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 The title is a little misleading since there are no specific organic rice varieties – at least not yet!  There are several commercially available rice varieties that are planted by organic rice growers on a consistent basis simply because they have done well in an organic system.  According to most organic growers two varieties seem to be planted more than most – RiceTec XL723 and RT7401. 

RT7401 is a fairly new variety but is catching on quick while XL723 has been around several years and is known to produce in organic conditions.  In fact, RiceTec promotes both as working well in organic conditions. 

Nutrien Ag Solutions Dyna-Gro Seed division introduced DG263L this past year and has had mixed results.  Talking to Dr. Qiming Shao with Nutrien Ag Solutions, he thinks DG263L should do well in an organic system and recommends it. It is 120-day maturity with 88 days to 50% maturity.

So, are there organic rice varieties? Not really, but there are some really good commercial varieties for organic rice growers to choose!

Just remember always check with your organic certifier about any inputs you want to use in your organic program.

Rice producers will have two opportunities to learn more about rice production and get their private applicator CEU’s.

The Western Rice Belt Production Conference will be held at the El Campo Civic Center on Wednesday, January 19 starting with registration at 7:30 am and program starts at 8:10 am and lasts till after 2 pm.  2 TDA CEU’s will be given. 

Speakers include Rice Variety Performance – RiceTec, Horizon Ag, and Dynagro; Rice dryer variety data – Corrie Bowen; Row Rice Production – Jarrod Hardke; Carbon Credit Economics – Luis Ribera; TDA Laws and Regs – Stephanie Theriot; Farm Policy Update – George Knapek; and Rice Market Update – Thomas Wynn.

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The Southeast Texas Rice Symposium will be held at the Winnie-Stowell Community Building on Thursday, January 20 from 8:15 am to 2 pm. RSVP by January 14.

            Topics include USRPA Update – Marcela Garcia; Louisiana Rice Update – Ronnie Levy; Volatility of Input Costs – Thomas Wynn; Rice Varieties – RiceTec & Horizon Ag; Rice Diseases – Young Ki Jo; Regional Weather Outlook – Patrick Vaughn; Carbon Credit Economics – Dr. Luis Ribera.

            I look forward to meeting you at these two rice meetings!

The 60^th Blackland Income Growth Conference will be held January 11-12 at the Extraco Events Center in Waco.  The two-day event has a lot of programs on almost anything in agriculture and includes an equipment show. The Horticulture Section will be held on Tuesday, January 11 starting at 8:30 am and lasting till 11:15 am.

If interested in organic horticulture there will be two topics that will help you in your organic vegetable, fruit or nut operation.  Dr. Jake Mowrer, Soil Nutrient & Water Resource Management Extension Specialist, will present information on Soil Health in organic systems. Dr. Mowrer will be followed by Bob Whitney, Extension Organic Specialist, discussing the organic program and using integrated pest management in organic horticulture production.

The program will include one (1) continuing education unit (CEU) in IPM for your TDA pesticide license.

To register or for more information you can call the District 8 Extension Center at (254) 974-9433 or email katherine.whitney@ag.tamu.edu.

Throughout West Texas agriculture producers will be attending the first ever Organic Cotton/Peanut Production Seminar, Wednesday, January 26, 2022 in Seminole, Texas.  Organic production has continued to increase in West Texas and demand by consumers for organic peanuts and cotton is at an all-time high.

The West Texas area has developed a great reputation for their peanuts and cotton and both organic peanuts and cotton from this area are known world-wide for their outstanding quality in the organic market.  Increasing demand, high producer prices and good growing conditions are improving farmer prospects in organic agriculture.

The increasing demand and high prices has more and more peanut and cotton growers interested in learning about organic production.  Texas A&M AgriLife specialists, agents and researchers recognized the need for more education and has worked to put together this seminar to educate growers about production practices, marketing and organic rules.”

