Volume 17, Issue 31
August 6, 2020
In This Issue:
  • Market Update: Rice Harvest Gaining Strength, South Delta Draining a Few Fields
  • USRPA's Rice Cooking Seminar is a Great Success in Guatemala
  • Yangtze River in Asia Sees Historical Floods
  • Nutrien Variety DG-263L Set for 2021 Release
  • Washington DC Update
Market Update: Rice Harvest Gaining Strength, South Delta Draining a Few Fields
On the ground, the crop continues to mature well, and harvest is ramping up in the lower delta. According to the most recent crop progress report, Louisiana’s rice crop is now more than 92% headed, basically on pace with its historical norm. Texas has already surpassed 95% headed, and despite a few weather obstacles, growers are working hard to cut and bring their rice to the bins. 

In the upper delta, the crop is still advancing, and the general expectation is that Arkansas, which is a little behind schedule, will begin harvesting soon. Due to how long it took for the Arkansas rice crop to be planted, the harvest is expected to be a little more drawn out this year. So far, the early rice looks healthy, however with the cooler nighttime temperatures and the possibly cooler fall, the later rice yields may taper off some. Missouri eagerly awaits harvest but with the crop only 34% headed, there is still a ways to go before that can occur. 

As for the cash market, it’s basically more of the same: since old crop is virtually gone, so goes the bid. While new crop bids are surfacing in the lower delta, the market is quiet further up the Mississippi River. Louisiana new crop prices have slid some from where they first surfaced, but current bids aren’t attracting any interest from sellers. Texas cash rice activity is a bit sideways over the past few weeks. 

In the last export sales report of the 2019/20 marketing year, net sales fell to 2,600 tons in the period from 7/24 – 7/30. This was the slowest week in months, but loadings rallied to 49,100 MT. This of course is indicative of the current demand situation. Exports have slowed drastically as buyers exercise patience and look to new crop. The domestic market has also reached a standstill which is largely the result of restaurant’s closing their doors around the country, some permanently and some hopefully just temporarily as increasing COVID-19 regulations weigh heavy on the food industry nationwide. Fortunately, there is some optimism in a few states, where Corona cases that were once seeing daily surges have posted consecutive days of fewer reported cases. 

In the futures market, the nearby contracts lost a little steam from last week, but the further out contracts pressed ahead. The average volume declined by 32% against last week and open interest was 2.9%. With the USDA’s World Agriculture Supply & Demand Estimate report being released next week, the futures market may see a little shake up, but then again, most in the industry anticipate minimal changes in this month’s report. 
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Working for Our Future Farmers
The US Rice Producers Association is proud to be the only national rice producers' organization comprised by producers, elected by producers and representing producers in all six rice-producing states - including your young, up and coming producers!

Here farmer Levi Sonnier, is working hard with his father, Dwayne Sonnier, harvesting CL151, south of Welsh, LA.
USRPA's Rice Cooking Seminar is a Great Success in Guatemala
USRPA and ARROZGUA continue its success social media campaign. The interactive virtual cooking seminars, done in two stages, via Zoom has been shared on the Facebook fan page USA Arroz throughout June and July. The chefs demonstrated various rice recipes from around the world featuring U.S. grown rice, emphasizing its nutritional value and its ability to be easily incorporated into the everyday Guatemalan's diet.

U.S. Embassy Guatemala has been promoting the live cooking classes and inviting the audience to visit the USA Arroz Facebook fan page. The Facebook fan Page of USA Arroz increased 88% in the numbers of followers in the past two months and reaching audience all the way in Colombia, Peru, Mexico, USA, Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The social media campaign will continue until December.
Yangtze River in Asia Sees Historical Floods
Yangtze River, the largest river in Asia is dealing with the worst floods in has seen in decades. As monsoon season in progress, the Yangtze river basin, which is particularly prone to flood and is home to abundance of fertile farmland in China, has been largely affected, and with more torrential rain coming to this area in the following weeks it will make the situation even worse. 

Residents in the region are familiar and prepared for flooding every year they haven’t seen flooding this intense and so frequently in two decades. Due to persistent high waters in tributaries along the river, several smaller dams have been destroyed and have released water into drainage levees where farmlands are located. 

Anhui province, visited by USRPA in 2019, is one of the areas that has been hit with severe flooding. The rice research station in Lujiang, located downstream of one tributary of Yangtze River, is under six and a half feet of flood water.

