By Donna Gentry, Ph.D. LSU AgCenter The LSU AgCenter was recently awarded a $1 million grant to focus on specific Best Management Practices in sugarcane and rice that address reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving soil health. Three rice farms in Vermillion parish are participating in this project to determine the effectiveness and impact of these practices compared with a more conventional production system. To highlight and discuss the project, a rice field day has been scheduled for June 11, 2024 in Kaplan, Louisiana at Wyatt Hardee’s farm (9902 Hanna Road, Kaplan) with registratio ..read more

By Forrest Laws Delta Farm Press As U.S. rice farmers rush to finish planting their 2024 crop, one of their largest export markets is at risk because of financial restrictions placed on banks that would normally provide dollars for U.S. rice shipments to Iraq. READ MORE ..read more

Several types of conventional cancer therapies, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, destroy healthy cells along with cancer cells. In advanced stages of cancer, tissue loss from treatments can be substantial and even fatal. Cutting-edge cancer therapies that employ nanoparticles can specifically target cancer cells, sparing healthy tissue. READ MORE ..read more

The LSU AgCenter is Louisiana rice farmers’ MVP, or most valued partner, in research and crop variety development. From creating a new market for jasmine rice, to producing varieties of rice that are better for diabetics and more sustainable and resilient to changes in the environment, LSU has been critical to the Louisiana rice industry for more than 100 years. The research also has world-wide impact since one-fifth of the global population’s calories comes from rice. More than 60 percent of the rice Louisiana farmers plant was developed by the LSU AgCenter, with a direct economic impact of ..read more

By Kane Webb USA Rice Down in southwest Louisiana we know tailgating! And cooking rice dishes such as jambalaya while getting your pregame on is a tradition. But lest you think it’s only for college football, let’s set the record straight: we can and will tailgate before lots of other sports, including baseball, and rice is always a focal point of the festivities. Friday, April 12, was Cajun Country Rice Day at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette (UL) for the first of a three-game baseball series versus Marshall University in the Sun Belt Conference.  READ MORE ..read more

By Raney Rapp Delta Farm Press One step into a tour of the Kennedy Rice Mill in Mer Rouge called into question one cardinal rule of Cajun cooking for ladies of all ages during a Louisiana Women in Agriculture event. “My grandma always said you needed to wash the dirt off the rice first, but I’m starting to reconsider,” one participant mused. READ MORE ..read more

By Raney Rapp Delta Farm Press Meryl Kennedy rode shotgun for farm checks, walked flooded rice fields and picked up enough lingo to keep her fluent in the unique vernacular of a Louisiana farming community. Those moments spent learning at her father Elton’s side imprinted in her a deep appreciation for overcoming the hardships of farming in the near-hostile environment of the Gulf state. Deep down though, she knew her heart just wasn’t in the dirt. She needed the glamor of the corporate world, of meeting with investors and negotiating global deals. The complete opposite of her father’s down-ho ..read more

By Sarah Moran USA Rice Tuesday, a coalition of rice state legislators including four Senators and eight House members, led by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), sent a letter to the Department of the Treasury requesting a quick resolution to financing restrictions which have prevented the Government of Iraq from procuring essentials including U.S. rice. Iraq is the second largest market for U.S. milled long grain rice. The government of Iraq provides rations, including that rice, to 41 million Iraqis with 6 million receiving additional rations because they live below the poverty line; the tota ..read more

By Steve Linscombe USA Rice Last week, several families and rice industry representatives hosted the Nigerian Catholic Bishop Ernest Obodo and Father Francis Chiawa to south Louisiana rice country. The trip was organized by the Lounsberry Family, including Mrs. Yvonne Lounsberry and Michelle Deshotel, Gayla and Mark Popeck, and their son Conner Popeck. The trip was an initial visit to further explore the idea for the SWLA rice farming family to create a Farmer-to-Farmer Training Program to train Nigerians in the various trades associated with U.S. agriculture practices, with the goal of p ..read more

By Andy Brown Louisiana Farm Bureau/USA Rice My first session of the Rice Leadership Program started with the same recipe of every alumnus I spoke to: a little anxiousness and a lot of uncertainty on how I thought I could get away from my home duties for an entire week. The fear of disappointing those who supported me to be accepted into the program and the fear of the phone call of Dr. Linscombe’s wrath encouraged me to head to Crowley in the pouring rain to meet up with my Louisianan brethren, Kane Webb, Cole Reiners, and John McLain, for the drive to Texas to teach everyone something a ..read more