25th september 2014 daily global rice e newsletter by riceplus magazine

Daily Global Rice E-Newsletter

25th September, 2014

Today News Headline 1. Floods inflict Rs 240 billion loss on frail agriculture economy: Country likely to miss Kharif targets 2. Special Advisor on rice production slams 3. Customs seizes P50-M worth of illegal rice imports 4. KCR asks PM to retain rice levy 5. Customs bares fangs on rice millers over smuggling 6. Odisha HC issues notices to govt, rice millers over paddy procurement scam in Kalahandi 7. Odisha rice millers oppose revised moisture norms 8. Is California's Rice Crop in Danger?

9. UPDATE 1-India's monsoon to retreat from 10. Nigeria: JAI to Invest U.S.$150 Million On Rice Production in Anambra State 11. New rice helps Mekong farmers battle worsening floods, salt intrusion 12. Tires made from rice? Goodyear finds new source of key tire ingredient 13. Dry year means smooth sailing for rice growers, if they had water 14. Bulk Bag Filler Speeds Packaging at Rice Mill 15. News Shared by USA RICE Federation 16. News shared by Rice Grower Association of Australia

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Floods inflict Rs 240 billion loss on frail agriculture economy: Country likely to miss Kharif targets September 25, 2014 ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

The country is likely to miss main Kharif crops production targets, including paddy, sugarcane and cotton, due to devastating floods, which have affected an estimated 2.5 million of cropped area, a senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said. The official revealed the floods have affected standing paddy crops on 300,000 acres, cotton on 320,000 acres, sugarcane on 70,000 acres, fodders on 30,000 acres, vegetables on 25,000 acres and other crops on 100,000 acres of land.

"An estimated 15,000 cattle-heads perished and 250 poultry farms were destroyed.

If we are translating these damages into monetary terms the flooding caused an estimated Rs 240 billion loss to agriculture economy," he added. The official said the country was likely to produce 6.2 million tons of paddy against the set target of 6.5 million tons, cotton production will remain at 13 million bales against a set target of 15 million bales and sugarcane production will likely to remain at 65 million tons. The official said in past Kharif season the country produced 6.5 million tons of rice in all varieties, of which 3.4 million tons was exported. He added that exports of rice would not be affected as a result of flooding but Pakistani rice exporters were facing other challenges in the international market and the government needed to facilitate exporters as well as the farmers.

"Our government has never worked to access African rice market, which has great potential for Pakistani rice. If the government promotes Pakistani rice in Africa we can export up to $500 million rice to African market," he stated. Pakistan in the fiscal year 2013-14 earned $1.9 billion against $1.84 billion in the preceding year from the export of basmati and non-basmati rice varieties. Out of the total rice exports of $1.9 billion in FY14, the share of nonbasmati variety was over $1 billion. The country exported 3.37 million tons of rice in FY14, including 2.6 million tons of nonbasmati and 750,000 tons of basmati rice.

The 3.37 million tons of exports fell from the 3.5 million tons in FY13.

According to an official of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, in terms of quantity, there was an increase of 16 percent in basmati rice, while there was a 35 percent value increase in comparison to FY13. He said that the non-basmati rice decreased by 8 percent in quantity. He said that last year "the price of non-basmati rice in the international market is $450 to $500 per ton.

There is great scope in enhancing exports of the variety, which could take our rice exports to $2.5 billion".

Special Advisor on rice production slams Rice Importation Mr Frederick Kyei, Special Advisor for Local Rice Production, has slammed the decision of Ministry of Trade and Industry to ban inland importation of rice, saying it is costing the country GH? 6.4 million a month.He said averagely Ghana losses one million Ghana cedis

every week, since the small scale rice importers pay revenue to the state at the inland entry points, based on the “bring in as you pay basis”.Mr Kyei told Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday that the foreign large scale rice importers however brings in the commodity through Tema and Takoradi ports and store the rice into customs bonded ware houses and only pay duty to the State when the goods are sold.

He denied the accusation of Small Scale Rice Dealers Association (SSRIDA) that he has connived with officials at the Trade Ministry as well as Ministry of Food and Agriculture to enforce the ban on inland rice importation asking: “Within the 18 months the policy was introduced do you know how much we are losing as a country?”

Mr Kyei who also described himself as a rice expert said there is no way he would support foreign importers of rice at the expense of Ghanaians since the indigenous traders are bread winners as well supporting the national economy.“Frustrating the business of SSRIDA is not helping the economy and rather giving monopoly to foreign importers of rice leading to price hikes. ”He said as local rice producers they are only looking forward to the day when Ghana would be self sufficient to emulate the example of Nigeria by banning all imports of the commodity.He said until that is done government must lift the ban to support the local traders to be in business.Mr Kyei debunked claims by the foreign importers that they are into large scale production of rice in Ghana and challenged them to point out where such farms exist.

Customs seizes P50-M worth of illegal rice imports ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 09/24/2014 3:36 PM | Updated as of 09/24/2014 5:29 PM

MANILA -- The Bureau of Customs seized an estimated 1,250 metric tons of white rice that arrived in the country without the required import permits from the National Food Authority (NFA).The rice, stocked in 25,000 50-kilogram bags, was contained in 50 20-foot container vans. It has an estimated market value of about P50 million.The shipment arrived at the Manila International Container Port from Bangkok, Thailand last June 2, 2014. It was consigned to Tres Mujeres Agri Venture. It was subject to derogatory information received by the Bureau's Enforcement Group.

