Annual Western Rice Belt Conference-El Campo, Texas – January 17, 2024

The annual Western Rice Belt Production Conference will be held on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 at the El Campo Civic Center.  The Rice Conference is composed of a Production Conference for rice producers and rice industry professionals, and a Rice Consumers Seminar for homemakers.  One change to this year’s conference is the addition of an early bird session on Feral Hog Abatement in the Myatt room from 7 a.m. to 7:50 a.m.  Registration for the conference will begin at 7:30 a.m., with the main program to begin at 8:15 a.m.  After a catered lunch, provided by area agribusiness sponsors, the program will conclude around 2:45 p.m.

This joint effort between the Western Rice Belt planning committee, The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, U.S. Rice Producers Association, and U.S.A. Rice will offer growers and others the opportunity to hear presentations from the professionals and leaders in the agriculture industry.  Topics and speakers will include:  Rice Variety Performance, RiceTec—Derrol Grymes; Horizon Ag—Tim Walker; Dynagro—Scott Greenwalt; and AgriLife Research—Shyamal Talukder.  Rice Insecticide Update—Lina Bernaola; LCRA Irrigation Water Update—John Hofmann; Rice Production Economics—Dr. Mark Welch; Sustainable Rice Production—Dr. Jake Mowrer; Texas Rice Council Report—Tommy Turner; Texas Rice Research Foundation Report—Galen Franz; Utilization of Agronomic Data – Ross Rinderknecht, Helena Chemical; USDA-NCRS Conservation Programs Update— David Daniels.  The results of the Rice Poster Contest will be announced during the lunch hour by County Extension Agents Lori Garcia and Laura Reyna.

There is no fee to attend the Western Rice Belt Conference.  Sponsors who support the rice industry make this program possible.  The Planning Committee is asking all attendees to RSVP so that we can plan the meal accordingly.  Because of the increase in the cost of food and catering, we’ll need a better idea of how many plates to order. We’ve made the RSVP process simple. Attendees can call the Wharton County Extension Office to RSVP, click on a pdf file of the Rice Conference Flyer, or download the QR code from the flyer.

For more information, contact the Texas AgriLife Extension office in Colorado County at 979-732-2082; in Matagorda County at 979-245-4100; or Wharton County at 979-532-3310; or go to https://wharton.agrilife.org/event/2024-western-rice-production-conference/

Click here to view the 2024 Western Rice Belt Conference Agenda