Commitment to stewardship Louisiana Farmer Garners National Recognition for Conservation and Stewardship    By Lexi Clark   KAPLAN, LA -- Coinciding with September National Rice Month, Louisiana rice farmer Christian Richard is being recognized by Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture as their Farmer Spotlight Honoree for his commitment to conservation and stewardship.  He was nominated for the honor for his leadership and advocacy for sustainability in rice production. Richard is a sixth-generation rice farmer with a desire to leave the land better than it was before.  As he says, "U.S. farmers should not be afraid to tell their story of how we are being productive while conserving natural resources and maintaining the safest food supply in the world." Through his involvement in the Louisiana Master Farmer Program, Richard developed a resource management system plan.  Though he has been working to address resource concerns on his farm for many years, he didn't have a way to quantify those environmental outcomes and realized that documenting his sustainability improvements could facilitate greater trust with the supply chain and provide consumers with more specific information about environmental performance. "Use of tools, such as the Field to Market Fieldprint® Platform, to document the field-level metric performance is necessary to meet consumer demands," Richard said.  "Farmers can be more pro-active in providing feedback to our customers and stakeholders." Field to Market's Fieldprint® Platform is an online tool that helps farmers better understand and communicate how management decisions affect overall sustainability performance and operational efficiency. Richard is a participant in the Rice Stewardship Partnership Fieldprint® Project sponsored by USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited with a goal of conserving three of the nation's important natural resources: water, wetland wildlife, and working ricelands.  The effort combines public and private resources to enhance riceland across the country to improve crop production while providing valuable habitat for waterfowl. Through his participation in multiple USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs, Richard has integrated beneficial conservation practices throughout his farm, including precision leveling and no-till planting.   "We're so proud of Christian as he truly exemplifies the ongoing commitment today's U.S. rice farmers have to not only preserve the environment but to enhance and protect it," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward.

 

2017 Rice Cook-off Contest in Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES – Seventeen 4-H Club students from Calcasieu, Cameron and Beauregard parishes competed in the 20^th annual Calcasieu-Cameron Rice Growers Rice Cook-off on Wednesday (Sept. 20).

When the judges made their choices, Briley Kent of Johnson Bayou High School won first place with her shrimp rice salad.

First-place winner Briley Kent with Adam Habetz, president of the Cal-Cam Rice Growers Association.



Second place winner Lilly Jones

Second place went to Lilly Jones of Moss Bluff Middle School with Louisiana Risotto, and Claire Leonards of Bell City High School was awarded third place with her dish, cabbage casserole.



Third-place winner Claire Leonards



                                                                               Tonika Phillips of DeQuincy High School won the Heart Healthy Dish with Caribbean Shrimp and Saffron Rice Street Tacos.



Heart Healthy winner Tonika Phillips

The Port of Lake Charles joined the Calcasieu-Cameron Rice Growers Association to sponsor the event organized by the LSU AgCenter.  Winners received rice cookers from the Farmer Rice Milling Co.



Other students in the competition were Anna Dupont of South Cameron High, Dusty Morales of Hackberry High, Shad Butler of Sulphur High School, Halie Brewer of Vinton High, Valentin Meurice of Westlake High, Kristen Bertie of Washington Marion High, Myra Collier of Starks High, Jordyn Kelley of Sam Houston High, Cade Nieves of Grand Lake High, Brylie Rozas of Iowa Middle, Donald Reed of Iowa High, Amelia Bellow of S.J. Welsh Middle and Sadie Seilhand of Sulphur High.

Other contestants in the Rice Cook-off Contest

All the students were selected by family consumer science teachers at their schools before entering the regional cook-off.

Judges were Kane Webb, USA Rice Louisiana field director; Yolanda Jones of the LSU AgCenter, and Ricky Self and Cynthia Beglis of the Port of Lake Charles.

Kane Webb - USA Rice field representative in Louisiana 

                                           

Jemison, Unkel, and Webb (from left)

The work of Randy Jemison, former Louisiana field representative for USA Rice will be continued by Kane Webb.“Randy was a tireless advocate for Louisiana’s rice farmers and the whole industry; we thank him for his years of service and we’re going to miss his work ethic, vision, and humor,” said Eric Unkel, a Kinder, LA rice farmer, president of the Louisiana Rice Council, and a USA Rice Board member.  “Kane’s work is cut out for him on a lot of fronts, but Randy is turning things over in good shape and we are excited to have Kane as our new representative.”Kane was raised on a rice and cattle farm south of Iowa, LA, and he is a graduate of McNeese State University with a bachelor's degree in agronomy,  and he was in the LSU Agricultural Leadership Development Program, Class VII.Kane knows rice, having begun his professional career scouting rice fields in south Louisiana for disease and rendering treatment recommendations, and then going to work for Helena Chemical out of Crowley, assisting rice farmers in Acadia and Vermillion parishes, as well as other areas of southwest Louisiana.

A Rice Promotion Champion Retires

By John Owen

 Chairman of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board

 

I want to pay tribute to a man who is a fierce and dedicated advocate of our industry.   A man who once farmed rice, but has dedicated the last 16 years of his life to improving the rice industry here in Louisiana – one grower, one meeting at a time.  A man who truly has the best interests of the Louisiana rice industry always in the forefront of his mind.  And a man who, sadly for us, is retiring this summer.

For 16 years Randy Jemison has criss-crossed the state meeting with growers and millers, lawmakers and regulators, citizen groups, school children, and the media to talk with them about the industry he loves:  the Louisiana rice industry.