Upon further verification with the NFA, it was found that the shipment has not been issued any import permit. Moreover, as it has remained unclaimed beyond 30 days upon arrival in the country, the shipment should be considered abandoned by the consignee, as per the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines."Regardless of circumstances, it is very clear in the law that import permits are a requirement before the Bureau can clear regulated shipments like rice and all illegally imported items are subject to seizure.

We will no longer tolerate nor allow situations where importers can clear shipments without valid permits as this puts our people in compromising situations and breeds corruption. It‟s strictly „no permit, no entry,'" stressed Customs Commissioner John P. Sevilla.Presidential Decree 4 and Republic Act 7178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act mandates that only the NFA can import rice and private entities who wish to do the same must secure a permit from the agency.In addition, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Trade and Goods has allowed

the Philippines to extend Quantitative Restrictions (QR) on rice imports until 2017.

The ruling, which would be endorsed to the WTO General Council, allows the Philippines to import 350,000 MT of rice under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) with a 40% tariff. Imports made outside of the MAV would be levied a 50% tariff.The extended QR will give more time for local farmers to improve efficiency and the local rice industry to build production capability and reduce costs to cope with increased competition in Southeast Asia.

KCR asks PM to retain rice levy K V KURMANATH HYDERABAD, SEPT. 24:

The Telangana Government has appealed to the Union Government not to reduce the rice mill levy from 75 per cent to 25. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to take up the issue with the Department of Food and Public Distribution to address the issue.The levy mandates the rice millers to sell a fixed quantity of the rice they process to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) or to State agencies at the minimum support price (MSP). They can sell the remaining commodity in the open market. The idea is to protect the farmers from the market vagaries.

“We have been told that the Department has decided to reduce the levy from the 2014-14 kharif marketing season itself. If it is not to retain the earlier levels, please ensure that the levy is put at 50 per cent,” the Chief Minister pointed out.“We have already written to the Secretary in the department

and to the Union Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public distribution asking them not to reduce the levy,” he said.

(This article was published on September 24, 2014)

Customs bares fangs on rice millers over smuggling Wednesday, 24 September 2014 19:13 Written by Moses Ebosele Category: Business News

Impounds 10,000 bags of contraband, deploys APC for operations THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has accused some rice millers in the country of allegedly aiding the activities and operations of smugglers.Speaking during a raid on some smuggling route in Igbesa, Ogun State on Tuesday, the Controller, Federal Operations Units (FOU), zone „A‟, Ikeja, Usman Turaki alleged that some local rice millers are the brains behind smuggling of the commondities. Turaki, who led the operations comprising of the Army, Nigerian Navy (NN) and use of about 48 pick-up, two newly acquired Armoured Personal Carrier ( APC) said he was in possession of document linking some local rice millers to the illegal business.

He said: “As soon as the seizures are made, rice millers come forward immediately claiming ownership of the smuggled products. What they do is import small quantity of a particular products through the port. After getting the small quantity to their warehouse, they use smuggler as carrier to bring in large quantities through unapproved routes thereby depriaving the Federal Government of revenue. “Our investigation revealed that the smuggled rice bags are taken to their warehouses and immediately mixed with the

small quantity imported through the ports.

As I speak, we are in possession of appeal letters from rice millers claiming ownership of smuggled rice. They will do everything possible to get smugglers out of the hook.

They smugglers are working for them.The rice are smuggled from cotonou, Benin Republic, through a mother ship and smaller boats”.

Conducting journalists round a “mini terminal”, creek and eight seized boats with engines, Turaki said some Customs personnel were shot by the smugglers.

“Look at the impact of the bullets on our vehicles. No life was lost. The officers subsequently called for reinforcement. We are grateful to the Army and Nigerian Navy for the support”. He explained that the seized rice from Tuesday‟s raid were over 10,000bags, adding that the value of the commodity and the Duty Paid Value (DPV) were being worked out as at press time. As at the time of filing this report, 16 trucks had been positioned to aid the evacuation of the seized commodities to the warehouse of the NCS in Ikeja, Lagos. Turaki said the operation was based on several weeks of intelligence gathering and on the spot assessment. Explaining in details the operations of the rice smugglers, Turaki alleged that the products are pushed into the Nigerian market through some local millers, “From Igbesa in Ogun State, the bags of the smuggled commodity are moved by boat to Alaba and later by trucks to Daleko and other parts of the country.

Turaki, who spoke on sundry issues, said no arrest has been made while investigation has commenced to unravel those behind the illegal transaction. He said under his leadership, smuggling would be tackled from all fronts in the interest of the local industries and the larger economy. The command had recently impounded not less

than 50 new vehicles from “different locations” over alleged under-declaration by firms and individuals. He explained that some of the new vehicles were allegedly declared as either “sweet” or “used vehicles” by importers thereby defrauding the Federal Government of revenue.

