ARLINGTON, VA – The Rice Leadership Development program is the envy of the ag industry for the information, training, and deeply connected network it builds over the two years of the program. About 15 years ago, an international trip for alumni of the program was incorporated into the continuing education of the leaders. The 2025 trip traveled to South America for a look at farms and mills in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The trip participants joined Steve Linscombe on
Episode 127 of
The Rice Stuff to talk about what they learned.
Louisiana farmers Christian Richard and Eric Unkel, Arkansas' Brad Doyle, and Missouri's David Martin, along with Horizon Ag CEO Tim Walker, and USA Rice CEO Peter Bachmann shared their experiences on the trip, including how the focus on quality, technology, and collaboration among farmers in this important rice producing region made a lasting impression on them. From a 90,000-acre farm and a one million-acre lake feeding an intricate canal system, the scale of operations was surprising.
“We need to thank all our hosts for making the trip so meaningful, and of course, it could not be undertaken without the generous support of our sponsors, American Commodity Company, John Deere, RiceTec, and Supreme Rice,” said Linscombe.
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