Circles for Rice Blog

Join Us! Circles for Rice Field Day | July 12, 2011 | Eagle Lake, TX

2011-07-08T16:43:00.002-05:00

Field Day is Open to the Public...Join Us!

Date: Tuesday, July 12th
Times: Registration at the field @ 8:30 a.m. | Presentations @ 9:15 a.m. | Lunch @ 11:30 a.m.

Field Location: 1/2 mile west of FM950 and FM2614 | GPS: Lat 29 28' 18.71" Long 96 21'44.06"

Lunch Location: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility | 3055 Hwy 3013, Eagle Lake, TX, USA | GPS: Lat 29 32' 19.49" Long 96 19' 26.01"

For more information, visit CirclesForRice.com.

Circles for Rice Field Day | July 12, 2011 | Eagle Lake, TX

2011-07-05T10:32:00.001-05:00

RSVP Today! Valley Irrigation Rice Production under Center Pivots Field Day!

Date: Tuesday, July 12th
Where: Eagle Lake, TX
Times: Registration @ 8:30 a.m. | Presentations @ 9:15 a.m. | Lunch @ 11:30 a.m.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com or www.CirclesForRice.com or 800-825-6688 ext. 3042

Lunch will be provided after the field day presentations. This field day is open to the public.

Field Location: Kevin Hoffman's field | 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 | near Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 28' 18.71" Long 96 21' 44.06"

Lunch Location: Lunch Location: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility | 3055 Hwy 3013 | Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 32' 19.49" Long 96 19' 26.01"

Presentation topics will include:

Water & Energy Savings
Rice Seed Characteristics
Chemigation/Fertigation & Water Application
Irrigation Management
Irrigation Equipment & Controls
Crop Expectations
Past Results of Project

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-07-05T08:45:00.000-05:00

South Carolina

This year, everyone seems to have the weeds under control here in the U.S. The rice under the center pivot in Texas is in the boot stage and we are adjusting the irrigation schedule as soon the rice will be in the highest use growth stage – early heading. In Missouri, fertilizer is being applied; with the rains, the grower has not had to irrigate as aggressively as last year. The rice in South Carolina is looking good and irrigation applications of 0.30" every other day has been keeping up well with the crop's demand, based on field observations and soil moisture sensors. We will soon be moving up the application depth on this field, but still maintain a two-day rotation.

Circles for Rice Field Day | July 12, 2011 | Eagle Lake, TX

2011-06-29T12:23:00.004-05:00

Valley Irrigation Circles for Rice Field Day Announcement

Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Location: Eagle Lake, Texas, USA
Time: Registration @ 8:30 a.m.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com or www.CirclesForRice.com or 800-825-668 ext. 3042

Lunch will be provided following the field day presentations. This field day is open to the public.

Field Location: Kevin Hoffman's field | 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 | near Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 28' 18.71" Long 96 21' 44.06"

Lunch Location: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility | 3055 Hwy 3013 | Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 32' 19.49" Long 96 19' 26.01"

Presentation topics will include:

Water & Energy Savings
Rice Seed Characteristics
Chemigation/Fertigation & Water Application
Irrigation Management
Irrigation Equipment & Controls
Crop Expectations
Past Results of Project

RSVP to receive a special gift at the field day! We look forward to seeing you in Texas!

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-06-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

Tillering

The rice around the United States is developing well, stages varying from early tillering to late tillering. As we move into tillering, now is the time to begin the application of nitrogen. The most cost-effective and efficient way is to apply liquid products through the center pivot, such as 28-0-0-5 or 32-0-0. Now is the time to push the nitrogen, applying 25 lbs to 30 lbs of actual N per week for the next four weeks.

Weed control continues to be critical as growers now need to ensure strong tillering to close the canopy and shade out weeds. Recently, one grower applied Newpath and Permit. Scouting needs to be done to confirm if there is a weed problem and to determine the right product for the right weed.

Watering needs to continue at least every other day to wet the root zone. Application depths for those in early tillering should be in the 0.25 inch to 0.35 inch range, and later tillering 0.35 inch to 0.50 inch, if the soil can infiltrate the amount applied every other to every third day.

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-06-01T08:52:00.002-05:00

This week, I visited the Circles for Rice field near Eagle Lake, Texas, USA, and noted a couple points we all need to be aware of when working with the heavier soils, especially those that may crack.

In the photo below, note how the rice is well into tillering, grass is dying and soil is cracking. These cracks can break the small lateral roots and limit tillering. In this case, the pivot is just coming around and the area will receive 0.30 in (7.5 mm). The soil surface is dry, but the depletions are less than 10% if you dig down about 4 in (12.7 cm).

Cracked soil | Eagle Lake, TX, USA

The picture below illustrates how the rice roots tend to spread more laterally than vertically; the above-ground portion is 9 in (23 cm).

Rice root | Eagle Lake, TX, USA

The image below is the soil moisture data for this area of the field. The blue line indicates a sensor at 3 in (7.5 cm), red at 6 in (15 cm) and black at 9 in (23 cm). The higher the line appears on the graph, the drier the field is.

Soil moisture report | Eagle Lake, TX, USA

Watch for weeds, as the best time to kill them is when they are small!

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-05-24T09:27:00.001-05:00

2011 | Texas

United States

The rice field in Texas is progressing ahead of the others. 2011 marks the second year our cooperator in Texas has planted rice under his Valley center pivot; the crop is off to a great start and is well into tillering.

A grower in Missouri is also in his second year of producing rice under his Valley center pivot, and he just finished planting last week. Unfortunately for the other Delta region growers that were to cooperate with us this growing season, they may not be able to plant due to the time of year, flooding and back water.

The South Carolina rice is about 75% emerged and is off to a good start.

China
The rice under the center pivot is about 10% emerged and is showing some signs of weed pressure. A plan is in place for weed control. As the weeds are small, early emergence is a critical time to control weeds and to promote rapid growth of the rice, which may require light, frequent applications of irrigation (0.25 in [.64 cm] or less).

Discussion Box Challenge

How is your growing season going? Share your story!

Contact Us

rice@valmont.com

2011 Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-05-16T13:58:00.000-05:00

So far this year, rice production in some areas of the United States has been a challenge.

In Texas, the rice is tillering and requiring frequent irrigation due to an abnormally dry year.

In the Delta region, fields that were to be planted with rice under center pivots are still underwater; in the northern areas, time is running out. We will keep you updated on the situation.

We have a rice field under a center pivot in South Carolina; the field has been planted but has not yet emerged.

We also have two fields in China with rice under center pivots; they, too, have been planted but have not yet emerged.

Discussion Box Challenge

Are you a grower in the Delta region of the United States? Are you experiencing over saturated fields due to the rain and storms? Share your story!

Contact Us

rice@valmont.com

Rice Harvest in Brazil | by Kelly Downing

2011-05-06T12:22:00.009-05:00

We have received yield information from most of the farms in Brazil, and this week I finally found the time to tabulate the data. We are still waiting for some data, primarily from the research plots. This is a brief update to let you know how things went.

At Fazenda Agua Grande in Sao Paulo, the final yield was 6.52 mt/Ha. This field had some issues with weed infestation; it also experienced some herbicide damage from the previous tomato crop. The growers are optimistic about the future of this technology on their farm, and intend to continue working with it to improve their results.

Fazenda Lagoa, also in Sao Paulo, had planted three different varieties: BRS Querencia, BRS Taim and LAC 202. The BRS Querencia produced 4.5 mt/Ha; the BRS Taim produced 5.1 mt/Ha and the IAC 202 produced 4.02 mt/Ha. This field suffered several setbacks during the growing season, including several days of very cold weather in December and severe weed pressure from broadleaf plants that were difficult to control due to the surrounding soybean fields.

Fazenda Lagoa Bonita in Sao Paulo also had some severe hardship. After battling a tremendous infestation of volunteer wheat and other weeds, and struggling with an inadequate water supply during critical growth stages, the field produced 2.62 mt/Ha of rice. However, the field manager is confident that they learned enough to be successful in the future with this technology.

The Alvarez farm, in Sao Borja, produced 8.5 mt/Ha, which pleased them, and the growers are enthusiastic about continuing their work in this area. They grew Irga 417 on a large pivot (126 Ha) and hosted a well-attended field day in January.

When we receive the data from the research plots in Pelotas and Bage, we will be sure to share it. Until then, I look forward to working with producers and our new representative, Felipe Peres de Oliveira, to support and assist Brazilian rice growers interested in moving forward with growing rice under center pivots this summer.

Contact Us
Contact a member of the Circles for Rice team at rice@valmont.com .

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-04-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

In the United States, the following growers (by location) have currently agreed to collaborate with us this growing season:

Texas - 1 field
South Carolina - 1 field
Missouri - 3 to 5 fields
Arkansas - 2 to 3 fields

Unlike the 2010 growing season, the rice fields under center pivots is off to a slow start due to excessive rain in the boot heel of Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. If it stops raining, it will probably be another two weeks before some growers can plant. The rice in Texas was planted about two weeks ago and is beginning to emerge. The South Carolina planting will be done in the next two weeks, weather permitting. All we can do at this time is be patiently wait for the soil conditions to improve.

Sprinkler Spacing and Water Application Uniformity | by Jerry Gerdes

2011-04-18T09:15:00.006-05:00

Sprinkler packages designed with proper sprinkler spacing will maintain a high uniformity of water application throughout the field. A number of factors determine the sprinkler spacing. These include sprinkler wetted diameter, operating pressure, ground height, and crop type.

A “rule of thumb” used for correct sprinkler spacing is the water pattern overlap between two adjoining sprinklers must be a minimum of 150% of the sprinkler spacing. A sprinkler placed at a low ground clearance (ex: 36”) to minimize evaporation and wind drift losses for a low-growing crop, such as rice, may require a closer sprinkler spacing compared to the same sprinkler at a higher ground clearance (ex: 108”). If a low ground clearance sprinkler package for rice is also used for a tall crop, such as field corn, the sprinkler spacing must be no more than 60” regardless of the sprinkler model. The tall crop canopy interference will greatly reduce the wetted diameter of any sprinkler model requiring a close spacing.

Valmont Irrigation offers two coupler spacing options for its span pipe:

The standard spacing of 108” works well for applications where the sprinkler ground clearance is at the trussing level or higher.
An optional coupler spacing of 30” is used for applications where the sprinklers are low to the ground and/or within the crop canopy.

Discussion Box Challenge

If you are a center pivot/linear user, what challenges have you experienced with uniformity?

Contact Us

To contact us directly, email rice@valmont.com.

Valley Dealer Durham Pump Open House | by Kelly Cackin

2011-04-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

Durham Pump truck

Valley Dealer Durham Pump Inc. hosted an Open House on April 8th, and the event was a success! About 20 vendors were there to represent Durham Pump. The afternoon was warm and proved to be a great day for walking around and looking at the Valley center pivot. Our own Jake LaRue held a seminar about producing rice with center pivots and linears.

Valley Irrigation booth

Congratulations to Durham Pump Inc. for their successful Open House!

Join the Celebration! Valley Dealer Open House This Friday! | by Kelly Cackin

2011-04-06T12:27:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that the Durham Pump Inc. (Valley Dealer) will be hosting an Open House this Friday, April 8th!

What: Durham Pump Inc. Open House
When: Friday, April 8, 2011
Where: 2313 Durham Dayton Hwy | Durham, CA, USA | 95938
Time: Valley General Seminar @ 11 am | Circles for Rice Seminar @ 1 pm
Contact : Dustin Bates | 1-530-891-4821 | info@dpump.com

We hope to see you there!

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-04-05T13:27:00.001-05:00

In the United States, planting rice under center pivots has begun. Planting is active in Texas, and growers in Missouri and Arkansas with light textured soils (weather permitting) will begin planting this week and next.

