Outgoing USA Rice Chair Kirk Satterfield (left) passes the gavel to his successor Keith Glover
Jul 15, 2024
IRVING, TX – In the wake of Hurricane Beryl, more than 100 USA Rice volunteer leaders gathered here last week for annual membership meetings, budget and policy discussions, and program reviews. During the two packed days, ten committees, seven boards of directors, one working group, and all six major rice producing state delegations met to set the industry’s course ahead.
As expected, the stalled Farm Bill was a recurring topic of discussion, including the House version that addresses most of the concerns of the rice industry and the Senate’s dueling framework that has no imminent path to fruition, leaving the farm safety net in limbo after September 30, when the 2018 Farm Bill extension is scheduled to expire.
The U.S. industry efforts to address grain quality were also covered in multiple meetings, as were trade obstacles, including India’s continued over subsidization of their domestic rice industry.
“We heard reports from breeders, researchers, and international customers on grain quality,” said David Petter, an Arkansas rice farmer and co-chair of the USA Rice Marketability & Competitiveness Committee. “We are taking concrete steps, from the upcoming grain workshop in Louisiana later this month to the 5th Annual USA Rice Quality Symposium at the Outlook Conference this December in Little Rock. We will meet our international customers’ specifications.”
The USA Rice Political Action Committee (PAC) raised nearly $24,000 during the meetings, and PAC Board Chair and California rice farmer Sean Doherty stepped down after more than a decade at the helm during which time the USA Rice PAC increased by 77 percent. Mississippi rice farmer and outgoing USA Rice Chair Kirk Satterfield, who has served as the PAC’s vice chair, was elected to replace Doherty.
The USA Rice Board of Directors elected Arkansas rice miller Keith Glover, president & CEO of Producers’ Rice Mill, to be chair beginning August 1, succeeding Satterfield.
The USA Rice Merchants’ Association Board of Directors re-elected Arkansas merchant Park Eldridge to another two-year term, while two other Boards made changes as some terms come to an end on July 31, 2024.
Additionally, USA Rice Millers’ Association chair Meryl Kennedy Farr turned her gavel over to Rick Rhody of Farmers’ Rice Cooperative of California. Kennedy Farr and Satterfield will be heard together on an upcoming episode of The Rice Stuff podcast discussing their terms and the future of the industry.