He said:“Smuggling, just like scavenging is a global phenomenon. The Unit has all it takes to tackle this hydra-headed monster. I am therefore advising smugglers in the South West to relocate or else would face the full wrath of the law.

“We have spread our drag nets to all the nooks and crannies of our areas of jurisdiction and will stop at nothing in dealing with this menace. We want to alternatively advise them to channel their resources to more meaningful ventures instead of smuggling because I will deal decisively with the issue of smuggling in all its ramifications. “We also call on members of the public to avail the service with necessary information that will complement our efforts. Genuine and compliant importers or their representatives will always enjoy the support of the Service as we are totally committed to facilitation of legitimate trade in line with global expectations.”

According to Turaki, the command recorded a total of 336 different seizures of assorted offending goods/items valued at N107.5 million with a payable duty of N42.9 million, with a duty paid value of N150.5 million between July 13 to August 9, this year. Within same period, he said the command apprehended a total of 19 suspects in connection with these Seizures. Turaki added: “Comparatively speaking, this report shows over 65 per cent positive difference when compared with the report of corresponding period in 2013.

“On 9th July 2014, a patrol team led

by Ejibunu Kehinde, comprising other officers/men from the unit intercepted one articulated truck suspected to be carrying over 2,000 (two thousand) cartons of smuggled foreign frozen poultry products along the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway Valued at N9,000,000.00 (nine million naira only) with a Payable Duty of N1,800,000.00 (one million, eight hundred thousand naira only), and a Duty Paid Value of N10,800,000.00 (ten million, eight hundred thousand naira only). This interception was based on a tip off”

Odisha HC issues notices to govt, rice millers over paddy procurement scam in Kalahandi

Odisha Sun Times Bureau Bhawanipatna, Sept 24:

The directive of the court has come in response to a PIL filed by 537 farmers who had alleged that while they have not sold any paddy at the mandi, the concerned authorities have misappropriated huge money by fraudulently mentioning their names in the procurement list.Of the 537 farmers, 118 belong to BPL category.“We are a poor family. We have two sons who work as daily wage labourers. Our staple food is ragi as we have no money to buy rice for our family.

We have never cultivated paddy and not seen the mandi. But they (the officials) have taken lakhs of rupees towards purchase of paddy in our name”, said Masta Bag, a 60year-old man and his wife Chaiti of Kulerguda village to Sambad today.Meanwhile, the Vigilance department has begun a probe into the incident following a complaint lodged by these farmers.

Odisha rice millers oppose revised moisture norms Bhubaneswar, Sep 25 :

The Odisha High Court has issued notices to Kalahandi district administration, Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC), District Cooperative Society, District Civil Supplies department and the rice millers of the district to submit a reply on the rampant irregularities in the purchase of paddy to tune of crores at Temara mandi under Kokasara block during 2012-13.

A rice millers‟ association in Odisha Thursday opposed the central government‟s newly announced moisture norms for rice procurement.Members of the All Odisha Rice Millers Association (AORMA) said that the new norms will hit rice millers in states like Odisha which produce large quantity of boiled rice. “The central government, in a notification earlier this month, has kept the maximum limit of moisture content in fair average quality (FAQ) rice unchanged at 14 percent for procurement,” AORMA secretary Santosh Agrawal told IANS Thursday.

This will further aggravate the situation, as loaded trucks may be returned on the pretext of even slightest variation beyond 14 percent.“Our association demands immediate restoration of the procedure of accepting rice with moisture beyond 14 percent against a rebate up to maximum 15 percent as was prevailing during earlier years, for the ensuing Kharif marketing season to ensure smooth procurement operation.

“But the rice procurement with moisture content up to a maximum limit of 15 percent with value cut which was prevailing in earlier years was found missing in the notification,” Santosh Agrawal said.Agrawal said: “This implies that in the khariff marketing season 2014-15 which starts from Oct 1, 2014, rice with moisture content beyond 14 percent will not be accepted and the consignment will be rejected and have to be taken back by the millers.“In order to limit the moisture content exactly at 14 percent the millers have to maintain average moisture of 13-13.5 percent during milling of paddy to accommodate climatic variations.

“The main problem is that by keeping low moisture in the paddy before milling, the paddy will lose its elasticity, which is essential to withstand the pressure of rice polishing and the percentage of broken rice will increase resulting in loss of overall full grain rice recovery.“It will also adversely affect the rice out-turn ratio (paddy to rice).“This is an all India problem but states like Odisha, which produce higher quantity of boiled rice, will be the most affected.“Millers are already suffering from high handedness of the labourers and depot in-charge.

“The association has written a letter to the secretary of the food and civil supply department of the Odisha government Thursday and has sought its recommendation to the central government in this regard.“Two delegates representing state rice millers will be meeting the union food minister at New Delhi Sep 29 along with delegates from other states through federation of All India Rice Millers Association.“On an average Odisha produces seven million tonnes of paddy every year and procures 4.5 million tonnes from farmers for custom milling to produce three million tonnes of rice,” Agrawal said.

Is California's Rice Crop in Danger?

