Letter From the CEO
Thank you to all council members who attended our December “Post-Harvest” District Council meetings.
Dear Council Members,
Thank you to all council members who attended our December “Post-Harvest” District Council meetings. I look forward to this meeting, as it presents another opportunity to communicate with you face-to-face and discuss the major issues affecting your farming operations and our cooperative.
The highlight of the meetings was a major development concerning medium grain. In early December, we learned from a major industrial user of medium grain that they would not be approving 3202 for use in their process. We also learned from another large industrial user of medium grain that they plan to switch their manufacturing facilities to long grain in 2027, due to the price spread between long grain and medium grain. These two decisions drastically limit Riceland’s marketing options for medium grain, which could negatively impact pricing opportunities in 2027.
With one major user of medium grain completely out of the market and the other unwilling to take 3202, the hard decision had to be made not to accept 3202 in the fall of 2026. Industrially approved varieties currently are Jupiter, Titan, and CLM04. Varieties currently being evaluated by the industrial user include Tauras, CLM05, and DG353M. These evaluations should be completed by early February, and we will update you and the membership once we have the results from the customer.
There are many opinions about this decision, but the bottom line is this is based on protecting the membership from a potential future threat in the marketplace. A major responsibility of your team at Riceland is limiting risk to our farmer members when possible, and I believe this decision is a clear action of your team fulfilling that responsibility.
Early plans are being developed on how to operate the Drier Division if our membership plants a substantially smaller rice crop this coming spring. These plans will be very fluid until we get a better handle on what the crop will be. Locations for soybeans, medium grain, and long grain will be evaluated for servicing our members and efficient operation of the Division.
I would like to thank Riceland’s government affairs team, USA Rice, Arkansas Rice, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and American Soybean Association for their efforts in making the recently announced ad hoc package possible. These packages do not magically appear. Advocacy is extremely important in these tough times, and your Riceland team is on the front line for you.
Thanks again for your service to the cooperative through the District Councils. You are an ambassador for Riceland, and if you need additional information to answer any questions you have or members in your district have, please reach out.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!
Be safe out there!
Go Big Blue!