                                                                    Randy Jemison

As director of Louisiana Field Services for USA Rice, not only did Randy represent us at public events like the annual Mid-South Farm and Gin Show where he enthralls thousands of visitors with his informative and entertaining rice facts; not only does he attend grower events throughout Louisiana, but he also traveled to field days and other events in Texas.  And most years he accompanied the Louisiana rice industry delegation to Washington for the annual USA Rice Government Affairs Conference where we meet with Members of Congress and their staff, and federal agency representatives to explain Louisiana rice industry priorities to them.

The value Randy brought to our industry cannot be overstated.  We all know about rice.  We know what it takes to get a crop in, care for it, leave a good amount up to the Lord, and get that crop out again.  Randy knows too, having farmed thirteen years in Allen and Jeff Davis parishes.   But Randy also knows that most people, like our representatives in Baton Rouge and in Washington, really don’t know what it takes.  And they don’t know how decisions they make – or don’t make – will impact us.  And importantly, Randy knows how to fill in the dots.

He can talk as a farmer,” and he can talk as a policy maker.”  And that’s quite a valuable skill.  One we will miss.

A look back - the 1938 National Rice Festival

Here is a collection of fascinating photographs from the Rice Festival at Crowley 79 years ago.


1938 National Rice Festival photos


http://mashable.com/2017/06/04/national-rice-festival/#TIQNDnbBpOqc

A Tribute to a “Make a Difference” Rice Farmer

By John Owen
Louisiana Rice Promotion Board chairman

In 1972, a prior generation of Louisiana rice farmers had the foresight to initiate a grower-directed rice promotion check-off program to ensure a viable industry for years to come.  They envisioned a program that would generate demand for our crops worldwide, and do so with complete openness and accountability, all while representing the interests of every grower in the state.  I greatly admire their forward thinking and I, along with every other grower in the state, am reaping the benefits of that vision today.

Yet initiation of the check off system was not an end in itself.  To be effective it required, and continues to require, committed volunteer servants to direct the use of the funds generated through the grower-paid check-off program.  Fortunately, agriculture in general and rice specifically has always been blessed with such individuals –  men and women who volunteer their time and talents for the greater good without any compensation.  They are simply committed to ensuring that the Louisiana rice industry remains healthy for years to come.  John Maxwell, American author, speaker and pastor, calls such folks “Make-A-Difference People” and notes that they are committed to service.

Last June I was asked to chair the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board and I accepted knowing that I had some big boots to fill.  The outgoing chairman had served in that capacity for 10 years.  He was more than dedicated, he was out-and-out committed to ensuring that grower check off assessments were used in the most effective manner possible to increase the awareness and use of Louisiana-grown rice here in the U.S. and around the world.

By now you probably realize that I am speaking of Kevin Berken from Thornwell, . Louisiana.

Kevin was not only committed, he was innovative, especially when it came to activities designed to raise awareness of rice here in the state, efforts designed that complement national and international promotion efforts. I’d like to share just a few examples.

 




Left to right: Louisiana Rice Council President Eric Unkel;

Kevin Berken, past chairman of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board, and  

Jimmy Hoppe, vice chairman of the Louisiana Rice Promotion Board.

Under Kevin’s leadership the promotion board joined USA Rice’s Domestic Promotion team in 2009 in a project called “New Orleans Restaurant & Chef Recognition.”  The program involved identifying New Orleans restaurants that use and promote U.S.-grown rice.


As a result of that effort, rice producers and other industry representatives were invited to participate in the “Chefs for Louisiana Cookery” for 500 attendees and the media.  Celebrated chefs of New Orleans came together for a fundraiser benefiting the James Beard Foundation whose mission is to celebrate, nurture and honor chefs and other leaders making America's food culture more delicious, diverse, and sustainable for everyone.

Also during Kevin’s service as chairman the board launched a project entitled “Louisiana Rice – Awesome,” a fun-filled workbook packed with exercises designed to help Louisiana’s elementary students prepare for the their annual standardized examinations.  The activity used rice industry scenarios to train students in mathematics, language arts and social studies and as a result reached them and their parents with the rice message.

The promotion board’s involvement with the television program “Holly Clegg’s Trim & Terrific Kitchen,“ started under Kevin’s leadership.  Today the series has morphed into a new program titled "Feasting On Agriculture With A.J. Sabine, "which takes viewers across state, where the unique flavors of Louisiana's food and agriculture are highlighted.

While chairman, Kevin also became the voice of the promotion board’s National Rice Month radio campaign designed to leverage promotion funds with other commodity groups or brands, such as the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association and Camellia Beans, to conduct a state-wide radio campaign highlighting the Louisiana rice industry each September.

The board’s latest project adopted under Kevin’s leadership is the Louisiana Rice Report that airs over thirteen weeks on the Louisiana Farm Bureau Agri-News Radio Network.  Through this medium last year more than 78,000 Louisiana residents were educated on the benefits of the rice industry to the state and its economy and to their lives.

Kevin is truly a “Make a Difference” person and our industry is better off because of his leadership.  Although I was was pleased that Kevin was recognized for his dedicated service and I join all that were there as well as rice farmers throughout the state in applauding him for a job well-done.

North Louisiana AgExpo features rice

Read here about the promotion that reached thousands of people in Northeast Louisiana:


http://voiceoflouisianaagriculture.org/news/2017/1/17/rice-featured-at-north-louisiana-ag-expo-for-35th-consecutive-year?utm_source=The+Daily+Voice&utm_campaign=de2002964e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ecc92d7590-de2002964e-162482893