Farmer of the Year Michael Fruge
Jan 29, 2025
MEMPHIS, TN – The 28th Annual National Conservation Systems Cotton and Rice Conference was held on Monday and Tuesday, at the Hilton Memphis Hotel here, and, as always, was well attended by rice farmers, consultants, researchers, and industry representatives.
The meeting featured 22 unique rice sessions presented by 17 rice research scientists, three rice farmers, and two rice consultants.
The exhibit hall was crowded with booths showcasing the latest in new technology to facilitate economic and sustainable rice production and processing. USA Rice had a prominent booth location where members of the organization’s staff including Peter Bachmann, Josh Hankins, and Emily Woodall had an opportunity to interact with attendees and promote USA Rice programs and services.
“This was my first time attending this conference and I was really impressed by the attendance as well as the depth and breadth of the many sessions offered over the last couple days,” said Bachmann. “USA Rice was proud to have a strong presence here in terms of our staff and our members, and we’re looking forward to continuing to support this educational conference in the future.”
At the conference awards luncheon on Monday, Michael Fruge, a rice and crawfish farmer from Eunice, Louisiana, was honored as the 2025 Rice Farmer of the Year. Justin Chlapecka, formerly the University of Missouri rice specialist and now rice research agronomist at the new Northeast Arkansas Rice Research Station near Jonesboro, was honored as the 2025 Rice Researcher of the Year. Both Michael (2008 class) and Justin (2023 Class) are alumni of the Rice Leadership Development Program.
During the opening session of the conference, a moment of silence was observed to honor the late John LaRose, Sr., the original organizer of the conference 28 years ago. The conference is now managed by his son, John LaRose, Jr.