Posted Wednesday, September 24th 2014 @ 11am by KFBK News - Kaitlin Lewis

California's ongoing drought could soon claim another victim: the state's rice crop.With surface water sources drying, the problem for rice producers are facing is having enough water available to fill rice paddies."We anticipate the crops spans about 420,000 acres, and that's down 25 percent from last year's crop. That's strictly because of the drought," said Jim Morris, communications manager for the California Rice Commission.Morris says don't be fooled -- the loss is not a crisis.

And actually, according to Rick Schuil with Schuil & Associates, an agriculture real estate firm, the value of farmland is up."A lot of it is our exports. California has done a great job of exporting farm goods. The dollar has been really balanced in global trade, so therefore farmers are making a better return," Schuil said. California exports about half of its crop, mostly to Asia.Morris adds the Commission supports Prop 1, which looks to improve water storage.And while harvest has just begun, he anticipates there will be enough for both foreign and domestic customers.

UPDATE 1-India's monsoon to retreat from grain areas next week Thu Sep 25, 2014 8:04pm IST

* Monsoon gradually dries up in final days * Stage set to plant early winter crops (Recasts intro, expert's comments)

By Ratnajyoti Dutta NEW DELHI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Monsoon rains will retreat next week from India's grain bowl in the northwest, although possible rainfall in its central and southern regions could still help summer crops.Grain output from the harvest of summer crops in one of the world's leading consumers and producers is forecast to be lower than last

year's due to a weak start of the JuneSeptember rainy season.But the harvest will be adequate to allow the government to continue a policy of unrestricted rice exports and to rein in food prices in the world's second most populous country.

Monsoon rains are vital because the farm sector accounts for around 14 percent of the national economy and half of India's farmland lacks irrigation.The monsoon is the main determinant of rural spending on consumer goods ranging from lipstick to cars as two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion people live in villages as well as affecting food prices.The monsoon started retreating from western India last week, reflecting a fortnight's delay in the withdrawal of this year's annual summer rains."No monsoon activities are expected in plain areas of north India in the next couple of days," said B.P. Yadav, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre at the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The delayed withdrawal is expected to aid sowing prospects next month for winter crops such as wheat and rapeseed by improving soil moisture content.Summer crops such as rice, corn, sugarcane, soybeans and cotton no longer need downpours, though sporadic rains can aid their growth.The rains were 9 percent below average in the week to Sept. 24, compared with 25 percent below average rainfall in the previous week, the weather office said on Thursday.Weather officials said there still could be rain in the sugarcane, rubber and tea-growing areas of south India over the

next couple of days and that rain is also likely over soybean-growing areas of central India and rice areas of its eastern region.

Rains at the end of the summer are seen as boosting 2014/15 rice yields after patchy rains during the first half and flash floods in the second half led India's farm ministry to forecast a 4 percent year-on-year drop in output to 88 million tonnes.Floods in the northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya have killed at least 71 people in the retreating monsoon phase.Rains have been 11 percent below average overall since the start of the monsoon season on June 1, reflecting a sharp improvement from June, when the level was down 43 percent, the weakest start in five years. (editing by Jane Baird)

Nigeria: JAI to Invest U.S.$150 Million On Rice Production in Anambra State

By Eromosele Abiodun Joseph Agro Industries Limited (JAI) has signed a backward integration memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Anambra State Government to invest an initial $150 million (N25 billion) for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Omor Rice Mill under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement. Executive Director JAI, Ken Irhiogbe, in a statement, said that China Machinery Equipment Corporation (CMEC), has been appointed technical partners to support in up-scaling the mill's

current capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes to an initial 100,000 metric tonnes, development of 14000 hectares of land into irrigated paddy fields and construction of a green energy bio mass power plant in Omor using rice husk as feedstock.

"As part of its long-term strategic objective to ensure sustainability through technology transfer, the company will collaborate with the Confucius Institute, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka to produce Chinese speaking Nigerian students to understudy best rice technology practice," he said.He added that JAI's objective is to produce 167,000 metric tonnes of rice paddies using two cropping seasons while another 15,000 hectares is under negotiation, for development into highly irrigated rice paddy fields In his address, the Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano commended JAI for its support for the state government's cardinal points and objectives for agriculture and also in the process providing job opportunities for over 10,000 indigenes by using the out growers scheme. This development, according to the governor will greatly enhance the economic development of the State and Nigeria.He emphasized that with the progress already made by the State in rice production, the project will almost eliminate the state's supply deficit.Obiano observed that the completion of the project will translate to accelerated development of human and technical capacity which will in turn enhance rice production in the State.

He also noted that with the project coming on-stream, it will have direct impact on the growth of internally generated revenue for the State. In a bid to realise the goal of ensuring self-sufficiency in rice production by 2015, the federal government has said it is targeting the production of 1.6million metric tonnes of paddy rice during this dry

season farming.Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, announced this in Abuja at a meeting with a delegation of farmers from Zamfara State.