The Organic Peanut Production Seminar will be held at the Seminole Community Center, 801 N. Main, Seminole, Texas.  The seminar will be held on Wednesday, January 26 starting at 8:30 A.M. and lasting till mid-afternoon.  All peanut and cotton growers with an interest in organic production are invited to attend as well as allied peanut industry representatives.  Four (4) Continuing Education Credits will be offered to pesticide applicators who attend. To reserve a spot or for more information call me at 979.571.2086 or email me at bob.whitney@ag.tamu.edu. Download Agenda Here

The seminar will feature several well-known speakers in the organic peanut industry.  Dr. Emi Kimura, Extension Agronomist will discuss organic cotton varieties and production.  Dr. John Cason, AgriLife Peanut Researcher and Dr. Dylan Wann, IPG Peanut Breeder will discuss organic peanut varieties and production.  Dr. Cecilia Monclova, Extension Plant Pathologist will discuss organic seedling diseases and the problems with cotton FOV 4 disease.  These speakers will then form a panel to discuss organic cotton and peanut production issues with growers.  This will be followed by Dr. Katie Lewis, AgriLife Researcher discussing soil organic matter, carbon, cover crops and overall soil health.

After a sponsored lunch the program will switch to “Organic Certification Issues and How to Avoid Them,” by Brandi Chandler, Organic Certification Program Coordinator at TDA.  Dr. Pancho Abello and Will Keeling, AgriLife Ag Economists will follow with organic crop budgets to use in crop planning.  Dr. Justin Tuggle, Crop Consultant will address the common agronomic issues in organic crops in 2021 followed by Dr. Pancho Abello, Extension Economist giving farmers an Organic Crop Outlook for 2022.

Sponsors for the Organic Cotton/Peanut Production Seminar include the Texas Peanut Producers Board, Certis Bio, South Plains Compost, IPG Seed, Trico Peanut, Helena Agri-Enterprises, Algrano Peanut Shelling, Valent USA, Aqua-Yield & Texas Earth, New Deal Grain, Kunafin “the Insectary”, Viatrac Fertilizer, Wilco Peanut, BH Genetics, Marrone Bio Innovations, Mesa Irrigation, Advancing Eco Agriculture, and American Plant Food.

Just type in purpose driven consumer and you will get a flood of titles about how consumers are buying with a purpose not just a good value. What does this mean especially for organic agriculture?

Fortunately, it means a lot according to a 2020 research study done by the IBM Institute for Business Value in association with the National Retail Federation. They surveyed over 18,980 consumers in 28 different countries to ask about shopping habits, drivers of brand and product choice, consumption patterns, and the willingness to change behavior based on a variety of personal values and beliefs.

The study is fascinating, and I don’t want to bore you with too many details but there are a few points worth noting. Sustainability has hit a tipping point over the last six years. Since 2014 global sustainability and environmentally responsible investment is up 68 percent and now tops 30 trillion US dollars. Over 7 in 10 consumers say it’s at least moderately important that brands offer “clean” products (78%), are sustainable and environmentally responsible (77%), support recycling (76%), or use natural ingredients (72%).

Who are purpose driven consumers? This report says, “they are consumers who select brands based on how well they align with their personal values and who are willing to “walk the talk” when it comes to sustainability, changing their behavior, and even paying more for brands that get it right.”

Within this survey, of those that said sustainability was very/extremely important, over 70% would pay a premium of 35% on average for brands that are sustainable and environmentally sound!

This is organic agriculture, and this is the purpose that drives all the organic farmers, ranchers and dairymen in the state of TEXAS!

Sometimes it is the little things that can really make the day brighter. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about working with grass-fed dairies. If you didn’t know a grass-fed dairy only feeds forages to the dairy cows, no grain. Feeding just forages changes the composition of the milk so that the ration of omega-6 fatty acid to omega-3 fatty acid is nearly one-to-one. Conventional milk is generally 6-to-1.

This can help with cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes and over half of all Americans suffer from one or more of these conditions. These conditions cannot be solved entirely by medication or medical treatment – diet can be the best or only treatment and grass-fed may be an ideal part of that treatment.

Okay, what does that have to do with little things making the day brighter? Well, we are working on a project with two organic grass fed dairies to improve forage quality which in turn will improve milk production and milk components. We are trying several new clovers in both an overseeded situation like the bermudagrass you see in 2 of the pictures above or in a bare field like the other two pictures above. These clovers were planted on October 22nd and we are just now seeing some seedlings emerge a month later. Sometimes it is nothing more than a little thing to make your day a whole lot brighter!