Some growers are still considering if rice fits their crop plans for this year. All recognize that rice prices are depressed, but some growers may still produce more return with a rice crop than soybeans or other crops due to soil types, water availability and other reasons.

As you begin the 2011 rice under center pivot crop, be sure:

You have a plan
You follow the plan
You have contingencies if the plan needs adjustment

Considerations for the following also need to be included in the plan:

Seed selection for high yield potential with excellent disease resistance
Weed control
Fertility
Irrigation
Disease control

Discussion Box Challenge

Are you planting rice under a center pivot or linear? Or are you planting rice at all this year? If you answered "yes" to either question, discuss with us any potential issues you may see in your production plan.

Contact Us

To contact us directly, please email the Circles for Rice team at rice@valmont.com.

Valley Dealer Open House | by Kelly Cackin

2011-03-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

New Valley Dealer, Durham Pump Inc., will be hosting an Open House event next month! Join them in the celebration!

What: Durham Pump Inc. Open House
When: Friday, April 8, 2011
Where: 2313 Durham Dayton Hwy | Durham, CA, USA | 95938
Time: Valley General Seminar @ 11 am | Circles for Rice Seminar @ 1 pm
RSVP and Contact: Dustin Bates | 1-530-891-4821 | info@dpump.com

Please RSVP by Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

We look forward to seeing you in California!

Rice Q & A | by Jake LaRue

2011-03-24T15:22:00.000-05:00

As we expand the areas in which we research and collaborate, we are continuously asked questions about rice production. Two such questions came to my attention this week while I was in California:

“Does the Circles for Rice team have experience with medium-grain rice production?”

Answer – Our involvement with medium-grain rice has been minimal so far, but we have observed a growing interest in producing this grain in several areas around the world.
“Rice growers who flood their fields may increase their water application depth to help the rice crop maintain higher temperatures in the crop canopy. When you irrigate with center pivots and linears, less water is applied at one time, which means that lower temperatures may be maintained in the crop canopy. Because of this, will growers who irrigate their rice with center pivots or linears have potentially lower rice yields?”

Answer – We have not yet had the opportunity to prove or disprove the theory on a commercial scale.

Discussion Box Challenge

Do you have similar questions or concerns about irrigating rice with center pivots and linears? Or do you have comments/more questions about the about questions? Contact us either directly or via Discussion Box below.

Storm Damage in Valley, NE | by Kelly Cackin

2011-03-23T11:00:00.003-05:00

Hail in Valley, NE | Looks like snow!

Broken window on vehicle | Unfortunately, this is my vehicle...

We had an unexpected, tornadic storm come through Tuesday afternoon. Most of us in Valley, NE, USA, are grateful for auto insurance!

The storm went from a light rain to heavy winds and large hail in the time it takes to pop a bag of popcorn. For about 10 minutes, we all huddled in the tornado shelters, biting our nails and worrying about our loved ones and property! Though we didn't have any tornadoes in Valley, this same storm produced an EF1 tornado in western Iowa later in the day.

In Valley, at least 60 MPH winds were reported; hail diameters measured between 3/4" to over 1" (ping-pong ball to golf ball size...at least).

Most, if not all, vehicles in Valley sustained a lot of damage, including broken windows and mirrors, broken bumpers and fenders, and many, many, many dents. Some vehicles are not drivable, while most are close to totaled.

Because it IS that time of year again (ie: tornado season), make sure your tornado shelters are cleaned out and ready to use! If yours are anything like mine, I've been storing my Christmas decorations and books in my shelter for the past 6 months...Also, make sure you have at least one flashlight and battery-operated radio that work. Having several blankets on hand is also a good idea. As someone who has pets and takes her pets into the tornado shelter with her (...), make sure that your pet carriers are ready to be used! One last hint that my mother taught me many years ago - during tornado season, keep your jewelry (the stuff you don't wear everyday) and small items you would want to salvage in a spare messenger bag; this bag is easy to grab in case you need to take shelter.

Stay safe!

Valley Irrigation Now On YouTube and Twitter! | by Kelly Cackin

2011-03-22T15:47:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have noticed the new buttons to the right of this post. If you guessed that Valley Irrigation now has YouTube and Twitter accounts, you guessed right! We're very excited to jump into the realm of social media!

As these accounts are still in their infancy, please visit the sites often for updates and new videos and Tweets!

Subscribe to our channel on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/ValleyIrrigation

Follow us on Twitter - @ValleyPivots

Dry Wheel Track Options | by Jerry Gerdes

2011-03-17T08:21:00.011-05:00

Wheel tracks

Part-circle sprinkler

Boombacks

Options are available in sprinkler package designs that can help reduce the depth of center pivot wheel tracks. The wheel track depth is a function of the number of passes made across the field and the soil type. As the number of passes increase, the wheel tracks can get deeper, especially in heavy soils. Deep wheel tracks can lead to a drive unit getting stuck, yield losses due to downtime and costly repairs of the wheel track.

One option is to use part-circle sprinklers. With a 180 degree water pattern, the part-circle sprinkler is used in locations nearest the drive unit and positioned to spray the water away from the wheel track, reducing the moisture level in the soil of the wheel track area. Unbalanced forces from the 180 degree pattern require that a rigid drop material, such as galvanized drop pipes, be used to hold the part-circle sprinkler firmly in position. The number of part-circle sprinklers used around each drive unit is dependent on the sprinkler model (full-circle) water pattern diameter. The water pattern from the full-circle sprinkler should not reach the wheel track.

Part-circle sprinkler models are available in both fixed and rotating type sprinklers. It is recommended to use like sprinkler models for both part- and full-circle positions. For example, if a sprinkler package design is rotating sprinklers, the part-circle sprinkler should also be a rotating sprinkler model. Rotating sprinkler models available in part-circle are the Nelson® Rotator and Spinner. Fixed spray models are the Senninger® LDN® (Low Drift Nozzle) and Valley LEN (Low-Energy Nozzle) sprinkler.

A second option is boombacks. A boomback will move the sprinkler up to 15 feet (perpendicular) from the span pipeline, placing the sprinkler beyond the rear tire of the drive unit. The part-circle water pattern will be positioned opposite the direction of travel of the center pivot. Both drive unit tires are more likely to travel on dry soil in this type of installation. For part-circle center pivots or linears, double boombacks are available to place a part-circle sprinkler on each side of the span pipeline. Solenoid controlled sprinkler valves are available to run the part-circle sprinklers opposite the direction of travel when the machine changes direction, turning off the sprinklers in front of the machine.

Discussion Box Challenge

For those of you growing rice with a center pivot or linear this year, or have grown rice with a pivot/linear in the past, what have you done to combat wheel track issues?

Contact Us

Interested in growing rice with a center pivot or linear? Contact us directly!

National Ag Day | by Kelly Cackin

2011-03-15T13:35:00.003-05:00

Happy National Ag Day, everyone!

Every year, the United States celebrates National Ag Week. One day during this week is designated as National Ag Day, and is celebrated in Washington, D.C., with coffees, meals and various events. National Ag Day is committed to increasing public awareness about American agriculture.

The National Ag Day website is a must-see! Included on the is a blog,various fun, educational resources, event planning ideas, contact information, and much more!

Here in Valley, Nebraska, USA, we were planning to make a cake to help celebrate National Ag Day, but we all kind of forgot to make it...BUT, we didn't forget about National Ag Day!

To find out more about National Ag Day and how you can help celebrate, visit http://www.agday.org/ .

Herbicide Issues Article | by Kelly Downing

2011-03-11T14:39:00.006-06:00

I really like this article http://deltafarmpress.com/rice/herbicide-drift-must-be-resolved, from Delta Farm Press. It points out three key issues for all producers, which we should really consider as we prepare to go to the field.

First, herbicide resistance is a very important and ominous factor for all of agriculture. As Mr. Baldwin points out in the article, we should make it a foundational part of our operations to use practices to minimize or delay the onset of such resistance. This includes crop rotations, herbicide mode-of-action rotations, tank mixes and the inclusion of residual products. There do not appear to be too many new chemistries coming out in the near future, so we need to be good stewards and use what we have to the greatest effect and longevity.

Second, I think the new University of Arkansas “Flag the Technology” program is a good idea, one that deserves cooperation. It seems to be a simple, “low-tech,” low-cost way to effectively avoid application errors. In today’s high-tech ag climate, it is important to remember that we should use Best Management Practices (BMP); “best,” however, does not mean “most expensive” or “latest technology.” It is nice when it can mean something as simple as a flag.

Finally, the best advice he gives is the simplest: communicate. Sometimes we allow ourselves to get so busy that we forget the importance of simple things like the old “pickup meeting” with neighboring growers. When we stop talking, we start making assumptions about what others are doing and why. And, as one of my favorite maxims states: “Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups!” So, let’s not forget the importance of talking with our neighbors. It not only helps avoid problems, it just makes life better.

Discussion Box Challenge

What are your thoughts on the herbicide either mentioned or not in the article? What is your opinion of the new "Flag the Technology" program? Put your thoughts on in the Discussion Box!

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue

2011-03-07T11:09:00.000-06:00

Another crop season is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere! Many of the Circles for Rice producers are finalizing their crop plans for their rice under center pivot fields, such as seed selection, weed control and irrigation plans.

This post includes some tips, recommendations and information to help you finalize your 2011 rice under center pivot plans.

Seed Selection | In areas where hybrid rice varieties are available, the Circles for Rice team has found the hybrids to be well worth the cost due to their increased early season vigor, excellent disease resistance and great yield potential.

Weed Control | When considering your weed control plan, take note that both the University of Missouri Delta Research Center in Portageville, MO, and the Circles for Rice team have found benefit with a split application of the pre-emergence herbicide to extend control. Apply about ½ of the normal pre-emergence rate and then plan to apply the second ½ early post-emergence. If there is insufficient rainfall after applying the herbicide, plan to apply a light application of water (0.20 to 0.30 inches [5 to 8 mm]) with the center pivot to activate the herbicide.

Irrigation Plans | For an early season irrigation plan, and to get the rice crop to sprout, it is recommended to plant into a moist seedbed rather than in dry soil. If the spring rainfall is insufficient, then pre-plant irrigation is recommended to establish a moist seedbed, which also may be part of the herbicide activation program. This is a distinct advantage of the center pivot – moisture control. You can apply what you want, when you want.

Discussion Box Challenge

For those readers in the Northern Hemisphere, are your planning to grow rice under a center pivot or linear this growing season? How are your crop plans shaping up? Have you come across any challenges and/or victories so far? Post your stories and questions in the Discussion Box.

For those considering planting rice under a center pivot or linear, what concerns (if any) do you have?

Contact Us

Please do not hesitate to contact the Circles for Rice team at rice@valmont.com if you have questions or comments.

Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) Announcement! Mississippi

2011-03-04T16:17:00.000-06:00

All information in this blog post is copyright of USDA NRCS.

USDA NRCS ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR AGRICULTURAL WATER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM

Jackson, MS, February 8, 2011 – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is taking applications for a 2011 statewide Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP) to implement agricultural water enhancement activities on agricultural land for the purposes of conserving surface and ground water and improving water quality.

“AWEP has been available since FY2009. AWEP operates through program contracts with producers to plan and implement conservation practices in project areas established through partnership agreements,” stated Al Garner, Mississippi Acting State Conservationist for NRCS. “The goal of this state-wide program is for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to enter into partnership agreements with eligible entities that want to promote ground and surface water conservation or improve water quality on agricultural lands.”