Adesina, who explained that about 1.1 million metric tonnes of paddy rice were produced in 10 selected Northern States, assured that in 2013, the federal government would support farmers to produce 1.6million metric tonnes of rice. He expressed optimism that Nigeria would be selfsufficient in rice production by 2015, noting that the present administration was deeply committed to ensuring that Nigeria becomes a power-house in food production

New rice helps Mekong farmers battle worsening floods, salt intrusion Source: CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) - Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:00 GMT

Author: Georgina Smith, CIAT

Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Flooding in the lower Mekong Delta is becoming more intense, frequent and complex to control due to climate change, say researchers. The 17 million farmers living on the Delta in Vietnam‟s southernmost tip - where 60 percent of the country‟s rice is produced – need solutions.As the government contemplates costs of up to $2.1 billion to protect crops and people from weather extremes and salt water intrusion, rice researchers are trying to equip farmers with more robust rice varieties. Rice farmer Ho Thai Benam‟s crop was hit by disease earlier in the year. “I have children studying in the city and with low rice productivity I don‟t have enough money for their tuition,” she said.

She is looking for rice that is diseaseresistant, high-yielding and fetches a good price, she said. After a workshop in her community about improved rice varieties, she selected new seeds that should help her protect her crop from disease and flooding, and boost yields.She is among hundreds of farmers targeted by an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research-funded project investigating challenges facing farmers including lack of suitable rice varieties resistant to flood and salt water tolerance.

Climate Change Affecting Land Use in the Mekong Delta: Adaptation of Rice-based Cropping Systems (CLUES) is led by researchers at the International Rice Research Institute and part of global efforts to tackle climate change in the region under the international agricultural research group

CGIARâ€&#x;s Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Image: Prof. Nguyen Thi Lang, a Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute breeder, holds up a sample of a new rice variety being developed in Vietnam. CIAT/Georgina Smith

Tires made from rice?

Goodyear finds new source of key tire ingredient

extracting the silica, however, has been neither easy nor fuel efficient. Sand must be heated in blast furnaces up to 1500 degrees Celsius in order to separate the silica from other impurities in the sand.Not so with the rice husk ash, the leftovers from rice mills that burn the husks to generate green power. Once the husk is burned, the ash is comprised mostly of silica. Silica can be extracted from the ash at much lower temperatures, around 200 degrees Celsius, using much less energy.

The idea began at a U.S. Department of Defense conference in 2010. There, engineers from Goodyear discovered that rice mills were burning the husks to generate power."Our natural instinct was to see what was in the rice industry, we ended up at rice mills in different parts of the world," said

AKRON, Ohio -- About 20 years ago, in an effort to improve fuel efficiency, Goodyear started adding silica, the main component of sand, to some tires. Now the company has found a way to use silica in wasted ash from rice mills to cut down on costs and energy.

The cheap source of silica is just one part of a larger plan by Goodyear and its rivals to cut down on the amount of oil and coal consumed and used as ingredients in its tires.

The silica reduces the frictional properties of the rubber, which allows high efficiency and high performance tires to glide along pavement with less effort.Actually

Surendra Chawla, senior director of external science and technology for Goodyear. He is basically an agent who investigates technology of which Goodyear could take advantage.Chawla found that rice mills had been burning the husks, but the leftover ash was discarded as a waste product.

"It generates a lot of ash, about 25 percent of that husk would be ash," Chawla said.

"This ash is very rich in silica content."About 75 percent of the ash is silica, which is readily available for use in tires. Rice mills worldwide produce about 20 million metric tons of the stuff per

year as a waste product that the mills currently pay to have disposed. With such a cheap source of silica, Chawla said it could eventually find its way into all of the company's tires. "We are approaching a situation where we could have an all-green tire," Chawla said.

"We have a concept, the performance is great, we are working on suppliers and once that is over we will launch it for commercialization."Both Goodyear and rival Bridgestone have already produced prototype tires that use no oil or coal.

Bridgestone wants to start marketing the sustainable tires by 2020, Goodyear has not yet established a firm date for production

Image:Bangladeshi women work at a rice mill in Rangpur, 155 miles north of Dhaka, Bangladesh Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009.

Goodyear is developing a technique to use rice husk ash as a sustainable ingredient in tires. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

Dry year means smooth sailing for rice growers, if they had water

By Heather Hacking hhacking@chicoer.com @HeatherHacking on Twitter Rice fields are looking beautiful this time of year. The tops of the spindly plants are heavy with rice kernels and the straw has

turned a slightly chartreuse shade of green.

As far as yield and ease of growing, farmers don't have many complaints.However, that's only if there was enough water.If you drive down any back road leading to Highway 162 this week, you'll see rice harvesters slowly working their way across the mature fields.

Turn your head a notch and you'll spot an equally large expanse of barren dirt.Jim Morris, of the California Rice Commission, said the estimate is that 25 percent of rice land was left fallow this year, based on figures linked to seed sales. For the Central Valley, an estimated 420,000 acres has been cultivated.

The harvest looks pretty good, he noted.Some growers, including those who receive water from Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, received 75 percent of their normal water supply this year. Other water districts received zero water, if they had junior water rights. Water has been transferred and sold throughout the valley, with most landowners giving priority to trees that would die without water. The same goes for well water, when available.

Most rice farmers in California produce medium grain, used for sushi and other rice dishes.

READY TO ROLL The harvest season began about 10 days ago, and is less than quarter complete, said farmer Stacy Gore, who works land in the Nelson area.It's still a little early to know how yield will turn out."I'm always afraid to forecast the fields. It can look really good and then you cut it "A warm summer meant the rice grew fairly quickly, then the weather

turned fairly normal as the kernels began to form, he said.

