We recently discussed the ongoing emphasis in sustainable crop production and the implications this might have for future rice production. A number of producers, scientists, millers and others in the rice industry have been working on the sustainability initiative through the USA Rice Federation’s Sustainability Task Force. We also have been working closely with Kellogg’s to develop a workable program for the Louisiana rice producers who grow rice destined for Kellogg’s products.

The task force commissioned a study by HIS Global Insight to establish a baseline for rice resource efficiency. Several research scientists (including myself and Dr. Mike Salassi) worked with this group. The goal is to develop benchmark data to evaluate improvement over time and changes in crop production practices on rice sustainability parameters such as land use, energy efficiency, soil loss, water usage and environmental/carbon footprint. The study included the major rice producing states of Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. The scope of the data collected includes the materials and activities needed to produce the rice crop and get it to the first point of storage after harvest. The intention was to capture the energy, carbon and other resources needed to produce and dry the crop, as well as the energy embodied in crop protection chemicals, fertilizers and seed.

General conclusions from this study illustrate that the rice industry has made significant improvements in its sustainability of production over the past 20-30 years. One important factor here is that U.S. rice yields have increased more than 60 percent in the past 30 years. This increase in productively allows U.S. rice producers to satisfy growing demand with no additional land area in production.

Specific findings show that rice producers have decreased the amount of land required to produce 100 pounds of rice by 21 percent, which has led to an 821,000-acre reduction in land used for production in 2009 compared with 20 years ago.

There also has been a 43 percent reduction in soil loss associated with U.S. rice production since 1987. This has, in turn, meant that soil erosion associated with the 2009 crop production was reduced by 5.4 million tons compared with the production two decades ago.

The water used to produce 100 pounds of rice has decreased by 33 percent, saving nearly 24 million gallons of water in 2009, compared with 20 years ago. In addition, more than 20 percent of the current rice farming operations use recycled or reclaimed water in production of the crop.

There has been a 52 percent reduction in the energy used to produce 100 pounds of rice over this 20-year period, which is the equivalent of 280 million gallons of diesel.

Perhaps most importantly, there has been a 29 percent reduction in soil methane production per 100 pounds of rice. The climate impact net of soil methane has dropped by 42 percent during this same period.

The study also noted the positive contributions that rice production provides to wildlife and biodiversity, and the report concluded that the U.S. rice industry is moving toward meeting an increasing demand while achieving a significant reduction in environmental impact per 100 pounds of rice produced.

In summary, this report shows that rice has a good story to tell in improvements of the past few years. However, there is always room for more improvement, and our goal for the future will be to continue sustainability in rice production while maintaining and improving profitability in the Louisiana rice industry.

Permission granted January 18, 2011 by B. Leonards (LA Farm & Ranch) to republish article on www.lsuagcenter.com.