- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
We invite you to attend a Delta Rice Workshop on Wednesday, August 23rd from 10:00am to noon on Staten Island (23319 N. Staten Island Rd., Thornton). The workshop is collaboratively supported by Fish Friendly Farming, the Delta Conservancy, Conservation Farms and Ranches, the CA Land Stewardship Institute, the Regional Water Board, and UC Cooperative Extension. Organizers will demonstrate the use of a recirculation pump in rice production, with a discussion of potential financial support programs. Additionally, there will be a presentation on The Nature Conservancy's Bird Returns Program, and I will provide an update on UCCE research in Delta rice.
The agenda is below, and more information is available from the attached flyer. CDFA INMP (1.0) and CCA (1.0 SW, 0.5 CM) continuing education credits have been approved. We hope to see you at the meeting!
Agenda:
Introductions
Fish Friendly Farming and Delta Conservancy/Regional Board funding - Laurel Marcus, FFF
Recirculation Pump System - Jerred Dixon, Conservation Farms and Ranches
Can funding programs such as SWEEP be used for recirculations pumps and pipelines - Laurel Marcus, FFF
Bird Returns Program - Julia Barfield, TNC
Research Activities in Delta Rice - Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE
Delta Rice Workshop Agenda
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
Diagnosing problems in the field is never an easy task, but it is one of the most interesting aspects of my job because I usually never encounter the same set of circumstances twice. This summer, I have been called out on a few interesting diagnostics calls, and I wanted to share some observations.
I visited a blackeye bean field that was planted at the end of June. Since June was unusually cool this year, the grower's planting was delayed. Blackeyes shouldn't be planted until the soil temperature reaches at least 65 degrees F, and the cool spring conditions kept the soil cool. About six days after planting, the beans were only sporadically emerged. The plants that had emerged looked healthy, but the overall stand was poor. The grower said that soil moisture was good at the time of planting. I scratched down and found the seed about three inches deep, which is perhaps a little bit deep for blackeyes. Seed had germinated, and the germinated seed looked healthy with no apparent seedling diseases. Seedling diseases include Pythium and Rhizoctonia. Pythium symptoms appear as water-soaked lesions, and the hypocotyl eventually ‘dampens off'. Rhizoctonia symptoms appear as reddish-brown lesions that can girdle the stem. We felt better that it didn't appear to be a disease problem. I reached out to my farm advisor colleague, Rachael Long, to get her take on the situation, and she agreed that this was likely delayed emergence due to cool soil and a deeper planting depth. In the end, we decided to test our patience, wait a few more days, and see what would happen. After another five days, the grower let me know that the plants had emerged, and the stand looked good!
The UCCE network has a breadth of experience to help identify problems and provide potential management solutions. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like help with diagnosing problems in the field.
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
We can use trap counts and Growing Degree Day modelling (i.e. a temperature measure of time) to determine whether and when to treat fields. UC IPM provides treatment guidelines that include damage assessment and signs of the worms in the field. Earlier this year, Methoxyfenozide (Intrepid 2F) received full registration, so we now have a new tool in the toolbox when treatment is necessary.
The monitoring that I do in the Delta is part of a larger effort that is spearheaded by my colleague, Luis Espino, rice advisor in Butte and Glenn counties. Luis writes a weekly blog to provide real-time information on trap counts to help growers and consultants with scouting and decision making. In his blog announcements, he will link to an interactive mapping tool called Ag Pest Monitoring, where you can view counts across trapping locations. Please consider subscribing to Luis Espino's blog, but don't hesitate to reach out to me if you'd like to discuss what is happening in the Delta.
Good luck this season, and I hope to see you in the field!
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
University of California Cooperative Extension and the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics collaborate on cost of production studies for commodities grown in California. The purpose of the studies is to provide sample costs for producing commodities and expected returns, based on current production practices and economic conditions.
We have recently published a study for Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta rice production, available here. The study is based on a hypothetical 1,100 acre farm, where 1,000 acres are annually planted to rice, and it details the unique production conditions and practices of the Delta. The study assumes the farm's soil has high organic matter and employs drill-seeding (Figure 1). This soil type and planting practice differs from Sacramento Valley conditions, where rice is water-seeded onto mineral soils with high clay content. Nutrient and pest management practices also differ between the regions; hence, the study will more accurately reflect the costs associated with Delta rice cultivation. The study details the operating costs associated with Delta practices and the total costs for farm operation and management. A ranging analysis presents potential returns based on typical yields and recent crop pricing.
The study also details the costs associated with converting land from other annual crops to rice, including levee construction and land leveling. Conversion costs are significant and can inhibit adoption of rice cultivation because they may take years to recuperate.
We thank the growers who contributed their time and expertise to informing this study. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any comments or questions.
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
UC Cooperative Extension collaborates with the California Rice Experiment Station to evaluate commercial varieties and advanced breeding lines. The San Joaquin County Delta location was one of seven locations in the 2022 statewide trial. The Delta is a test site for very-early maturing varieties because it has cooler growing conditions than other rice growing regions of the state. The trial was drill-seeded on April 19th at a rate of 150 lb/acre and harvested on October 2nd. Plot size was 150 ft2, and varieties were replicated four times. Table 1 (below) shows variety results at the Delta location (advanced breeding lines omitted). Among the entries, M-206 is the most commonly planted variety in the Delta and across the state. It has good agronomic characteristics and consistent quality across different harvest moistures. Some Delta growers also plant M-105, which is a very-early variety that has yielded well in Delta trials but may be slightly more susceptible to rice blast disease than M-206. Among the newer varieties, M-210 is early maturing, blast resistant, and may be a good option for the Delta. Variety M-211 is not as well adapted to cooler environments, like the Delta, and quality appears to decrease below 18 percent harvest moisture. One of the advanced breeding lines, which is not shown in the table below, but which yielded better the M-206 in the Delta trial, will become CH-203. For a comparison of yield across all seven trial locations, please see the recent edition of the UCCE Sutter-Yuba newsletter. Special thanks go to our grower cooperators for hosting the variety trials. If you have questions about the Delta trial or about Delta rice production, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
UCCE will host two upcoming meetings for the rice industry:
1. The 2023 Rice Production Workshop will be held March 15-16 at the Lundberg Family Farms facility in Richvale (5311 Midway, Richvale, 95974). This is an in-depth workshop that covers the principles and practices of rice production in California. The workshop is directed toward folks who are new to growing rice or serving the rice industry. The program is available here. Registration is limited, so please sign up early. The registration fee covers the workshop manual and lunches both days. We have applied for DPR, CCA, and CDFA nitrogen management continuing education credits.
2. The Cover Crops in Rice Field Demonstration Day will be held March 27 from 10:00am to 12:00pm. The field day will be held at the corner of Hwy 45 and White Road, Colusa, 95932 (38.969148, -121.866552). At the field day, we will discuss the CDFA Healthy Soils Program, and attendees can walk through the cover crop trial. No registration is required. We have applied for CCA and CDFA nitrogen management continuing education credits. The agenda is attached below.
Table 1. 2022 San Joaquin County rice variety trial results.
2023 Rice Cover Crop Meeting Agenda