The 2020 flood is reported to compare to 1998 flood, where over 4,000 lives were lost during the disaster. Thankfully, this year many homes were evacuated before the flooding came and countless lives were saved. Unfortunately, the economic and social losses remain huge in terms of damaged plants, inventories and properties. Industry reports in China indicate that the overall effect on rice production is not yet known but as additional floods develop and information is revealed, imports from nearby countries such as Pakistan and India will be needed to fill domestic supply demands and in this case it will have impact on regional rice trade.   

We are deeply concerned about USRPA’s friends in the region and glad to know all of them are safe. We wish the people in the region our best and for life to return to normal quickly.
Nutrien Variety DG-263L Set for 2021 Release
Nutrien Ag Solutions is seeing very promising results in the field testing of a new rice variety to be released as DG-263L. This will be the first of several long grain varieties under the company’s Dyna-Gro seed brand. DG-263L is a high yielding long grain line with excellent grain quality and should create strong interest with US mills, exporters and foreign buyers. “Our breeding strategy and collaborations is really gaining traction now. “DG-263L is the first of several high yielding lines we intend to release in the near future, said Randy Ouzts, US Rice Manager.”

This season Nutrien worked with Tanner Seed Company in Missouri to increase seed for the 2021 launch, utilizing ULSR (ultra low seeding rates) for production. “DG-263L has very good vigor at emergence and tillering that allowed for seeding rates of 10-12 lbs on the farm, said seed grower Zach Tanner. Yield potential looks very promising and we hope to start harvest by September 1, 2020.”

Nutrien will market DG-263L through its retail divisions across the Southern rice belt, so growers are encouraged to inquire now about seed availability
Randy Ouzts, U.S. Rice Manager for Nutrien Ag Solutions is optimistic about the progress of DG-263L rice variety.
Washington DC Update
This week on August 4th, USRPA joined with over 180 organizations in sending a letter to leadership of the House and Senate. The letter expressed support for including a technical correction addressing the tax treatment of loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the next round of relief in response to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

When the PPP was adopted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, Congress made clear that any loan forgiveness under the program would be excluded from the borrower’s taxable income.  Unfortunately, the IRS in publication of IRS Notice 2020-32 effectively overturned this policy by denying borrowers the ability to deduct the same expenses that qualified them for the loan forgiveness.  The letter is attached below.

As Schumer, Pelosi, Mnuchin, and Meadows are scheduled to meet later today the outlook on reaching agreement on another round of relief in response to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic is mired in pessimism at the moment. The White House and House and Senate Democratic leadership are discussing a myriad of issues from state/local tribal relief, childcare, schools, UI, election assistance, broadband, to name just a few. McConnell, meanwhile, is monitoring the talks without attending. Many Senate Republicans are refusing to support any additional spending because $1 trillion still remains from the CARES Act.

There is a world of differences between the Senate proposal (HEALS Act) and the House passed bill (HEROES Act) without even taking into consideration Administration preferences. Normally one would expect an agreement on a top line number, in this instance between the $1 trillion provided in HEALS and the $3+ trillion in the HEROES Act. The spending priorities would then be adjusted as needed. To further complicate the situation, the Administration has announced that it will issue executive orders addressing the pandemic. One would expect that these will also impact the negotiations.
The Senate was scheduled to go out this week, but today McConnell said that the Senate will be in session next week. Of course, it is the darkest before the dawn and tomorrow may bring a breakthrough. In any event whether they extend or not, any agreement will take time to prepare and time for consideration which can all be provided if a deal is reached.
Upcoming Events
August 7, 2020
University of Arkansas Rice Field Day
Rice Research & Extension Center, Stuttgart, Arkansas – check back later for more information.

August 20, 2020
Missouri Rice Research and Merchandising Council Field Day
More Information Coming Soon.
Rice Leads Off Series Of Online Research Field Days For Arkansas Commodities

Dr. Eshan Shakiba discusses hybrid rice breeding efforts at the Rice Research and Extension Center during  a rice field day.
COVID-19
Legislative Update
The early advance of the southwest monsoon and sufficient well-spread rains through July across the country have supported a significantly faster pace of sowing (18 percent increase over last year) of kharif (fall harvested) grain crops (rice, corn, other coarse grains and pulses). 


FAO RICE PRICE UPDATE
The FAO All Rice Price Index (2014-2016=100) averaged 110.3 points in July 2020, down 3.6 percent from June and a four-month low.
Arkansas Rice Update

It includes information on progress, defoliation in reproductive rice, disease update, and rice stink bugs.




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