End of year round up at Producers Rice Mill and Riceland Foods
Nov 15, 2024
STUTTGART, AR – In the last week, both Producers Rice Mill and Riceland Foods held annual meetings here to share with their members results of the 2023-24 year along with plans for the future.
More than 250 members attended the 81st Annual Membership Meeting of Producers Rice Mill on November 7 where President & CEO Keith Glover reported that for the first time in several years, the economics in early 2023 favored growing rice compared to alternative crops. As a result, rice acres in the mid-south increased 31 percent in 2023, with overall receipts up 28 percent from the previous crop year. The 2024 rice harvest was one of the earliest and quickest in the cooperative’s history which made for long truck lines at all of Producers’ facilities.
In the business session following the annual meeting, Jay Coker, Brooks Davis, Stephen Hoskyn, Steve Orlicek, and Sloan Hampton were elected to serve three-year terms on the board of directors. Jay Coker was reelected as chair of the board of directors, and Gary Wilks was reelected as vice president & vice chair of the board. Other officers elected were Keith Glover, president & general manager; Kent Lockwood, treasurer; and Lana Roth, secretary.
At their Annual Membership Meeting here yesterday, Riceland Foods CEO Kevin McGilton shared the current state and business outlook for his organization that earned more than $1.3 billion in revenue in 2023-24, with a distribution to members of $918 million.
Presentations highlighted the Riceland Foods Foundation, the cooperative’s government affairs work, and the Riceland Carbon Ready Program as three key areas of impact that support the cooperative’s mission of helping farmers feed the world sustainably. The agenda also included industry-led breakout sessions as well as an awards ceremony where Arva Intelligence was recognized as the 2024 Riceland Friend of the Farmer for their partnership on the Carbon Ready Program and other aspects of Riceland’s sustainability efforts.
Next week, the only other farmer-owned rice cooperative, Farmers’ Rice Cooperative in Sacramento, California, will hold their annual meeting and will be celebrating their 80th anniversary.