Each fiscal year, NRCS may make AWEP financial and technical assistance available to eligible owners and operators of agricultural lands who participate in approved AWEP project areas. Within Mississippi, only producers located within the Tunica County AWEP Proposal Area and the Mississippi Delta AWEP Proposal Area are eligible for financial and technical assistance.

Applications for AWEP are taken continuously throughout the year. However, to be considered for Fiscal Year 2011 AWEP funding, producers need to have an application signed and on file at their local NRCS office by March 11, 2011.

The intent of AWEP is for the Federal government to leverage investment in natural resources conservation along with services and non-Federal resources of other eligible partners.

Eligibility

The Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Local Working Group or the Farm Service Agency determines eligible producers for the EQIP program. Any farmer engaged in livestock or crop production on eligible land may apply for EQIP. EQIP contracts may be for a tract, farm or multiple farms. Eligible land includes cropland; rangeland; pasture; private non-industrial forestland; and other farm or ranch lands, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.

For complete information, please visit http://www.ms.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/AWEP.html .

Valley Presence at Mid-South Farm & Gin Show | by Kelly Cackin

2011-03-04T08:40:00.001-06:00

Beale Street | Memphis, TN

Last weekend, several Valmont Irrigation employees, including Michelle Stolte (Global Marketing Manager, co-leader of the Circles for Rice project) and Sid Cameron (Territory Manager, member of the Circles for Rice team), gave Valley presence at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in Memphis, TN. Michelle had a bear of time getting down to Memphis (not due to winter weather, mind you...), but the show was worth it!

Due to the show's location, we felt the show was a good opportunity to explore the reception of producing rice with a center pivot or linear. We feel the project gaining momentum in this region of the country!

Always at the forefront of technology, we have started to utilize Apple iPads at the trade shows we attend. With the device, we can show visitors product demonstrations, their closest Valley Dealer, and rice under pivot information/photos/presentations, among many other things.

Valley booth

We would like to extend a warm thank you to all of the Valley Dealers who participated. Thank you for your hard work and outstanding presence!

For more information on the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, please visit their website.

Do you know of a trade show or convention that would be an excellent opportunity for Valmont Irrigation to explore rice under center pivots and linears? Let us know in the Comments box below!

Pressure Regulators | by Jerry Gerdes

2011-02-16T11:46:00.010-06:00

Senninger® Pressure Drop

Valley Pressure Regulator

Nelson® Pressure Regulator

Pressure regulators are commonly used in sprinkler package designs. The regulator is installed just upstream of the sprinkler and its function is to maintain a constant water pressure into the sprinkler. The pipeline pressure within a center pivot or linear machine can vary for a number of reasons; friction loss, elevation changes within the field, sprinkler valves turning on and off on a corner span, or an end gun sprinkler turning on and off.

Pressure regulators are recommended for center pivot or linear machines where pressure fluctuations will cause a 10% or greater change in sprinkler flow. Using pressure regulators will maintain a uniform depth of water applied throughout the field. Sprinkler life and performance will also be maximized by selecting a regulator that will operate the sprinkler within its specified pressure range.

Regulators are available in pre-set pressure ratings. The most common ratings are 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 PSI. Maximum flow capacity for a pressure regulator will range from 15 to 20 GPM, depending on the regulator model. Pressure regulators require a minimum inlet pressure of 5 PSI plus the nominal pressure to produce the correct outlet pressure.

For more information, contact your local Valley Dealer.

Circles for Rice Update - Brazil | by Kelly Downing

2011-01-31T08:40:00.019-06:00

Field Day | Alvarez

Center pivot on rice | Alvarez

Field Day | Edwin Neumann, Renan Bueno, Ervin Neumann

Last week, I attended two rice field days hosted by Valmont and our cooperating growers in Brazil. After visiting fields in São Paolo state the previous week, we then went to Rio Grande do Sul state. I traveled with Dr. Jose Parfitt of the Embrapa Temperate Climate Research Center at Pelotas. We spent time at their research plots at Pelotas, Bage, and São Vincente. We also visited the Toniazzo and Alvarez farms near São Borja. Both fields looked great. They are fully headed, within a couple of weeks of harvest.

On Thursday, 20 January, we held a field day at the Alvarez farm. Adalberto Alvarez and his sons, Bernardo and Fernando, welcomed 150 people to view their great-looking rice field, listened to presentations by several professionals and shared a great barbeque lunch. It was a warm, sunny day and most people I saw seemed to enjoy themselves. Bernardo told me that, based on their success this year, they intend to expand the acreage of pivot rice in the future.

After a nice drive across Rio Grande do Sul, we flew back to São Paolo for a field day at Fazenda Agua Grande. Ervin Neumann and his son Edwin welcomed a much smaller, but equally enthusiastic, group of farmers to their rice field. The rice there is also close to harvest. One difference is that, unlike the cooperators in the South, the Neumann field includes two varieties, with the Querencia close to harvest; the Taim will probably take a little longer.

On Sunday, I left the warmth (32 degrees Celsius, 90 degrees Fahrenheit) and returned to the much more comfortable (0 degrees Celsius, 32 degrees Fahrenheit) High Plains of Nebraska. It is always a treat to visit Brazil; the people are beautiful, the scenery is fantastic and the food is always great. However, it was nice to get home, also. I have to admit, I did not notice any problems in Brazil trying to dig our vehicles out of snowdrifts or spinning out on the icy roads!

Rice Status - Brazil | by Kelly Downing

2011-01-18T14:51:00.023-06:00

Edwin and Ervin Neumann, Ronney Silva (Valley employee), Renan Bueno (Valley trainee)

Flavio Leandro Medeira | Fazenda Lagoa

Adilson Rodriguez Machado | Fazenda Lagoa Bonita

Sergio Leme | Capuava

This week I was able to return to Brazil to revisit rice fields I first toured in November. This time, I began with the fields in Sao Paulo State: Fazenda Agua Grande, with Ervin Neumann and his son Edwin, Fazenda Lagoa with Field Manager Flavio Leandro Medeira, Capuava Farm with Sergio Leme and Fazenda Lagoa Bonita with manager Adilson Rodriguez Machado.

Most fields were planted in September, and are nearing harvest; the rice at Capuava was planted in late November (I had not seen this field on my last trip), so it is scheduled for harvest in March. This is a location where Mr. Leme is helping CATI conduct some on-farm variety trials, as well as a production area. The rice (all production areas) looks lush and full right now. However, the soil sensor readings were relatively dry, so it will be important for them to keep up irrigation. The other farms are somewhere between two and four weeks from harvest.

As the rice nears harvest, weeds remain a difficult obstacle in most fields. This will require diligence, effective plans and timely applications for future crops. Fazenda Lagoa also suffered through an unusual period of cold weather in mid-December, when the crop was at R4 growth stage, which caused a lot of damage. Fazenda Lagoa Bonita also has significant weed pressure, since they were unable to prevent or control a large infestation of volunteer wheat from the previous crop.

I always enjoy driving through Sao Paolo state-the highways generally follow the hilltops (and the hills are large-150 – 200 meters of elevation change), so we get to see the beautiful countryside spread out around us. It is obviously quite a different look from what we see in Nebraska, especially in January. On Sunday I flew to Porto Allegre and we drove to Pelotas. Avoiding large lizards in the road is another thing that is not a problem in Nebraska! This week we will have a field day at the Alavarez Farm in Sao Borja, then back to Sao Paulo state and the Neumann farm for their Field Day, as well as visits to other locations in Rio Grande do Sul.

Sprinkler Models for Center Pivots and Linears | by Jerry Gerdes

2011-01-07T09:46:00.016-06:00

There are two types of sprinkler models used for center pivot and linear equipment: fixed spray and rotating spray. Both sprinkler types have a wear plate mounted directly below the nozzle (orifice), which discharges the water and creates a 360°ree; water pattern. Fixed sprays have no moving parts because the wear plate is fixed. A rotating spray wear plate rotates either fast or slow, depending on the sprinkler model.

Water Patterns and Runoff

Rotating sprays produce a large wetted diameter (50' to 70') that creates a low-intensity water pattern; this is a major advantage of rotating sprays. This type of sprinkler works very well on medium to heavy soil types and reduces water runoff. Fixed sprays have a wetted diameter of 15' to 40'. This type of sprinkler works well on light soils where runoff may not be a big issue.

Plate Design

There are a variety of plate designs available to you that can very the droplet size of the water pattern; various designs are available for both rotating and fixed sprinkler types. By selecting a plate that produces smaller water droplets, you can also reduce the water pattern intensity. Smaller water droplets can easily lead to lower application efficiencies from evaporation and wind drift losses. Please note that climate conditions must be considered in the plate selection.

Fixed spray and rotating spray sprinklers are designed to operate at a low pressure in order to minimize energy (pumping) costs. Design operating pressure for fixed sprays is 6 to 30 PSI and pressure for rotating sprays is 10 to 30 PSI.

Circles for Rice Update | by Jake LaRue and Kelly Downing

2010-12-14T12:52:00.000-06:00

Currently, the Valley Circles for Rice team is observing fields under center pivots in Brazil, Chile, Zambia, and Australia. Growth stages vary from 1-2 leaf to early tillering.

Weed control is a challenge and becomes a big problem if the weeds are not controlled when they are small. Grasses in particular seem to be a problem and, in some cases, are taller than the rice.

A plan and knowing available herbicide options when you start a rice crop is critical for pre-emergence and post-emergence treatment.
Please follow the herbicide label. If the herbicide is not labeled for rice use, DO NOT use it.

Irrigation management requires an understanding of the rice root zone from week to week. When talking "field capacity," we mean that when the soil is completely saturated and a rain event occurs, the rain would either run off the field or leach quickly through the root zone. Due to this, in general, you should refill the root zone of the crop to within 15% or so of field capacity to allow room for a rain event.
An example - rice at early tillering:

Root zone -- 7.5 to 10 cm
Soil -- silt loam
Allow 30% depletion at this stage -- up to 60 mm
Crop water use

Confirm the evapotranspiration (ET) -- let's assume it is 7 mm/day
Assume rice at this stage has a crop coefficient of .35 mm
Daily use would be about ET x crop coefficient (7 x .35 = 2.45 mm)

Center pivot can apply 9.5 mm/day
Probably need to be applying about 6 to 7 mm every other day
If you have soils that tend to crack, start irrigation during the tillering stage when cracks are 2 to 3 mm wide
Both light, frequent applications and heavy applications can be a problem. Watch your wheel tracks and watch for runoff
Check the crop root zone and confirm that you are refilling the profile without runoff or irrigation moving out of the root zone

Remember: the data from soil moisture sensors is only as good as the installation. Make sure your sensors are properly installed and calibrated, and use the "smell test", i.e. if something smells bad (if the readings seem bad), it probably is. Check conditions around the sensors periodically to make sure that what they report is the real situation in the field.

Have questions? Please enter them into the Comment box below!

Sprinkler Packages 101 by Jerry Gerdes

2010-12-06T10:52:00.007-06:00

I have just completed my first year as a member of the Valley Circles for Rice team, and I have learned much about the process of growing rice. Crop-specific information is very useful when selecting sprinkler package components for a center pivot or linear irrigation (lateral move) machine. The term "sprinkler package" refers to the collection of sprinklers, pressure regulators, drop components, and fittings used to mount the sprinklers to the machine.

The sprinkler package is designed to apply water evenly (ie: uniform depth throughout the field) and efficiently. This is to maximize crop yields, minimize water usage, and operating costs. Sprinkler choices are designed to operate at pressures in a range of 6-30 PSI, depending on the sprinkler model. Products called U-pipes and drop pipes (or drop hose) are used to mount the sprinklers below the span trussing. The combination of low-operating pressure and low-ground clearance maximizes the application efficiency of the irrigation water. This type of sprinkler package was used on all 2010 Valley Circles for Rice fields.

Soil type is an important consideration when selecting a sprinkler model for growing rice. More on this in my next blog entry next month.

Do you have questions on sprinkler packages and how they relate in rice production under center pivots and linears? Leave a comment in the box below or email rice@valmont.com.

Circles for Rice | 2010 Final Yield Report by Jake LaRue

2010-12-03T15:37:00.003-06:00

Below you will find the final yield report for the 2010 Circles for Rice growing season in the United States, Ukraine, and Pakistan.

United States

Blodgett, Missouri - 201 bu/ac
Neelyville, Missouri - 186 bu/ac
Scott, Arkansas - 173 bu/ac
Sikeston, Missouri - 160 bu/ac
Crawfordsville, Missouri - 160 bu/ac
Eagle Lake, Texas - 149 bu/ac
Dyersburg, Tennessee - 130 bu/ac

Crimea, Ukraine - 55 bu/ac

Pakistan

AAS 501 (hybrid) - 122.8 bu/ac
HS 777 (hybrid) - 108 bu/ac
Superi (variety) - 81 bu/ac
Shantaj (hybrid) - 79 bu/ac
#385 (variety) - 68.6 bu/ac
Super Guard Basmati (variety) - 62.4 bu/ac

If you have any questions about the yields, or about the Circles for Rice project in general, please send me an email at rice@valmont.com .

Circles for Rice | Brazil Update by Kelly Downing

2010-11-22T10:52:00.014-06:00

Sáo Borja

Sáo Paolo

I was able to visit several fields in Brazil during a visit November 8 - 15. We really covered a lot of country. Once again, I was struck by the wonderful people, as well as by the great beauty and agricultural potential of Brazil. It was a great pleasure to be hosted by Embrapa Professor Jose Parfitt during part of the trip.

Pelotas and Bage areas:
Embrapa: Unusually cool, wet spring, so delayed emergence (planted September, just now emerging). Jose Parfitt (Pelotas) and Naylor Perez (Bage) leading the research, focused on variety, irrigation scheduling, and fertility issues, as well as rotation into forage system.

São Borja area:
Farrouphilha: Professor Marcelino Knob is researching rice in rotation under a pivot. The rice is just emerging, due to cool weather. There may be some interaction with antecedent crop/herbicides.
Renam Toniazzo: São Borja area, rice looks very good. No disease or weed problems. Good crop last year, expects another successful year.
A first-year Circles for Rice grower farms 2,000 ha of rice at this location with his brother and father. Rice planted in September and looks wonderful - thick and lush. A few spots of clomazone damage, but will recover. Some areas of the field should be monitored for wheel track issues.

São Paolo state:

Lagoa Bonita: volunteer wheat from previous crop dominates the field. They planned to use Aura (profoxydim). I hope it works.
Lagoa Farm: in this field, volunteer edible beans from antecedent crop has taken over most of the field. It is tough to treat, since bordering fields contain both edible beans and soybeans. Volunteer beans are infested with anthracnose, so their agronomic consultant has advised them to wait for the volunteers to die.
First-year Circles for Rice grower: very nice crop, planted in late September. We saw some spots with stunted plants, may be iron chlorosis, zinc, or sulfur shortage.

Congratulations, Kelly Downing!

2010-11-19T09:51:00.000-06:00

It is with our great pleasure to announce that Kelly Downing, a member of the Valley Rice Team, has become a Certified Crop Advisor, as determined by the American Society of Agronomy.

Qualifications include requirements in education and experience, along with an examination process. One examination is issued from the national office and is uniform across the United States. In addition, each state designs, offers, and grades an exam specific to the crops and conditions of that state. Following successful completion of the two exams, CCAs are required to earn continuing education units (CEUs) to maintain their certification. All exams and continuing education requirements include four technical areas: Soil & Water Management, Nutrient Management or Soil Fertility, Integrated Pest Management, and Crop Management.

Please join us in congratulating Kelly for this accomplishment!

Original copy written by Michelle Stolte, Intl. Mktg. Materials Mgr., Valmont Irrigation, November 11, 2010.

Circles for Rice | Update by Jake LaRue

2010-11-09T09:59:00.001-06:00

Missouri, USA | October 2010

Ukraine | September 2010

Pakistan | November 2010

Between U.S. post-harvest analysis and traveling, it's been a few weeks since I've been able to post an update on the project! For the 2010-2011 growing season(s), we have confirmed Circles for Rice fields in the following countries: Zambia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, China, Pakistan, and the United States.

United States

The rice crop has either been sold or is in the grain bin, and we are working with interested growers planning for the 2011 season.

Ukraine

Harvest is complete.

Pakistan

This week, there is a series of field days at the Circles for Rice field; harvest will soon begin.

Brazil
2010-2011 Circles for Rice fields in Brazil have been planted and the new rice crop has begun to emerge. The crop is facing early season challenges, particularly weed control.

Africa
Fields are being planted in southern Africa, while fields in northern Africa will plan in December and January.

China
Plans are being made for a series of rice under center pivot trials.

For those of you planning to produce rice under a center pivot or linear for the next crop cycle, please be sure to consider the following:

Seed selection for yield and disease resistance
Weed control
Fertility and nitrogen management
Irrigation hardware
Irrigation management
Disease control

We are still gathering the last of the U.S. and Ukraine harvest data. As soon as we have that data analyzed and published the the web, I will post an update.

Is there a particular topic related to rice production under center pivots and linears that we have not yet posted on? Let us know!

New Writers to Rice Blog!

2010-11-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

I would like to introduce two new voices to the rice blog - Kelly Downing and Jerry Gerdes.

Mr. Kelly Downing (Certified Crop Advisor and Ag Specialist, Valmont Irrigation) will be contributing his thoughts on several topics, including crop specialty and soil moisture, as they relate to rice production under center pivots and linears.

Posts by Mr. Jerry Gerdes (Water Application Product Manager, Valmont Irrigation) will focus on water application as it relates to rice production under center pivots and linears.

Do you have questions about soil moisture and water application in rice production? Comment below! We will make sure your question is addressed in a blog post by either Kelly D. or Jerry.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Delta Region Rice Growers Tour Fields by Kelly Cackin

2010-10-18T14:24:00.003-05:00

The following article was published by Elton Robinson of the Delta Farm Press on October 15, 2010.

Rice producers hit the road to learn

This morning, one of the very first things I did was check the Delta Farm Press website for any new articles on rice that I could share with you all. What I found was this article, and I was quite moved by it. This article is about a passionate group of rice growers in the United States Delta region who have recently toured rice fields that are far from perfect. The members of the group talked amongst themselves and with other rice producers about each one can do to help make their rice growing situations better, in terms of management, technology, weeds, and other factors. Other conversations stemmed around rice growers who have already started to overcome and solve issues on their fields.

Hopefully, one say soon, the tour group will pass a rice field irrigated with a Valley center pivot and find that an interesting topic of conversation.

Happy Birthday, Circles for Rice Blog!

2010-10-14T09:49:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been one year since we launched the Circles for Rice blog - it's gone by so fast (and, yes, I do realize I'm a bit late in publishing this special edition post, since the blog's actual birthday was in September...)! Let's take a look back at some of our most viewed (and most memorable) posts:

September 25, 2009 - Welcome to the Valley Circles for Rice Blog

This was our very first blog post. Though I am a writer, I'd never blogged before, so this was both an exciting and strange experience. I kept thinking, "What do I write about? What do people want to read? Do I need to modify my writing style?" Now that I look back at this first post, Jake and I have really let loose and feel comfortable writing to you, our subscribers and visitors. We've even started to use exclamation points!←

January 4, 2010 - Welcome to the 2010 Rice Production Season

In this lengthier post, we introduced some of the minds behind the Valmont Irrigation rice project. I'll write a similar post in January 2011 with updated rice team members.

January 11, 2010 - Valley Rice Team Update

We introduced more rice team members in this post. These are the minds behind the marketing of the Valmont Irrigation rice project. I'll need to update the photos of us all next year since the ones we used in the post are not quite up-to-date...

February 15, 2010 - Circles for Rice Weekly Update

This is our most visited post to date. In this post, Jake optimistically wrote about the rice harvest in Brazil.

April 15, 2010 - Circles for Rice Weekly Update

This post was awesome because it showed that the 2010 rice growing season in the United States was going to be right on time (at least in the Delta region), as compared to 2009 when the rice seed was planted quite late. We were all pretty excited here in Nebraska when the rice seed was planted in April (right on time, or even a few weeks early); it was a good indication for us that our growing season (in the Midwest) had a good chance of progressing on time in 2010, too.

May 17, 2010 - Circles for Rice Weekly Update

We published our first YouTube video with this post. As an ag company, we're a bit slow on the social media uptake, but we're progressing! (Let's see - we have a blog, and we kind of use YouTube...) Though this was only one of two YouTube videos posted to this blog thus far, you will notice that this was not the end of our use of video throughout www.CirclesForRice.com.

September 14, 2010 - September is National Rice Month

We helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of National Rice Month by posting information about the month-long event and sharing some recipes!

Thank you to all of our dedicated subscribers and visitors who pop by every once in awhile. We keep this blog for you, to keep you informed of the work Valmont Irrigation is doing to efficiently irrigate rice. Irrigating rice with center pivots and linears will put more land into rice production (thereby producing more food for the world's ever-growing population), will give you, the grower, another crop option, and will conserve valuable resources.

Please let us know if there is a particular rice-related topic that you would like us to address in the future - just click on the Comments link at the bottom!

Happy reading!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-10-11T11:58:00.001-05:00

United States

Harvest | Sikeston, Missouri, USA

Data continues to come in from the commercial fields and, overall, the results have been good. Complete yield information will be periodically posted on www.CirclesForRice.com throughout this month; when all yield information has been published, I will post an update.

Yields have ranged from 100 bu/ac (4.8mt/ha) to 195 (9.4mt/ha). The overall average of the nine commercial fields is 159bu/ac (7.6mt/ha). Four fields yielded above the average, and five fields yielded under the average.

The Circles for Rice team is currently reviewing data to understand what happened in each case. We do know that all fields had excellent weed control, so we cannot blame weed pressure for impacting the yields.

Initial review of each field indicates that the yields may have been reduced due to a combination of irrigation management, center pivot performance, fertility, and harvest issues.

Harvest | Crawfordsville, Arkansas, USA

We have sampled several fields (both tissue and soil) to try to pinpoint fertility-limiting factors. This sampling has led to, in one case, the application of ammonium sulfate.

This growing season, the project moved onto non-traditional rice soils, and we have thus experienced more challenges with fertility needs on some of the finer sands and loamy sands.

Total irrigation applications - 12.2 inches (310 mm ) to 27.1 inches (688 mm)
Total number of passes with the center pivot (ie: trips around the field) - 27 to 68
Total hours of operation of the center pivot - 411 to 1,357

Two More Rice Recipes!

2010-10-01T07:43:00.001-05:00

I realize I said I would post rice recipes until October 1 to celebrate September's National Rice Month...however, time got away from me! Below are two more recipes that use rice as the main ingredient. Bon appetit!

Dirty Rice

Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Time: Approx. 1 hour

You need:

1/2 lb bacon
1/2 lb ground pork
1 lb ground chicken livers
1 large onion, finely diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
2 ribs celery, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
5 cups cooked rice, at room temperature
4 green onions, including tops, minced
1/4 cup parsley, minced

To do:

In a heavy Dutch oven, saute bacon, pork, and livers until they are very brown. Let the meat stick to the skillet a bit before stirring. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; cook until wilted.

Add chicken broth, bay leaf, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Add rice and toss the mixture until rice is hot. Stir in green onions and parsley. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Chinese Rice with Vegetables

Yield: 6 servings

You need:

1 cup uncooked white rice*
2 cups water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups any combination of:

fresh or frozen peas
frozen mixed vegetables
Julienned carrots
sliced mushrooms
chopped green pepper
shredded cabbage
broccoli florets
sliced green beans
ground black pepper
salt (optional)

To do:

Combine rice, water, soy sauce, and oil in a 2 to 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir once or twice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes*. Add vegetables. Cover; simmer for 5 minutes, or until rice and vegetables are tender and liquid has been absorbed. Season to taste.

* If using brown rice, increase water to 2 1/4 cups and simmer for 45 minutes. If using parboiled rice, simmer for 20 minutes.

Recipes courtesy of U.S. Rice Producers.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-09-30T11:31:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last update! Unfortunately, I don't have much to report this week.

In the United States, rice harvest is wrapping up. Most of the Circles for Rice fields have been harvested, and the Rice Team is collecting data. We will have this data analyzed by next week; at that time, I will report dry weight yields and water usage.

Until then, take care, and have a wonderful week!

September is National Rice Month

2010-09-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

Happy 20th anniversary, National Rice Month!

The U.S.A Rice Federation explains:

"Initiated by an act of Congress in 1991, NRM helps increase awareness of rice and recognizes the contribution the U.S. rice industry makes to America’s economy. NRM celebrations will take place across America in grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and rice-growing communities."

To learn more about National Rice Month, please watch this video produced by the U.S.A. Rice Federation.

For more information on the U.S.A. Rice Federation, please visit their website.

To help celebrate National Rice Month, I will be posting my favorite rice recipes from now until October 1!

Stuffed Peppers | Yield - 3-4 servings

You need:

3-4 large green bell peppers
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups brown rice (uncooked)
1 cup water
Sharp cheddar cheese (shredded - for topping)
Ground sea salt
Ground black pepper
1-2 large sauce pans, with lids
1 shallow baking dish

To do:

Wash and core green peppers; cut 3 of the peppers in half length-wise.
Fill a large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil; add the 3 peppers.
Boil peppers for 4-5 minutes, or until blanched.
Remove peppers from the water and place them upside down on a paper towel or plate until all water has been drained.
Finely chop the last pepper.
In a large sauce pan, brown ground beef/turkey, chopping finely; add chopped green pepper.
Cook ground meat and green pepper together until the green pepper is about half-cooked, salt and pepper as needed.
Stir in 1 can tomato sauce and 1 can water.
Add rice (uncooked); put a lid on the pan.
Cook mixture until rice is tender.
Place blanched green peppers in a shallow baking dish and fill with meat/rice "stuffing."
Top with cheese and microwave at 50% for about 6 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-09-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

United States Harvest

Harvest information continues to come in to the Circles for Rice team as farmers collect their data.

Scott, Arkansas

A couple of week ago, we reported an overall field average of 173 bu/ac (8.3mt/ha) dry weight across a field of 137 acres (55.4 hectares). This was RiceTec hybrid Clearfield XL746. The predominant soil type is silt loam. This field had more potential, but suffered moisture stress during grain fill due to problems with wheel tracks in an area where no changes had been made to the center pivot.

Neelyville, Missouri

This field has a variety of soils ranging from silt loam to fine sand. On some of the hill tops, the preliminary yield averaged 186 bu/ac (8.9mt/ha) dry weight on a field of 37 acres (14.9 hectares). This was RiceTec hybrid Clearfield XL729. This field has considerable slopes in some areas. The nearby flooded field to the southeast of the center pivot yielded just under 200 bu/ac (9.6mt/ha)

More fields are being harvested this week and we hope to have some details next week.

How is your harvest going? Share your thoughts in the Comments box below!

2010 Farm Progress Show | Boone, Iowa, USA

2010-09-03T12:53:00.002-05:00

Hello, everyone! Valmont Irrigation attended the 2010 Farm Progress Show this week in Boone, Iowa, USA. Both Jake and I helped staff the booth, and we talked about Circles for Rice whenever we had the chance!

Thanks to all the Valley booth staffers who helped make this trade show a success!

Please look for us at Husker Harvest in Grand Island, Nebraska, USA, in two weeks!

Rice Taking an Important Role in Schools

2010-08-27T14:42:00.000-05:00

Judy Rusignuolo of the USA Rice Federation recently published an article about improving nutrition in schools. Not only will rice be used to help make meals more nutritious, but also will children be educated about the advantages of rice in general.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-08-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

Demonstration of center pivot on rice. Wheel tracks are very shallow - less than 2 inches deep.

Templeton | Wyatt, MO

Wheel tracks, Sikeston, MO | 18.4 x 26 tires

Wheel tracks, SIkeston, MO | different soil

The photo to the right is of a center pivot near Wyatt, Missouri. This is the only Circles for Rice field in the United States that used a non-hybrid rice seed, a relatively new release from Arkansas called Templeton. It looks good and is maturing a little slower than a nearby field with RiceTec Clearfield XL729.

Historically, late in the season, center pivot wheel tracks have been a challenge. The Circles for Rice team has observed that matching the right drive unit hardware with the right management can help the center pivot successfully travel around the field for the entire growing season.

U.S. Harvest

As I mentioned in last week's post, harvest has begun in the United States and slowly continues as the center pivot rice fields continue to mature.

The wide range of soil types in a particular field is a unique characteristic present in center pivot-irrigated rice, and not present in traditionally flooded rice. Some of this year’s Circles for Rice fields have soils ranging from fine sand to silt loam within the same field. Depending on the soil type(s), the rice matures at slightly different rates across the board.

Initial yield data under the center pivots has started to come in; these numbers have not been finalized, but final numbers will be reported later this year both on this blog and on the www.circlesforrice.com website. Two fields have so far been cut: our field near Eagle Lake, Texas, and our field in Scott, Arkansas. Later this week, another field will be cut, and one or two more fields will be cut the week of August 30th.

Eagle Lake, Texas
Initial yield data has indicated a range from 149 bu/ac (dry weight, and where weed control was not optimum) to 172 bu/ac (dry weight, and where there was better weed control).

Scott, Arkansas
Initial yield data has indicated a range from 135 bu/ac (dry weight) to over 185 bu/ac (dry weight).

How is your harvest progressing? Share with us in the Comments box!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-08-17T11:03:00.000-05:00

Harvest | David Feilke's Field in Scott, AR, USA

Harvest has started in the United States! Initial yields have started to come in from two fields, and we will have specific data in the next couple weeks.

So far, in fields where weed control and irrigation was consistent, we have observed yields approaching nearby flood irrigation yields. Initial water use numbers, where we can compare to flood fields, indicate savings of 40% to 60%.

Irrigation is being cut back on the remaining fields as they range from late milk stage to approaching hard dough. Irrigation cycles are being changed from every 1-2 days to every 3-4 days.

We anticipate harvesting the rest of the fields within the next three weeks.

Soft Dough Stage

Please visit the www.CirclesForRice.com often, as 2010 field and harvest updates will be consistently posted throughout the coming weeks.

How is your growing season progressing? Share with us on our Comments board!

CANALRURAL | Rural Noticias | News Story in Brazil

2010-08-11T08:39:00.001-05:00

As it was briefly mentioned in the last blog post (Monday), Valmont Irrigation is currently hosting a small T.V. crew from Brazil. The three gentlemen accompanied we Rice Team members on our Field Day trip last week, and got some great footage! Please view this newscast that was aired in Brazil on August 9. Thank you to Patrick Hulshof and Dr. Earl Vories for making an appearance!

Disclaimer: Video is in Portuguese.

Circles for Rice Field Days | August 3-5, 2010

2010-08-09T15:03:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: I apologize ahead of time. This post is super long, but I wanted to make sure to squeeze everything in about our Field Days from last week!

August 3-5, 2010, Valmont Irrigation hosted three Field Days dedicated to the Circles for Rice project. Each Field Day was a success, and we could not have pulled them off without our cooperating rice growers, partners, and staff. Each Field Day had a similar agenda, which included presentations on:

Weed control
Irrigation equipment and controls
Application of water and fertilizer
Yield potential under center pivots
Field and crop information
Irrigation management

Tuesday | August 3, 2010 | Sikeston

Donny Deline's rice field | Sikeston, MO

We started the day by participating in a rice under center pivot Field Day hosted by the University of Missouri Delta Research Center. Though the weather was hot (even at 8:30 in the morning!), the Field Day presenters persevered and delivered great information, including some newer research on rice breeding. Presenters included Dr. Gene Stevens (UM Delta Center), Dr. Earl Vories (USDA-ARS), Dr. Anna McClung (USDA-ARS), Dr. Don Beighley (SE Missouri State U), Dr. Joe Henggeler (UM Delta Center), Jim Heiser (UM Delta Center), and Jake LaRue (Valmont Irrigation).

Later that afternoon, we gathered at the Clinton Building in Sikeston, MO, for our first Field Day. Following registration and a short meet-and-greet, we piled into a well-chilled bus and headed to Donny Deline's rice field. Presenters included Donny Deline (rice grower), Jake LaRue (Valmont Irrigation), Jim Heiser (UM Delta Center), Fred Ferrell (Mid-Valley Irrigation, Valley dealership), Jerry Gerdes (Valmont Irrigation), and Dr. Gene Stevens (UM Delta Center).

Patrick Hulshof's rice field | Sikeston, MO

After the presentations, we boarded the bus and headed for Patrick Hulshof's rice field, also in Sikeston. Presenters included Patrick Hulshof (rice grower), Jake LaRue (Valmont Irrigation), Jim Heiser (UM Delta Center), Dr. Earl Vories (UM Delta Center), and Barry Barnett (RiceTec).

Both Donny Deline and Patrick Hulshof participated in the 2010 Circles for Rice project in hopes of finding an alternative crop.

We concluded the Field Day with a WONDERFUL supper, catered by Tasteful Creations. Rice was not a main dish, but the Butterfinger cake was to die for!

Wednesday | August 4, 2010 | Neelyville

Dennis Robison's rice field | Neelyville, MO

The Valmont crew regrouped Wednesday morning in Neelyville, MO, for the second of three Field Days at Dennis Robison's rice field. We brought with us plenty of cold water and pastries from Rowland Stollen Bakery and Deli.

Unlike traditional rice fields (which are flat), Dennis's field is rolling. Because it is a nontraditional rice field, Dennis's participation is one that helps illustrate the ability to produce a good rice crop in new areas of the world.

The Circles for Rice Team collectively felt this Field Day was the most successful of the three. Despite the terrible heat, the attendees were quite interested in our project and asked a lot of good questions! Presenters included Dennis Robison (rice grower), Jake LaRue (Valmont Irrigation), Dr. Earl Vories (USDA-ARS), Jim Heiser (UM Delta Center), Fred Ferrell (Mid-Valley Irrigation, Valley dealership), Jerry Gerdes (Valmont Irrigation), and Dr. Gene Stevens (UM Delta Center).

Thursday | August 5, 2010 | Scott

David Feilke's rice field | Scott, AR

After a trip down to Little Rock, AR, we held a Field Day at David Feilke's rice field in Scott, AR. We provided bagels, muffins, cookies, and coffee from the San Francisco Bread Co. (the BEST cookies ever, I give my recommendation) at the field. Presenters included David Feilke (rice grower), Jake LaRue (Valmont Irrigation), Dr. Paul Counce (University of Arkansas), Mark Maier (crop consultant), Randy Powell (Ag H2O, Valley dealership), Jerry Gerdes (Valmont Irrigation), and Whitney Jones (RiceTec).

A long-time rice grower, David decided to participate in the 2010 Circles for Rice project in order to grow rice on a budget.

