Harvest Update from the Drier Network
Every harvest tells a story, and this year’s story looked a little different than most.
Every harvest tells a story, and this year’s story looked a little different than most. We didn’t experience the typical high-volume days or the truck lines that never seem to end. Instead, we had a wet planting season that reduced acreage in some areas and stretched harvest out longer than normal across the network. While that eased congestion at times, it brought a different kind of challenge for our drier division.
This is a volume-driven business, and many of the costs tied to our facilities, equipment, and people are fixed, so we can be ready to serve you when harvest arrives. In years with high volumes, those costs are spread across more bushels. This year, with lower volumes, that same commitment to service carried greater financial pressure. In lower volume years, how we operate matters more than ever. Running a facility at half capacity often costs nearly the same as running it at full capacity. The lights stay on, the equipment runs, and the people are still needed, but with fewer bushels to spread those costs across, efficiency becomes critical. To be good stewards of your cooperative, we had to make disciplined, intentional operational decisions. At several locations, we temporarily shut down certain drying units to reduce overtime and staffing costs. In other cases, we made the decision to ship green rice from lower-volume facilities to mill-point locations, allowing us to better utilize our equipment and personnel. These moves enabled us to avoid running underutilized assets, control expenses, and maintain the system’s efficiency as much as possible during a challenging year. These were not easy decisions, but they were necessary to protect the cooperative while still maintaining dependable service to our membership.
I want you to know this: we take the responsibility of handling your crop very seriously. The men and women at Riceland put in a lot of long hours to protect what you worked all year to grow. We understand that every truckload represents months of effort, risk, and sacrifice. Riceland exists to serve our farmers, and every decision we make begins and ends with our membership at heart.
Thank you for your patience, your partnership, and your trust in Riceland. When you succeed, this cooperative succeeds — and that’s something I’m proud to be a part of.
Thank you,