For most, rice farming has been tough to sustain in 2025. Marketing challenges and increasing input costs make even the best yields seem slim on our balance sheets in all rice growing regions of Louisiana.

But what if we didn’t have the yields we do? When times get tough, research results become even more important. Having trusted expertise to lean on through variety selection, disease management, weed control programs or pest pressures rise to a new level of critical value.

It is vital to the sustainability of our industry to press forward in research and doing so is something I am proud to say we as growers not only continue to sustain, but elevate, through increased input from you and the members that represent you on our board.

The Louisiana Rice Research Board (LRRB) continues to take 14 rice farmers, along with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and put our best foot forward in maximizing your investment through our $0.05/hundredweight contribution to return to you best management practices, quality varieties and a research station that is second to none.

Looking ahead to the 2026 research year, we know we have a new pest pressure in the state that has not been seen in generations. The rice delphacid is a hot topic, and LRRB’s members are seeking expedited research to answer questions on how to manage this pest.

We also continue to place emphasis on disease management. Through a special project funded by LRRB, LSU AgCenter’s Jonathan Richards is producing never before seen work and discoveries in narrow brown leaf spot and Cercospora net blotch. We have a great team that continues to stretch available fungicides to their maximum potential, while seeking industry partners to consider investment into better control options for rice diseases.

Above all, our dollars continue to grow and advance a cutting-edge breeding program that is the foundation of everything we do. Yield potential and milling quality begins with the seed we plant. Our core research programs elevate the potential those seeds provide by equipping us with tests performed that we otherwise wouldn’t see. Rice breeder Adam Famoso continues to drive interest in milling quality and characteristics to help meet the demands of our customers worldwide.

Lastly, I’d highlight the outstanding work of Michael Deliberto through his economic, farm policy and applied farm budgeting tools that we all use heavily every year. These challenging marketing and trade deal negotiation years bring to light how talented Deliberto’s work is when most needed. His economic analysis has been used to educate lawmakers in a big way this past year, and I am sure it will be critical in whatever is to come as we seek more domestic and international opportunities to move our rice in the future.

As we all band together individually as family farms and businesses, as well as an industry, I ask that you continue to remain invested in the long-term successes of the checkoff program. Your contribution is critical. As costs rise on our research programs too, every dollar counts in making the overall deliverables of the Louisiana Rice Research Board a reality. We pledge as representatives of the Louisiana rice industry to hold our researchers accountable and continue to seek ways to deliver these results back to you in a meaningful way.

Finally, 2026 will be a nomination year for appointments to the LRRB. If you, or a rice farmer you know, would be interested in serving on our board, I encourage you to connect with a nominating organization and step up as a leader. Before I joined the board, I didn’t begin to know all the work behind the scenes that makes these research advancements happen. That starts with the board members who give their time and voice freely to advance our mission.

Thank you to the board members of the LRRB and all those who participate with us. I wish you all a prosperous 2026 and look forward to working with you to achieve brighter days ahead.

John Denison, Chairman
Louisiana Rice Research Board