We would like to thank Sid Cameron, our Mid-South Valmont Territory Manager, for his unwavering support of this project and participation in our Field Days.

We had some last-minute visitors tag along for most of the trip - a T.V. crew from Brazil! We'd like to thank Marcelo, Danilo, and Jose for putting up with the heat and our crazy schedule.

Now that we're back in the office, expect to see more frequent updates on the Circles for Rice blog! I will be updating the rest of the Circles for Rice website (www.circlesforrice.com) throughout the next several weeks, please visit us for detailed field information.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-07-30T17:44:00.000-05:00

In the last week, four of the fields have had applications of Karate for army worms, plus Quadris for possible disease issues.

We need to keep watching closely for insects, disease, and development of wheel tracks.

Everyone is asking when we can start slowing the irrigation, but most fields are at least seven to ten days away from cutting back.

To maintain quality, we believe center pivot irrigators need to keep relatively good moisture (less than 30% depletion) in the root zone through early soft dough, and then gradually allow the depletion to increase. All of this does depend on temperature and moisture-holding capacity.

I hope to see some of you next week at our field days in Missouri and Arkansas!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-07-28T14:41:00.000-05:00

I am back in the U.S. after traveling for two weeks in France and Spain. I visited farmers, customers, and Valley Dealers.

Now, I personally need to catch back up on the rice project, and I will be visiting the fields this week. Kelly Downing has done a great job following the crop development.

Current situations growers are facing include:

Potential damage from army worms

Have seen some signs of damage; everyone needs to be watching their fields
Extension service recommended using Karate

Developing "spots" in fields believed to be related to nutrient issues

Soil and plant samples have been collected
Reviewing the analysis as little data exists for nutrient levels for center pivot or linear irrigated rice

No confirmed brown spot or blast in any fields
One pivot has gotten stuck and the grower has worked through this with the Valley Rice Team. A number of reasons contributed to this situation.

All fields are in various stages of heading.

The rice under center pivot in Texas is beginning to mature and we have begun to reduce the water applications. Unlike flooded fields, where there may be a couple of inches of water on the soil surface and the soil profile is saturated, we are typically operating between 5% to 30% depleted with a center pivot. This means there is not as much water "stored" in the soil profile and irrigation must continue to ensure a good quality crop.

Our Mid-South Field Days are next week! Come visit us in Missouri and Arkansas on August 3-5. For more information, and to register for one or more field days, please visit www.CirclesForRice.com .

Attention Rice Growers! Field Day Reminder

2010-07-19T09:05:00.001-05:00

Valmont Irrigation, RiceTec, and the University of Missouri Delta Research Center will be hosting rice Field Days in August!

What:     Rice under center pivot Field Days

Where: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | Registration @ 8:30 AM, Presentations @ 9:00 AM
              University of Missouri Delta Research Center
            147 Highway T
              Portageville, Arkansas, USA 63873
              LAT 36 25' 19.8516", LONG -89 41' 56.3928"

              Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | Registration @ 3:00 PM, Presentations @ 4:00 PM
              Clinton Building/Donny Deline and Patrick Hulshof's fields
    501 Campanella Drive
              Sikeston, Missouri, USA 63801
LAT 36 53' 24.3816", LONG -89 34' 3.6042"
Meet and greet at the Clinton Building Community Center.
              Field-to-field transportation will be made available.
              Dinner at the Clinton Building will follow presentations.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 | Registration @ 8:30 AM, Presentations @ 9:00 AM
              Dennis Robison's field
              Neelyville, Arkansas, USA
              County Road W5. 5 miles straight south of Naylor. Turn west on County Road W5.
              LAT 36 30' 01.08396", LONG -90 37' 01.6716"
Continental breakfast will be available at the field.

              Thursday, August 5, 2010 | Registration @ 8:30 AM, Presentations @ 9:00 AM
              David Feilke's field
              Scott, Arkansas, USA
              LAT 34 35' 27.8196", LONG -92 07' 55.6782"
              Continental breakfast will be available at the field.

To Register: rice@valmont.com | +1-800-825-6668 ext 6032 or ext 3505 | www.circlesforrice.com

Rice Growers: Donny Deline, Patrick Hulshof, Dennis Robison, David Feilke
Valley Dealers: MidValley, Ag H2O

All Field Days are open to the public. However, we do request that you please pre-register! Register by July 21 and receive a welcome gift at the Field Day!

We look forward to seeing you down South in August!

Another Article about Rice Blogs

2010-07-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

The Delta Farm Press published an article earlier this week about the debut of rice blogs.

"Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for extension, said the blogs are good examples of using technology to distribute research-based information to producers. 'Innovations such as these blogs are cheaper than mailing material to farmers and accessible 24 hours a day to anyone,' Coreil said."

To read the article in its entirety, please visit www.DeltaFarmPress.com.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-07-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

United States

Last week, I visited the rice fields down South. Some observations have been made:

We need to watch the wheel track depth in a couple of fields, as a couple of spots in some of the fields are deeper than we would like. In each case, this is occurring on drive units using 14.9 x 24 or smaller size tires.
Dr. Gene Stevens at the University of Missouri Delta Research Center has advised that they have seen some brown spot and are going to treat appropriately.
We have another field that may have brown spot and we are currently reviewing this thoroughly. If we do treat this field for brown spot, we will use between 12 and 15 ounces of Quadris per acre.
One field continues to run with lower-than-optimum pivot pressure, which is causing fairly poor sprinkler patterns. The flow is lower than we expected, running about 6.1 gpm/acre, which is more than likely too low for this particular field.
Fertility questions have continued to pop up, so we are sampling more fields by collecting soil and tissue from areas that look "good" and from areas that look "poor." This sampling will provide us with a comparison since there is very little data both for rice production under center pivots and rice production on light-textured soils.

The yellowing field from last week is definitely looking better since having ammonium sulphate applied.

As stated before, we need to closely watch the depth of water being applied.

One field is about 3% headed, and several are in early-to-mid boot stage. Some fields have received over 12" of irrigation this growing season from the center pivot.

Valley is coming a to a rice field near you! If you live near Sikeston, MO, Corning, AR, or Scott, AR, come visit us at one of our Field Days in August! Updates and reminders will be posted to the blog; registration is available by phone (402-359-6032), email (rice@valmont.com), and web (www.CirclesForRice.com).

Attention Rice Growers!

2010-07-13T13:57:00.000-05:00

Valmont Irrigation, RiceTec, and the University of Missouri Delta Research Center will be hosting rice Field Days in August!

What:     Rice under center pivot Field Days

Where: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | Registration @ 8:30 AM, Presentations @ 9:00 AM
              University of Missouri Delta Research Center
            147 Highway T
              Portageville, Arkansas, USA 63873
              LAT 36 25' 19.8516", LONG -89 41' 56.3928"

              Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | Registration @ 3:00 PM, Presentations @ 4:00 PM
              Clinton Building/Donny Deline and Patrick Hulshof's fields
    501 Campanella Drive
              Sikeston, Missouri, USA 63801
LAT 36 53' 24.3816", LONG -89 34' 3.6042"
Meet and greet at the Clinton Building Community Center.
              Field-to-field transportation will be made available.
              Dinner at the Clinton Building will follow presentations.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 | Registration @ 8:30 AM, Presentations @ 9:00 AM
              Dennis Robison's field
              Corning, Arkansas, USA
              County Road W5. 5 miles straight south of Naylor. Turn west on County Road W5.
              LAT 36 30' 01.08396", LONG -90 37' 01.6716"
Continental breakfast will be available at the field.

              Thursday, August 5, 2010 | Registration @ 8:30 AM, Presentations @ 9:00 AM
              David Feilke's field
              Scott, Arkansas, USA
              LAT 34 35' 27.8196", LONG -92 07' 55.6782"
              Continental breakfast will be available at the field.

To Register: rice@valmont.com | +1-800-825-6668 ext 6032 or ext 3505 | www.circlesforrice.com

Rice Growers: Donny Deline, Patrick Hulshof, Dennis Robison, David Feilke
Valley Dealers: MidValley, Ag H2O

All Field Days are open to the public. However, we do request that you please pre-register!

Circles for Rice Field Day

2010-07-07T14:35:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday, June 29, Valmont Irrigation and RiceTec hosted an open Field Day at Kevin Hoffman's rice field in Eagle Lake, Texas, USA. We feel the attendance was great with around 100 total attendees.

We started the day with a luncheon at RiceTec (Eagle Lake Facility); the food was wonderful (which included rice) and the conversation rich! We then moved to the rice field where presentations were given and the center pivot was turned on and demonstrated.

Presentation topics included:

Characteristics of the most effective Hybrid seed options
Recommended chemical and fertilizer applications to control weeds, diseases, and insects
Recommended irrigation scheduling and sprinkler options
Irrigation equipment and controls
Energy and water conservation

Presenters included Mr. Kelly Downing (Valmont Irrigation), Mr. Jerry Gerdes (Valmont Irrigation), Mr. Don Mooring (Valmont Irrigation), Mr. Jason Hester (Peerless Equipment, Valley Dealership), Mr. Derrol Grymes (RiceTec), and Mr. Jon Wahn (NRCS).

For the most part, the weather cooperated. It was really hot for us Nebraskans, though we may be getting a taste of the heat this week!

We'd like to thank RiceTec, Peerless Equipment, Kevin Hoffman, all attendees, and all Valmont staff members for their preparation and participation. You helped make this Field Day a success!

Check out the Web page on www.CirclesForRice.com regarding our 2010 Field Days; click here.

For more information on future Field Days and events, please subscribe! Announcements will also be made on the www.CirclesForRice.com homepage as they become available.

New Observation

2010-07-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

An observation we have seen in very lightly textured soils under a center pivot is new emerging leaves appear yellow (photo on right). Tissue and soil samples were collected in both areas of healthy plants and areas of yellowing plants; these were then taken and examined by specialists at the University of Missouri Delta Research Center, where a conclusion was made that the yellowing was caused by a fertility issue. The analysis was run by the Delta Center Soils Lab, and, while there were no specific recommendations for center pivot irrigated rice, it appeared that sulfur may be the culprit. Ammonium sulfate was applied and watered in the field on July 3, 2010. We will follow up with the issue this week.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-07-06T10:25:00.003-05:00

The 2010 rice crop season continues to be a challenge; but, then again, how many years are not!

Weeds are a continuous issue in both the United States and Ukraine. However, the fields with full ground shading are ahead of the game. In the past week, we have seen in some fields development of patches of Johnson grass and shatter cane, and, of course, pigweed is a problem. The Delta Farm Press recently published an article by Ford L. Baldwin on the current weed situation in (flooded) rice fields:

"I am getting the normal midseason rice herbicide questions. With the difficulty a lot of folks had getting herbicides applied timely, there will be some escaped grass."

Please click here to read the article in its entirety.

Overall, though, the Rice Team has rated the weed control as good/excellent across the fields.

Irrigation management is a continuously critical factor, and we recommend applying more water as the rice crop matures (per our observations on the loamy sand to clay loam soils); HOWEVER, we do not want the water moving from where it is applied (ie: runoff - photo on the right). Some fields can take up to .75", while other fields are limited to only .5". We must also be careful to cover the field and return to the driest areas in a timely fashion. Remember that the rice root system is much shallower than corn, cotton, and soybeans, which means that there is a small volume of soil to manage.

We also need to keep an eye on the pressure at the pivot point (photo at left). As pumping levels change, we have observed a reduction in the pivot pressure; if the pivot pressure is below the sprinkler chart (design pressure), the depth of water applied is reduced. This reduction can lead to the situation as shown in the picture below where, due to reduced pressure, the correct overlap is not maintained and streaking has developed in the field. The darker areas are rice plants exhibiting signs of moisture stress, while the lighter areas are plants that have adequate moisture.