Rice that grows too fast can run out of nitrogen and have weak stems, later developing less yield. Yet, that doesn't appear to have been the case.In the Richvale area, growers received 100 percent of their water allocation due to secure water rights, but farmers didn't know that until close to planting time.Mike Denny, vice president of farm operations for Lundberg Family Farms said he was "preparing to plant not knowing if we would have water."The drought stresses the need for more water storage in the state, Denny said. "In my opinion, we all need to get behind this," by passing the water bond and moving toward construction of Sites Reservoir, he continued.As far as the growing season, dry weather will provide an excellent growing season.

Disease is diminished, yield can be high, etc., he said.Denny said the next concern is water this winter, when farmers typically flood their fields.

Most likely, winter water supply will be cut back. Farmers will set up their fields to capture as much water as they can, but dealing with winter rice straw, which normally decomposes in flooded fields, will be another management issue, he noted.Fewer flooded fields means less water for bird habitat. Lundberg Family Farms will pump water to provide winter bird habitat, he said.The Gorrill Ranch near Durham began harvesting rice last Friday, starting with the short-grains. Medium grain will follow.Ranch president Daniel Robinson said the prediction is for an early

autumn rain this week, which could slow what has been a good start. If the amount of rain is significant, the fields may need to dry out for a few days before the harvest continues.

The forecast is that harvest will continue until mid to end October.Farmers who grow walnuts may begin harvest as early as next week, Robinson said. Meanwhile, some almond growers are also still finishing up with the end of almond harvest.This makes for many slow-moving farm vehicles on country roads. Motorists should be patient, or plan to take a main highway.

Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 8967758.

Bulk Bag Filler Speeds Packaging at Rice Mill September 24, 2014 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the total 2012 U.S. rice harvest is estimated at 196.3 million hundredweight (8.9 million metric tons).

The vast majority of this crop comes from six states – Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas – an estimated 47.3 million hundredweight (2.1 million metric tons), or about 24 percent, from Louisiana alone.

Because the Louisiana harvest takes place primarily over two months, it places a huge demand on the areaâ€&#x;s processing capacity.

Any delay in moving the processed rice to market can result in severe cash flow problems for growers. To deal with this peak demand, Kennedy Rice, one of the largest

growers in Louisiana, has constructed a new rice processing facility to convert freshly harvested and dried grain, known as rough rice, into polished white rice ready for sale to customers.

Opened in September, 2012 with the capacity to process up to 3 million hundredweight (136,000 metric tons) of rough rice per year, the facility took about two years to build, and cost more than $10 million.

The Kennedy rice mill fills orders as they are received rather than stockpiling polished white rice in a warehouse. Ninety-five percent of the finished product is shipped in bulk by rail or barge, but a growing amount of it is packaged in 2000-lb bulk bags that the company fills using a Twin-Centerpost bulk bag filler from Flexicon Corp.

Bulk Bags Filled in Response to Orders “We usually try to complete bulk bag orders two to three days in advance. The bulk bag filler is located in the warehouse, so filled bags do not need to be moved until they are ready to be shipped,” says Marley Oldham, plant manager. “Since we only recently began offering polished white rice in bulk bags, they account for a small percentage of our total production. We expect demand to increase significantly, however, and our bulk bag filler is designed to meet our future requirements.”

The polished white rice to be packaged in bulk bags is aspirated to remove dust particles before being fed into an 80-in.high, 82-cu-ft-capacity hopper mounted above the bulk bag filler. The rice flows

from the hopper through a dome valve and 10-in.-diam flexible downspouting into the bulk bag suspended above the deck of the Model BFL-CFHW-X Twin-Centerpost bulk bag filler.

Bulk Bag Filler Designed for Automatic

Operation Plant air inflates the 50-in.-high bag for filling while an inflatable collar on the fill head holds and seals the bag spout. A filtered air vent at the fill head assures dustfree delivery of material to the bulk bag while providing a simple way to allow displaced air to exit the bag.Except for manually connecting the bag spout to the inflatable collar, the process is automated by a programmable logic controller (PLC).

Load cells beneath the pallet deck send signals to the PLC, which automatically stops the flow of rice by closing the dome valve when the bag reaches its target weight.

The operator only needs to pull the bag spout off the inflatable collar and tie it closed. The filled bag and pallet are removed by forklift. “Connecting, filling, and disconnecting a bag takes only about three minutes altogether,” says Oldham.

“Flexicon‟s representative, Robert K.

Wilson & Associates of Houston, TX, worked with Flexicon‟s engineering department to evaluate our needs and determine equipment specifications, and then helped supervise installation and startup.”

“This new facility has created over 20 permanent local jobs,” says Elton Kennedy, who along with his daughter, Meryl, oversaw design and construction of the mill.

“It also gives regional producers another outlet for their rice crops with lower transportation costs and a faster return on their investment."

For more information on Flexicon Corp.

(Bethlehem, PA), call 888-353-9426 or visit www.flexicon.com.

