New Missouri Rice Council Chair Rance Daniels
Mar 17, 2025
POPLAR BLUFF, MO — Last week, Bootheel rice farmers gathered here for the Missouri Rice Council annual meeting that had been rescheduled due to a February snow storm.
Following a short reception, attendees heard from several speakers focused on the Council’s financial report, markets, state political updates, ongoing research efforts, and rice trade promotion activities. One special guest speaker was former USA Rice Farmers Board member and current State Senator Jason Bean. He provided updates on legislative efforts to prevent the export of irrigation water out of the state to maintain ample access for agricultural use.
USA Rice staff visited with growers before and after the meeting and shared updates on anticipated timing for the coming rice economic assistance, opportunities for increased market access in 2025 and beyond, and the status of Farm Bill negotiations in Washington.
Rance Daniels, a USA Rice Board Member who farms in Hornersville, was recently elected the chair of the Missouri Rice Council and provided remarks during the meeting.
“Despite a challenging economic outlook for farmers this year, we are looking forward to getting our crop in the ground soon and we anticipate our acreage here in the Bootheel will be about level with last year’s acreage as long as everyone gets the seed they’re requesting," Daniels said. "The emergency economic assistance secured at the end of last year will prove key to many continuing farming this year, and we hope to see Congress act soon towards enacting a Farm Bill with meaningful safety net increases, effective for the 2025 crop year.”
Missouri is consistently the fourth largest U.S. rice-growing state.