We have started to collect infrared images to help identify issues in the fields, which we then compare with adjacent flood fields (photo at right). Please note the half-circle center pivot and the flood field in the lower right-hand corner. We like to see uniform color across the field.

I know this is a lot of information for one update! If you have any questions about any of the observations, please ask away in the Comments box below.

Circles for Rice Field Day Reminder | One Week!

2010-06-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

Valmont Irrigation and RiceTec will be hosting a rice field day in one week!

What: Rice under center pivot field day
When: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Where: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility
             3055 Hwy 3013
             Eagle Lake, Texas, USA 77434
             GPS: LAT 29 32' 19.49", LONG 96 19' 26.01"
   Kevin Hoffman's rice field
   1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614
             Texas, USA
             GPS: LAT 29 28' 18.71", LONG 96 21' 44.06"
Times: Registration at 11:30AM
            Lunch will be served at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility at 12PM.
            Field day activities will commence at the field from 1PM - 3PM.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com | +1-800-825-6668 ext 3042 | www.circlesforrice.com

Rice Grower: Kevin Hoffman
Valley Dealer: Peerless Equipment

The field day will open with a luncheon at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility. Following lunch will be a trip to the rice field, where attendees will see the Valley center pivot in action and participate in field day activities presented by Circles for Rice team members and RiceTec staff.

For those who do not wish to participate in the luncheon, please join us at Mr. Hoffman's field at 1PM for field day activities; registration will also be available at this time. The field is located 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 (about 10 miles from Eagle Lake).

This field day is open to the public. However, we do request that you please pre-register.

Register by email, website, or phone. Pre-registrants will receive a special welcome gift at the Field Day!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-06-18T09:50:00.002-05:00

United States

Missouri, USA

This week, I will focus on some irrigation management issues that have been observed in the rice fields under center pivots. The following situations have developed in the fields:

1. Case #1 - The rice team advises the grower to irrigate, but the grower "wants to wait for rain." We all want to utilize the rain, but if the grower delays irrigation for two or more days, particularly on some of the lighter soils, we will see damage to the tillers and, in some cases, some significant drying. We need complete canopy development to both minimize late season weed pressure and achieve good yields.

2. Case #2 - The farmer applies very light, frequent irrigation applications of .09" per pass. As shown in the graph below, the trend for soil moisture at the 4" depth has increased. Note the small "dips" after each application, but not complete refill of the soil profile. Fortunately, on June 17, the rice field received significant rain that recharged the soil profile.

3. Case #3 - The grower applies too much irrigation per pass. There are two problems with this approach:

There is a potential for runoff (which is what happened). More water was applied than the soil could infiltrate or store on the surface and it began to run off.
There is significant time to get back to the start of the irrigation cycle. Rice is a shallow-rooted crop and does not have much soil volume from which to draw moisture; it may reach critical depletion before the center pivot gets back to the beginning of the cycle.

Overall, though, the rice is looking excellent and has good weed control.

Circles for Rice Field Day Reminder

2010-06-18T08:40:00.001-05:00

Valmont Irrigation and RiceTec will be hosting a rice field day in June!

What: Rice under center pivot field day
When: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Where: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility
             3055 Hwy 3013
             Eagle Lake, Texas, USA 77434
             GPS: LAT 29 32' 19.49", LONG 96 19' 26.01"
   Kevin Hoffman's rice field
   1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614
             Texas, USA
             GPS: LAT 29 28' 18.71", LONG 96 21' 44.06"
Times: Registration at 11:30AM
            Lunch will be served at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility at 12PM.
            Field day activities will commence at the field from 1PM - 3PM.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com | +1-800-825-6668 ext 3042 | www.circlesforrice.com | by June 18, 2010 (TODAY!)

Rice Grower: Kevin Hoffman
Valley Dealer: Peerless Equipment

The field day will open with a luncheon at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility. Following lunch will be a trip to the rice field, where attendees will see the Valley center pivot in action and participate in field day activities presented by Circles for Rice team members and RiceTec and NRCS staff.

For those who do not wish to participate in the luncheon, please join us at Mr. Hoffman's field at 1PM for field day activities; registration will also be available at this time. The field is located 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 (about 10 miles from Eagle Lake).

This field day is open to the public. However, we do request that you please pre-register

Register by email, website, or phone. Register by June 18 (TODAY!) to receive a welcome gift at the Field Day!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-06-15T11:18:00.000-05:00

Australia

After spending 10 days in Australia, I am back in the United States. Part of my trip overseas was devoted to meeting with people involved in rice production, and some are interested in producing rice under center pivots and linears. In Australia, the primary driver for producing rice under center pivots and linears is the shortage of water for flood irrigation. I visited with several people associated with rice production to learn more about the Australian climate, soils, and typical production process.

United States

The rice crop continues to develop well; most fields are either early tillering or are approaching panicle initiation. The key focuses right now include:

Weed control
Nitrogen application
Gradually moving irrigation application depth from 0.20" to 0.30" (10.0 mm to 12.5 mm), depending on the ability of the soil to infiltrate the water
Watching wheel tracks under the center pivot

Ukraine

The rice in Ukraine is also developing well, but some weed pressures have been observed. The photo to the right is of the rice field in Ukraine.

Field Day | Eagle Lake, Texas, USA

We are looking forward to our first field day this month, and we hope to see you all there! Please see www.circlesforrice.com (Homepage) for more information on this upcoming event. We do ask attendees to please pre-register by June 18, but the event is open to the public.

Circles for Rice Field Day Reminder

2010-06-10T14:32:00.002-05:00

Valmont Irrigation and RiceTec will be hosting a rice field day in June!

What: Rice under center pivot field day
When: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Where: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility
             3055 Hwy 3013
             Eagle Lake, Texas, USA 77434
             GPS: LAT 29 32' 19.49", LONG 96 19' 26.01"
   Kevin Hoffman's rice field
   1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614
             Texas, USA
             GPS: LAT 29 28' 18.71", LONG 96 21' 44.06"
Times: Registration at 11:30AM
            Lunch will be served at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility at 12PM.
            Field day activities will commence at the field from 1PM - 3PM.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com | +1-800-825-6668 ext 3042 | www.circlesforrice.com | by June 18, 2010

Rice Grower: Kevin Hoffman
Valley Dealer: Peerless Equipment

The field day will open with a luncheon at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility. Following lunch will be a trip to the rice field, where attendees will see the Valley center pivot in action and participate in field day activities presented by Circles for Rice team members and RiceTec and Texas A&M staff.

For those who do not wish to participate in the luncheon, please join us at Mr. Hoffman's field at 1PM for field day activities. The field is located 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 (about 10 miles from Eagle Lake).

This field day is open to the public. However, we do request that you please register

Register by email, website, or phone. Register by June 18 to receive a welcome gift at the Field Day!

World Environment Day | June 5, 2010

2010-06-04T13:08:00.000-05:00

Every year, June 5 marks World Environment Day. Founded in 1972 by the United Nations, World Environment Day was created to encourage people to become aware of the issues surrounding our global environments, so that we as global citizens can help ensure a bright future for us and generations to come.

In 2009, Omaha, NE, was fortunate to have been the North American host city for World Environment Day. Personally, I feel very proud of this factoid, and amazed at how the citizens of my hometown were able to come together and become more aware of our environment. To learn more about the 2009 celebration in Omaha, please click here.

This year's North American celebration will be hosted in Pittsburgh, PA. The host city has created a wonderfully interactive website for those interested in the event. Please visit www.pittsburghwed.com for information on tomorrow's activities and celebration.

Happy World Environment Day!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-06-03T16:47:00.001-05:00

United States

The rice under center pivots continues to develop. Field scouting has been focused on irrigation scheduling, wheel tracks, and weeds. Most of the rice is actively tillering and is beginning to close the canopy

The below graph is current soil moisture data for one rice field that we are reviewing this year. Note the green line - it is a measure of soil temperature.

We are most interested in the blue line. This represents the moisture sensor at 4", which is the distance the rice roots have reached. Note that on May 28th, June 1st, and June 3rd, the blue line drops - this is from the soil receiving water, which, in each of these cases, is irrigation; rainfall would show up similarly. After each irrigation application, the blue line gradually increases; this is representing moisture use by the crop.

Our goal is to manage the highs and lows of this cycle to promote good crop growth and efficient water use.

Circles for Rice Field Day Announcement

2010-06-02T12:44:00.003-05:00

Valmont Irrigation and RiceTec will be hosting a rice field day in June!

What: Rice under center pivot field day
When: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Where: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility | Eagle Lake, Texas, USA
Times: Lunch will be served at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility at 12PM.
Field day activities will commence at the field from 1PM - 3PM.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com | +1-800-825-6668 ext 3042 | by June 18, 2010

Rice Grower: Kevin Hoffman
Valley Dealer: Peerless Equipment

The field day will open with a luncheon at the RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility. Following lunch will be a trip to the rice field, where attendees will see the Valley center pivot in action and participate in field day activities presented by Circles for Rice team members and RiceTec staff.

For those who do not wish to participate in the luncheon, please join us at Mr. Hoffman's field at 1PM for field day activities. The field is located 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 (about 10 miles from Eagle Lake).

This field day is open to the public. However, we do request that you please register

Register by email or phone. Register by June 18 to receive a welcome gift at the field day sign in!

More details to come!

Center Pivot News Article

2010-05-26T12:34:00.002-05:00

Online newspaper The Fence Post recently posted an article about the history of the center pivot. The article illustrates the life of inventor Frank Zybach, the inventor of the first center pivot mechanized irrigation machine.

"Like tractors, center pivot irrigation is one of the staples of modern-day agriculture. The Irrigation Association calls the center pivot irrigation system 'without a doubt the greatest advancement in agriculture since the McCormick reaper.' The Scientific American says that center pivot is 'perhaps the most significant mechanical innovation in agriculture since the replacement of draft animals by the tractor.'"

To read the article in its entirety, please visit The Fence Post.

With the goal of conserving water, as well as various other resources, Valmont Irrigation is the worldwide leader in mechanized irrigation sales, service, quality, and technological expansion since its founding. The Nebraska, USA-based company remains dedicated to providing novel solutions now and well into the future.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-05-25T10:00:00.004-05:00

United States

The rice under the center pivots continues to develop well. Currently, the growth stages range from 2 leaf to 5 leaf (first tiller). Most fields have received nitrogen, either dry Urea or 28% liquid. Most growers are using the center pivots to apply the 28% liquid nitrogen; in most cases, the application includes sulfur.

In the past week, rainfall varied from approximately 1/2" to 2".

While soil moisture is excellent at 2" and deeper, most of the center pivots have been operating and applying between .15" and .30" per circle in order to maintain adequate moisture around the root systems. Below is an example of the soil moisture sensors for one field, which is in 4 leaf stage. Please note that we are beginning to see the soil moisture sensor at 4" show some depletion (blue line).

As we scout closely for weeds, we observe that the herbicide applications are doing their job well. The Circles for Rice team rates weed control as excellent overall.

We would love to hear from you! Do you have questions about the progress of the Circles for Rice project? Click on the Comments link below!

Top 10 Maintenance Tips | Series 5

2010-05-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

9. Electrical Connections - Be sure to power down the equipment before checking any electrical connections. Once the power is off, check for loose connections or loose cord grips in tower boxes.

10. Moving Parts - Steel moving on steel without proper lubrication can lead to unnecessary wear and tear on irrigation equipment. Be sure to grease all moving parts, including the pivot point bearing, towable hubs, corner rollers, and legs.