Image: A bulk bag of polished white rice is ready for shipment

News Shared by USA RICE Federation USDA Today Announced Key Farm Bill Details for PLC and ARC Programs Using a scientific process known as marker assisted back-crossing, researchers identified favorable traits in well-adapted rice varieties, such as high yield, and combined them with other favorable traits to create hardier rice varieties.In total, 36 single and multiple crosses have been made to combine ability to withstand being submerged and

salinity tolerance with high grain quality. So far 2,768 kilograms of the new seed have been released to farmers.Professor Nguyen Thi Lang, at the Delta‟s Cuu Long Rice Research Institute, explains: “We release the improved rice varieties to local breeding and agricultural extension centres, which multiply and provide them to farmers in their areas. ”According to Ngo Dang Phong, a coordinator of CLUES, “flooding and sea water intrusion are two of the biggest threats to rice producers in the lower Mekong Delta.”It is projected that by 2030, salt water could contaminate 41 percent of the Delta.Such changes “threaten farming and social systems now more than ever,” he added.CLUES researchers have mapped hot spots of flooding and salinity intrusion, and assessed the impact of infrastructure development on the lower Mekong River since 2011.They have advised farmers to intercrop rice with crops like cucumber, which cope well with different soil types, have low water requirements and grow quickly, to provide income between crops.

Experiments on different management techniques also revealed that alternatively flooding and draining fields can slash water use by about 20 percent and save irrigationassociated fuel and labor costs of about $120 per hectare. The changes also can cut methane emissions from continuous flooding rice production in half.Such climate-smart practices are more realistic than just switching crops, which is not an option for many farmers like Ho Thai Benam. Rice has been grown for generations and is a central food security crop and export earner in Vietnam, fetching around $2.9 billion in earnings in 2013.

2014 USA Rice Outlook Conference Registration Now Open ARLINGTON , VA -The USA Rice Outlook Conference and Trade Show will be held Decembe r 7-9 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, AR. Register by November 10 to take advantage of an "early bird" registration discount. The educational program will cover farm bill implementation, trade issues, state-bystate rice production outlooks, state and national rice research, and more. News on rice-related equipment, technology, products and services also will be featured in a special session. Information on conference exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities is available online or call(703) 236-1447. Watch the USA Rice Daily for conference news and updates.

Contact: Jeanette Davis (703) 236-1447

Special Hotel Rates Offered for USA Rice Outlook Conference

ARLINGTON, VA -- The USA Rice Outlook Conference hotel block at the Little Rock Marriott is now open with rates of $129, single/double, for reservations made by November 5 or until the room block fills. This special rate also is available three days prior and three days after the official conference dates, subject to hotel availability.To make your reservations, call the hotel at (877) 759-6290 and ask for the USA Rice rate, or click here tomake reservations online.

Contact: Jeanette Davis (703) 236-1447

USA Rice Helps High School Sports Fans Think Rice!

FALLS CHURCH, VA -- In One Raider Rice Bowl coming up! conjunctio n with National Rice Month and back to school, the USA Rice Federation has partnered with a high school here to get healthy rice bowls on the menu at high school sporting events, and the initial reaction is extremely positive.USA Rice supplied JEB Stuart High School with a 40cup commercial rice cooker, several rice bowl recipes, nutritional information, and rice signage. The Raider Boosters, the volunteers in charge of concessions at the games, chose to kick the year off with a Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl with Broccoli that they call "The Raider Rice Bowl," after

Contact: Michael Klein (703) 236-1458

the school mascot.

"We liked the idea of offering the rice bowl to our students and guests because it's an easy-to-make, complete meal," explained Rich Bacherman, concessions manager for the school. "A lot of the athletes and kids don't have time to go home before games; they look to us to feed them. We wanted to go beyond hot dogs, candy bars, and soda, and give them something filling, nutritious, and affordable."Bacherman said the Raider Rice Bowl sold out at the first two home volleyball games and made quite an impression on visitors to the school.

"I

can't believe they're Rice wins every time actually cooking all this stuff right here," said an athlete from a visiting team who purchased two bowls. "We just serve hot dogs and greasy pizza. This is great!""This Raider Rice Bowl is the best thing I've eaten from a concession stand at any sporting event at any level," said one school official."We appreciate the support of the USA Rice Federation for our school and our athletes, and we're happy to help get the message out that rice is part of a healthy diet and that it's grown here in the U.S.," Bacherman said.

Weekly Rice Sales, Exports Reported WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 46,400 MT for 2014/2015 were up 51 percent from the previous week and 5 percent from the prior fourweek average, according to today's Export Sales Highlights report. Increases were reported for El Salvador (12,000 MT), Japan (12,000 MT), Honduras (9,400 MT, including 8,400 MT switched from unknown destinations), Saudi Arabia (8,600 MT), and South Korea (6,100 MT).

Decreases were reported for unknown destinations (8,400 MT), Haiti (600 MT), and Guatemala (100 MT). Exports of 68,800 MT were up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were to Venezuela (32,700 MT), Honduras (9,300 MT), Haiti (8,300 MT), Ghana (7,000 MT), and Mexico (4,100 MT).

This summary is based on reports from exporters from the period September 12-18.

