RiceTec introduces new CEO and first medium grain hybrid at Arkansas Field Day

RiceTec hosted nearly 220 growers, vendors, and staff for its Arkansas Field Day event on August 11 where the company introduced new Global CEO, Karsten Neuffer, and guided groups on tours of demonstration plots for new and current products.

″I am thrilled to be a part of RiceTec and greatly appreciated the interaction with growers and our team during this year’s Field Day,″ said Neuffer. ″It is exciting to see the versatility of the products we have for the 2023 season and the technologies we’re offering to support our customers in growing a more sustainable and profitable rice crop.″  

Field stops covered advancements in rice products such as the herbicide tolerance offerings of FullPage and Max-Ace Rice Cropping Solutions alongside representation from Adama. RiceTec district sales managers, Rob Dixon and Jay Burchfield, introduced the crowd to product options for the 2023 growing season such as the company’s first medium grain hybrid, RT3202, made for the southern U.S. market.

″The grain chemistry on the medium grain hybrid is similar to our Jupiter product yet with a higher yield and 7-10 days less duration,″ explained Dixon. ″Plus, we’ll continue to offer our Max-Ace offerings and a long grain product that outyields the most popular hybrid on the conventional segment, XP753.″

Additional field stops demonstrated farm optimization techniques using the RiceTec app and the seed treatment SQUAD, RiceTec’s seed encrustment offering. This seed treatment has improved seed flowability, placement, and the opportunity to add additional Zinc and/or additional components to the seed.

Agronomist Whitney Blake and Information Technology Manager Scott Krchnak spoke in-depth with farmers about sustainable growing methods achievable using the Farm Optimization application that assists with planning, irrigation monitoring, crop stages, and even a weather feed.

The team also shared the successes of SmartRice, RiceTec’s consumer product that is grown by using more sustainable methods to reduce the use of agricultural resources. Discussions were held on alternate wetting and drying irrigation, the use of solar energy and precision irrigation to grow rice with a smaller carbon footprint.

″I am thankful for RiceTec and their Field Day event,″ said Northeast Arkansas farmer Scott Mathews. ″Their constant innovation helps me improve my farm’s productivity year after year.″

Attendees also visited with vendors like Adama, Aquarius, USA Rice, Ducks Unlimited, John Deere, and many others. They went home with gifts including a one-pound bag of white SmartRice.