(02/28/18) LONG BEACH, Calif. — Retired LSU AgCenter researchers Steve Linscombe and Johnny Saichuk were honored with distinguished service awards from the 2018 Rice Technical Working Group on Feb. 14.
The Rice Technical Working Group is an international group of rice experts that meets every even-numbered year to collaborate on research involving several areas, including plant breeding and genetics, rice culture, pest control, economics and marketing.
Linscombe retired last year as a rice breeder and director of the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Crowley. Saichuk retired in 2015 as the AgCenter state rice specialist.
Both remain active in the rice industry. Linscombe is now director of the Rice Foundation and the Rice Leadership Development program, and Saichuk works for BASF with the Provisia program.
In another award, Linscombe and current AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell were part of a team that received the Distinguished Rice Research and Education Award. They were recognized for an irrigation project that focused on water management and greenhouse gases in rice cultivation.
Other members of the team are Michelle Reba, Joe Massey, Arlene Adviento-Borbe, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Benjamin Runkle, Chris Henry and Jarrod Hardke, of the University of Arkansas; Arkansas crop consultant Merle Anders; and Bruce Linquist of the University of California, Davis.
Also receiving awards were LSU master’s students Connor Webster and Matt Osterholt.
Webster won first place in oral presentation for his talk on weed control titled “Halosulfuron Applied at Reduced Rates with Quizalofop in Provisia Rice.”
Osterholt placed third in the poster presentation for his presentation titled “Interactions of RiceOne and Individual Herbicide Components Mixed with RiceBeaux.”
Both students are working under AgCenter weed scientist Eric Webster.
Steve Linscombe, former LSU AgCenter rice breeder and director of the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, retired in 2017. He was honored with a Distinguished Service Award from the 2018 Rice Technical Working on Feb. 14 in Long Beach, California. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter
Former LSU AgCenter state rice specialist Johnny Saichuk was honored with a Distinguished Service Award from the 2018 Rice Technical Working Group on Feb. 14 in Long Beach, California. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter
Connor Webster, an LSU master’s student, placed first in the oral presentation of the Weed Control and Growth Regulation Section at the Rice Technical Working Group meeting in Long Beach, California. Photo by Eric Webster/LSU AgCenter
Matt Osterholt placed third in the poster presentation section at the Rice Technical Working Group meeting in Long Beach, California. Photo by Eric Webster/LSU AgCenter
Dustin Harrell, AgCenter rice specialist, was part of a team that received the Distinguished Rice Research and Education Award at the Rice Technical Working Group meeting in Long Beach, California, on Feb. 14. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter