ABBEVILLE, LA – November is a busy time for everyone in the rice industry, and with USA Rice staff scattered across the country serving rice-growing areas (and even traveling around the world), it’s not often that the whole team is able to get together in one place. But earlier this month, the staff found time to meet up in southwest Louisiana for good food, good company, and a bit of adventure.
Rice and crawfish farmers Allen and Erin McLain, who manage the
L’Terre property here, opened their doors and treated the USA Rice team to their famous Louisiana hospitality. The historic six thousand-acre property boasts several thousand acres of rice that has been farmed by the family for more than 100 years, surrounded by tidal wetlands and sprawling live oaks draped in Spanish moss. After navigating miles of wet roads at high tide the staff were treated to a delicious homemade meal (unsurprising, as the McClains also run a catering business).
As USA Rice has gained new employees over the last few years, not all of the Arlington, Virginia-based staff have had the chance to see rice country or step foot on a rice farm themselves. So the busy retreat included tours of Falcon Rice Mill and Supreme Rice Mill, where staff witnessed the combination of hands-on work and cutting-edge technology it takes to clean, dry, mill, and package rice. Staff also had the pleasure of visiting the Guinn family farm in Klondike to witness Supreme’s rice harvest in action, and some even rode in the combine.
After spending a day immersed in the rice industry, the staff gathered on L’Terre’s observation deck to watch the sunset over a tranquil landscape. They enjoyed the stark beauty of the Louisiana wetlands: snowy egrets and migrating birds gliding across dramatic skies streaked with clouds and rainbows, and alligators sliding silently into the water next to ghostly petrified live oaks. Aside from a brief encounter between a feral hog and a rental car, the evening was flawless.
“Our staff has worked hard and traveled a lot this year on behalf of our membership, so it was important for us to slow down for a couple of days and spend some face-to-face time outside of the office and meeting room setting while connecting with some of our members. For those who don’t get out in front of our members on a regular basis, this was a great reminder of why we do what we do and whom we do it for,” said USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann. “I couldn’t be happier with how this trip turned out and the wonderful hospitality of all our hosts—it’s made our team dynamic even stronger going into the new year.”