2012 Annual Rice Grower Meetings

Sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension

-------------- 4 Locations --------------

WHERE & WHEN

Williams: Monday, Jan. 23, 8:30 am, Granzella’s Banquet Hall, 457 - 7th Street, Williams

Richvale: Monday, Jan. 23, 1:30 pm, Evangelical Church, 5219 Church St., Richvale

Yuba City: Monday, Jan. 30, 8:30 am, Veterans Hall, 1425 Veterans Memorial Circle, Yuba City

Glenn: Monday, Jan. 30, 1:30 pm, Glenn Pheasant Hall, 1522 Highway 45, south of Glenn

 

TIME: Doors open at 8:00 am and meetings start at 8:30 am at Williams and Yuba City.

Doors open at 1:00 pm and meetings start at 1:30 pm at Richvale and Glenn.

 

Program

8:00 am (1:00 pm) Doors open, sign-in, coffee

8:30 am (1:30 pm) Call meeting to order

8:35 am (1:35 pm) Rice Research Board Nominations – Dana Dickey, Rice Research Board

8:40 am (1:40 pm) Rice Pesticide and Regulatory Update – County Agricultural Commissioner

9:00 am (2:00 pm) Winged Primrose-willow and Water Primroses in Rice and Canals –Brenda Grewell, USDA-ARS

9:20 am (2:20 pm) Survey of Pest Management Practices of Stored Rough Rice – Luis Espino, UCCE

9:30 am (2:30 pm) Rice Grading Standards and Procedures – Chuck Britton, USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service

10:00 am (3:00 pm) Results from Recent Soil Fertility Studies – Bruce Linquist, UCD

 

10:25 am (3:25 pm)                                                — BREAK —

 

10:40 am (3:40 pm) Arthropod Pests Update – Larry Godfrey, UCD

11:00 am (4:00 pm) California Rice Production Outlook – Chris Greer, UCCE

11:20 am (4:20 pm) Concepts in Weed Management for Rice Cropping Systems – Albert Fischer, UCD

 

12:00 pm (5:00 pm)                                                — ADJOURN —

The 2011 harvest is pretty much finished. Yield reports are starting to come in, and so far it seems that yields were OK. I've heard of growers that thought their yields were going to be much higher, but considering the rough start, are happy with the more "average" yields. 

The National Agricultural Statistics Service has relesed its November projection, and California looks pretty good. Yields were adjusted up from the October projection. I don't have much information on quality yet, so I'll wait before giving any trends.

If you have any comments on how your season went and what your yields looked like, leve me a note in the comments section below.

See you at the 2012 Rice Growers Winter Meetings (which will be announced soon)!


Rice area harvested and yield (National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture.

	Area harvested		Yield per acre
	2010	2011	2010	October 2011*	November 2011*
	1,000 acres		pounds
Arkansas	1,785	1,155	6,480	6,800	6,850
California	553	588	8,020	8,300	8,400
Louisiana	535	420	6,100	6,400	6,400
Mississippi	303	153	6,850	7,100	7,100
Missouri	251	128	6,480	7,200	7,200
Texas	188	180	7,160	7,000	7,000
US	3,615	2,624	6,725	7,123	7,167

*Forecast

Harvest is starting to pick up again, and the UC Rice Project is starting to harvest the statewide variety trials. The trials are conducted in collboration with the breeders at the Rice Experiment Station (RES). RES breeders evaluate and select varieties that not only produce good yields, but also good grain quality. The varieties are tested for several years at several locations, and promising varieties are later tested in larger areas before being released for seed production. This year we have trials in nine locations, besides the trials conducted at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs.

Short, medium and long grain varieties are included in the trials. Throughout the season, the breeders evaluate their growth and development. In some cases the differences in growth, size and potential are easily seen in the field.

Ray Wennig, Staff Research Associate with the Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, is one of the main forces behind the trials. He is involved in the planning, planting, evaluating and harvesting of the trials. He drives the UC small research combine to harvest the trials. In this way, we can determine the yield in a very precise manner, and much faster than if we harvested manually!



Inside the cabin, Ray measures the grain's weight and moisture content.

 

Results of the 2011 trials will be available early next year. They will be included in the first issue of the 2012 Rice Briefs newsletter and posted in the Colusa County Rice Program website (http://cecolusa.ucdavis.edu/rice/).

On October 12, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its rice crop production estimate. California's estimate was adjusted down from the September estimate; from 8,400 lbs to 8,300 lbs/a. The good growing conditions we had during 2011 certainly justify the good yield prediction; hopefully the weather will cooperate during what's left of harvest. The last storm we had put a lot of rice in the ground.

Below is the data concerning rice from NASS's report.

Rice area harvested and yield: 2010 and forecasted October 1, 2011

State	Area harvested		Yield
	2010	2011	2010	2011
	1,000 acres		lbs
Arkansas	1,785	1,155	6,480	6,800
California	553	588	8,020	8,300
Louisiana	535	420	6,100	6,400
Mississippi	303	153	6,850	7,100
Missouri	251	128	6,480	7,200
Texas	188	180	7,160	7,000

Production is forecast at 187 million cwt, down 2 percent from September and 23 percent below last year. Area for harvest is expected to total 2.62 million acres, unchanged from September but 27 percent lower than 2010. The average United States yield is forecast at 7,123 pounds per acre, down 150 pounds from last month but up 398 pounds from last year.

Record-high yields are expected in Missouri and Louisiana. If realized, production in Arkansas, the largest rice-producing State, will be the lowest since 1996.