of the ITRC 2024 Outstanding Scientist Award to Russell Ford from Jerilderie, New South Wales, Australia. Ford was honored for his lifelong dedication to improving rice production and research in that country.
“The ITRC is organized every three or four years in rice-producing locations such as California, Italy, Brazil, Uruguay, Thailand, and Australia,” said USA Rice’s Dr. Steve Linscombe who has been to every ITRC over the past 30 years. “I heard nothing but positive feedback on every aspect of year’s conference including the hospitality of New Orleans’ historic French Quarter. Planning the event took tremendous effort by the staff at USA Rice and the LSU AgCenter, and I would like to thank everyone involved for their contributions.”
The next ITRC is scheduled for the spring of 2027 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.