Rice acres approved for seed production in 2024 totaled 24,000 acres, of which, 872 acres were in the Quality Assurance (QA) program. The seed production acreage in 2024 was a 3818 acre decrease from 2023, but it is worth noting that rice seed producers generally overproduce seed and there should be ample seed in 2025.
In 2024, there was production of 38 rice varieties (9 long grain, 17 medium grain, 12 short grain). Seed production exceeded 1000 acres only for the 5 Calrose varieties. Of the Calrose-type varieties, the current ranking in acres approved is M-206 (5583 acres), M-211 (3980 acres), M-105 (3640 acres), M-209 (3431 acres), and M-210 (3003 acres). These 5 varieties made up 81% of the seed production. Some trends to note:
- M-206 saw a ~2K acre decrease in acres approved compared to 2023, and there are no new fields being transitioned into M-206 (for additional 2025 seed production).
- M-211 had a 606 acre decline in seed production, but also had 494 acres in transition to seed production for 2025.
- M-209 acres had a 206 acre decline in seed production, with 78 acres in transition to seed production for 2025.
- M-210 and M-105 had increases in seed production by 152 and 330 acres, respectively. M-210 and
- M-105 also had increases of 774 and 1011 acres, respectively, in transition to seed production for 2025.
To summarize, M-206 is trending downward, and M-210 and M-105 are trending upward.
More acreage details and analysis can be found on the CCRRF website: https://crrf.org/
Seed Field Inspections:
~100 acres of seed were rejected due to the presence of weedy red rice. There were additional partial rejections due to excessive weeds and other varieties. Several Certified class fields required roguing due to excessive off-types. Incidence of rice blast was rare this year.
The Certified seed and QA programs ensure that every rice seed field is inspected by field inspectors from the California Crop Improvement Association, and every seed lot is tested, to ensure that planting seed meets industry expectations for quality seed.