News shared by Rice Grower Association of Australia

Tracking Bunyip Birds Rice farmers across the Riverina and bird lovers throughout Australia are being urged to get behind a

crowdfunding project set to uncover the secrets of Australia's Bunyip Bird by using satellite transmitters.The globally endangered Australasian Bittern is one of the country's most poorly known birds, but recently a breeding population using rice crops has been found to occur in very significant numbers, yet nobody knows where they go after the rice has been harvested.

The Bitterns in Rice Project is a collaboration between Birdlife Australia, the Ricegrowersâ€&#x; Association of Australia (RGA), the Riverina Local Land Services, Murrumbidgee Landcare and range of other organisations. It is aiming to raise $50 000 to satellite track at least seven bitterns, providing valuable ecological data and enabling people to follow the birds' movements online.

Click here to view full media release.

The project needs your help to raise the funds required.Click here to read more about the project and pledge your support.

Upcoming Waterfowl Identification Test for Landholders Landholders who have been issued a Native Game Bird Management Licence to manage native game birds on their land and hunters wishing to participate in the program are able to register for two upcoming Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT) assessments.  

Deniliquin - Wednesday, 1 October 2014, 12 noon to 2 pm.

Wakool - Thursday, 2 October 2014, 4 pm to 6 pm.

The assessments will be conducted by the Victorian Game Management Authority in conjunction with the DPI Game Licensing Unit. Landholders and hunters who have submitted an expression of interest will be contacted by the Native Game Bird Support Officer with information about the assessment.

Landholders and hunters wishing to attend either WIT session must submit Form GB-W - Expression of Interest: Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT) as soon as possible.

NSW DPI Trials Field Day NSW DPI is holding a Trials Field Day on Tuesday 30th September 2014. Meeting at Yanco Agricultural Institute - Start at 9.00am with a 12 noon finish Topics covered:  Managed environment facility, what it is and the research taking place  Canola and cereal variety x canopy management trial  Double cropping trial, evaluating different irrigated crop rotations

Click here to view the field day flyer

World first app for Australian farmers and beekeepers to assist protect pollinators (FED)

Australian farmers and beekeepers now have access to a world-first smart-phone application to help ensure the safety of bees during normal farming practices.

CropLife Australia, the peak national organisation for the plant science sector, today launched BeeConnected, a first of its kind geomap based, user-driven communication and coordination tool to help protect Australia‟s honey bee population. BeeConnected allows farmers to easily log the location of their properties through a Google Maps-based platform with GPS capability.

Beekeepers can use the same functions to log the present or future locations of their beehives. When a beehive is logged nearby to a farmer's property, both users are sent automated notifications and are able to chat further about their activities via a secure internal messaging service. Farmers and agricultural service contractors can also use BeeConnected to log the time and location of a specific crop protection product application activity. They are then connected with beekeepers in the specific geographical area by the same alert and messaging system. Click here to read more.

BeeConnected can be downloaded for free as an iPhone or Android App, or accessed on a desktop computer via a web browser. For more information, and to download, visit www.croplife.org.au/beeconnected

Closing 3rd October - 2015 Science and Innovation Awards Applications are closing Friday 3rd October for the 2015 Science Awards. If you‟re 18-35, this is your chance to apply for a grant of up to $22,000 to fund your project on an innovative or emerging scientific issue that will benefit Australia‟s primary industries.

For more information about 2015 Science and Innovation Awards click here.

Australian Water Association – National Water Policy Summit Australian Water Association National Water Policy Summit will be held 14-15 October 2014 Join some of Australia‟s most influential and engaging industry leaders from the water, resources and agribusiness sectors and focus on setting the priorities to shape

an „industry-led‟ water strategy, to reposition water as a major economic driver for Australia‟s future.

Speakers include SunRice‟s Chairman Gerry Lawson; Rio Tinto‟s water policy advisor Mike Harold and Thibaut de Crisnay, Managing Director Veolia Water Technologies Australia. Amongst the topics being considered are the challenges and preferred solutions to reforming how the water sector is regulated and structured to increase public and private investment.

Be part of the conversation. Register now at www.awa.asn.au/waterpolicysummit

Essential tips and tools for small businesses Free interactive government webinar Essential tips and tools for small businesses: four government regulators tell you the key things you should know Date: Wednesday 22 October 2014 Time: 6.00pm–7.00pm AEDT Do you run a small business or are you thinking about starting one? Do you advise small businesses or work in a business or industry association with small business members?

If this describes you, then register for this webinar to find out about some of the key rights and responsibilities small businesses have under Australian law when:  registering a company or business name  hiring or managing employees  selling goods and services to customers  setting up invoicing, payments and records

systems.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian Taxation Office and the Fair Work Ombudsman are Australian government regulators who play an important role throughout the life-cycle of any small business.

Expert presenters from these four regulators are taking part in this free and

interactive webinar where they will answer your questions, give tips and talk about some government tools that can help small businesses save effort, time and money.

Business Enterprise Centres Australia is facilitating this webinar and Small Biz Connect (University of Western Sydney) is also participating in the interactive question-and-answer panel with the four government regulators.

You can register to attend this webinar by clicking here.

For Advertising SPECS & RATES Contact: Advertising Department Mujahid Ali mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com +92 321 369 2874