That concludes our series on Top 10 Maintenance Tips! To read the Top 10 Maintenance Tips in its entirety, please visit Valley Irrigation.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-05-17T14:12:00.003-05:00

Advanced field | four leaf stage

Emergence

Even though some of the Circles for Rice fields have experienced very hard rains and flooding pre-emergence, the fields, which are located in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee, are progressing well.

Per field scouting late last week, all fields are at least 80% emerged; the most advanced field is in the four leaf stage. As wind has been a concern in some fields, the farmers have been irrigating with the center pivots to help minimize wind erosion and damage to the young rice plants. Several growers have applied light applications of crop nutrient products to help push their crop along after the heavy rains.

Several of the earlier planted fields have already seen their second application of herbicides. Though most growers are using are using a combination based around either Command or Prowl, herbicide combinations and applications have varied. Combinations depend upon soil type, what has already been applied, and perceived weed pressure.

As we continue to irrigate, we need to be careful not to exceed the soil's ability to take water, as shown in the video clip below. Most fields have very good soil moisture 2 inches and deeper, but, in the current root zone, some fields are approaching 25% depletion.

Questions about herbicides, soil qualities, or the project in general? Ask away!

Congratulations, Germani!

2010-05-14T11:55:00.001-05:00

The Valley Circles for Rice team would like to congratulate our agronomist, Dr. Germani Concenco, on his marriage to his fiancée, Fernanda. Germani and Fernanda will be wed on Saturday, May 15, in Brazil.

Germani and Fernanda, below you will our personal congratulatory messages to you!

"Germani is joining the club of serious men with his marriage this week! We wish Fernanda and Germani all the best and are happy for this young and engaged couple!" ~ Bernhard Kiep

"Our prayers and blessings are with you and Fernanda on your special day." ~ Jake and Marlene LaRue

"Germani and Fernanda, congratulations on your marriage. I know you have been looking forward to this day for a long time. I pray for a long, happy life together, filled with blessings and faith to help you through the difficult times we all eventually face." ~ your friend, Kelly Downing

"Germani, congratulations and best wishes!" ~ Jerry Gerdes

"Congratulations, Germani and Fernada! I wish you all the best!" ~ Michelle "Stolte" Johnson

"Congratulations, Germani! I am very happy for the both of you. I wish you a very happy and long marriage! I expect to see photographs!" ~ Kelly Cackin

"I wish the both of you a lifetime of joy. Congratulations, Germani!" ~ Martin Brack

Please help us in wishing Germani and Fernanda congratulations on their marriage!

Rice Blogs Becoming More Prevalent

2010-05-13T13:22:00.001-05:00

The social media aspect of agriculture is continuously growing. The existence of our blog helps to prove that! As it turns out, the Circles for Rice blog isn't completely one-of-a-kind (in terms of blogging about rice), but we really didn't expect it to be. People blog about whatever they want, including rice production.

Carroll Smith, editor of the publication Rice Farming, recently developed a blog about her personal, on-the-job experiences. (http://ricefarming.wordpress.com/) The blog is informal, yet still informational, which makes it a pleasure to follow. Carroll recently wrote an article about the booming rice blogging world, which included information about both hers and others' blogs.

The article "Spreading the Word: Informal blogs bring rice perspective from field to screen" can be found here: http://www.ricefarming.com/home/issues/2010-04/2010_AprLead.html (April 2010, Rice Farming). It brings attention to the fact that communicating with others about a common interest, including ag-related topics, isn't just limited to face-to-face or over-the-phone interaction. I'm not suggesting that you stop visiting your neighbors/friends/colleagues, just that we should all be aware of the evolving communication strategies that surround our cultures.

In response to this blog post, I encourage you all to click on that wonderful little "Comments" link and write something to us! It could be comment about this or previous posts, or just general questions about our project. The Circles for Rice team is eager to converse with you directly through this blog!

Until next time!

Top 10 Maintenance Tips | Series 4

2010-05-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

7. Pivot Alignment & Pipe Flushing - Ensure the tower box microswitches are set properly. Improper settings can cause pivot misalignment, which results in nuisance shutdowns. Flushing your pipeline and cleaning your sand trap is essential, especially if you either have water quality problems or your irrigation water contains sand.

8. U-Joints - Evaluate the equipment for worn u-joint inserts and ensure driveshaft shields are in place for safety.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-05-06T12:20:00.002-05:00

Planting | April 30

Soil Moisture Monitor | Installed

So much for blogging about how dry it's been in Missouri and Arkansas...

The Circles for Rice fields received between 3.75" and 9"+ of rain last weekend. Some fields were under water for three or four days. Because of the amount of rain observed, some concern has been raised for the herbicides that were applied right before the storms.

The last Circles for Rice field was planted on April 30th. Rice has emerged in five fields.

While soil moisture is generally excellent, we are closely watching it due to the heat and wind observed this week. We feel this is necessary because of the moisture observed in the crop's current root zone. Some growers will apply light applications of irrigation later this week to maintain good soil moisture in the root zone.

At most Circles for Rice sites, we have installed soil moisture monitors; we will continue installation early next week.

Do you have any questions about how the rice fields are doing in the midst of the torrential rain storms down South? Let us know!

Have a great week!

Arbor Day | April 30, 2010

2010-04-30T13:57:00.000-05:00

Plant a tree today!

As both a native and current Nebraskan, I am proud to honor Arbor Day, which was founded in 1885 by Nebraskan J. Sterling Morton. Arbor Day celebrates the planting of trees.

Valley center pivot on orange trees

Interesting Facts about Trees

Did you know that most apple trees do not self-pollinate? You will more than likely need to plant more than one apple tree in order for your tree to bear fruit. You may also need to cross breed for pollination to be completely effective.
Did you know that oak trees will not produce acorns until they are at least 20 years of age? Oak trees will produce these nuts typically in the Autumn months.
Did you know that the largest tree resides in California? The Redwood (or Sequoia) averages a height of 360 feet.

What is your favorite tree and why? Does it encourage memories of past summer days or family picnics? Please help us celebrate Arbor Day by taking a moment to reflect on this question. If you would like, please write your answer/story in the Comments box below!

Happy Arbor Day!

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-04-29T09:17:00.002-05:00

United States

In most of the Circles for Rice fields, the rice crop under center pivots is off to a fast start! As there has not been significant rain for at least 10 days in many field locations, the rice seed was planted in dry, or relatively dry, seed bed (photo below). A light application of irrigation through the center pivots has not only activated pre-emergence herbicides, but has also helped settle the soil and germinate the rice. Last weekend (April 23 through April 25), the rice received between 1/4" and 3/4" of irrigation, and 3/4" to 3" of rain, varying by location.

Miscellaneous Information about Rice under Pivots and Linears

A traditionally flooded rice field will take between 54,000 and 81,000 gallons per acre. Compared with these numbers, a rice field irrigated with center pivot and lateral move (linears) technology will only need to take 7,000 to 14,000 gallons per acre.

When irrigating rice with center pivots and linears, the grower does not need to take time to map fields and pull levees - he or she only needs to walk up to the center pivot and press "start"!

Notice the photo below - very small weeds are present. At this size, focus on controlling the weeds.

How is your growing 2010 season progressing so far? If you have a thought to share, or a question about producing rice under center pivots and linears, please write in the Comments box below.

Top 10 Maintenance Tips | Series 3

2010-04-26T15:50:00.002-05:00

5. Sprinkler Package - Sprinkler packages should be changed at least every 10,000 hours of operation. Regularly check for broken or worn sprinkler components and replace them as needed. Also consider running a new sprinkler design, which could maximize efficiency for soil and crop types.

6. Energy Efficiency - You can minimize water pumping costs by lowering pressure when possible. To ensure that water is being used efficiently, check the machine's water pressure at the pivot point. For sprinkler packages with pressure regulators, check the line pressure at the last tower.

Do you have questions about your center pivot or linear's maintenance? Post your questions in the Comments box below.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-04-15T14:21:00.007-05:00

United States

Over the next two weeks, local Valley dealers will be making adjustments to the Circles for Rice center pivots. These changes include updating various hardware to best meet the needs of each individual field. Members of the Circles for Rice team will be installing soil moisture monitoring equipment in the fields.

Currently, 4 of the 9 Circles for Rice commercial fields have been planted; 0 Circles for Rice research fields have been planted. So far, planted hybrid seed include RiceTec Clearfield XL729, XL745, and XP746. All commercial fields are using Command during pre-emergence. Once this is applied, growers will apply light irrigation to activate the herbicide and "settle" the seedbed so there is good soil/seed contact and moisture around the seed.

The Circles for Rice team is beginning to schedule irrigation based on crop modeling, soil moisture data, and field data. Weekly scouting of the commercial fields has also begun.

Because activity has picked up in the United States after a long winter, I will be updating the blog on a more frequent basis.

Questions and comments are welcome!

Conservation Innovation Grant Information

2010-04-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov

Each year, the NRCS offers Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) competitive funds to accepted eligible projects that focus on both innovation and conservation; CIG monies are distributed with two competitions - the National competition and the State competition. A complete explanation of the grant can be found here.

The 2010 CIG competitions were announced last week. This is an exciting opportunity for those involved in the agriculture industry! Some eligible competition project focuses include (but are not limited to):

Adopting Management for Improved Conservation Effects
Energy
Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture
Soil Quality
Nutrient Management
Specialty Crops

Hurry! Eligible growers may turn in the preliminary applications until Monday, April 26, 2010, at 4:00 PM Eastern. For a complete list of eligible participants and suggested project focuses, please visit http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/index.html .

Rice under center pivots and linear machines is now eligible for EQIP in Louisiana, USA! Contact your local NRCS office to see if rice produced under center pivots and linear machines is eligible for EQIP in your area.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-04-07T09:11:00.002-05:00

2010 Growing Season
The growing season is moving fast in North America! As spring sets in, fields are drying out from the long winter. Farm work has begun, and the first rice seed will be planted late this week and early next by the commercial growers with whom Valley is collaborating.

Weed Control
Most of the Circles for Rice commercial growers will use a a split application of Command: part will be applied during pre-plant/pre-emergence, part will be applied during post-emergence (rice leaf stages 1-2). This split application method should help extend its effectiveness for a longer period of time. At rice leaf stages 4-5, most growers will probably use a combination of Propanil and Facet. See Figure 1. for rice growth chart.

Always read a product's label use the rates that match your soil type.

Fig 1. Rice Growth Stage Chart
(visit the blog at www.valleyrice.blogspot.com for entire chart)

Top 10 Maintenance Tips | Series 2

2010-04-06T10:01:00.000-05:00

3. Motor Contactors - Damaged motor contactors can reduce the life of the drive unit motor, so be sure to inspect and replace worn contactors.

4. Tire Pressure - Tires are vital to the operation of irrigation equipment. Be sure to check the pressure and tighten the lug bolts, as well as evaluate the overall tire condition.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-03-29T10:54:00.020-05:00

Brazil

As previously stated in older weekly update posts, Brazil had a very wet 2009-2010 growing season. Therefore, our rice fields were not irrigated as much as in past years. The graph below illustrates this observation (to view graph in its entirety, please visit the blog at www.valleyrice.blogspot.com).

Below is the initial yield report. Please note that Field #5 is listed three times with three different varieties (to view graph in its entirety, please visit the blog at www.valleyrice.blogspot.com).

USA

All rice areas continue to be wet and cool, and farmers are anxious to get into the fields!

As several of our committed Circles for Rice fields are not capable of flood irrigating, it will prove interesting how the rice develops and matures. These specific fields have light-textured soils and good internal drainage.

If you are planting rice under a center pivot or linear:

Select a variety or hybrid seed that has good early season vigor, blast resistance, and good lodging score. Now is the time to arrange for your seed.
Prepare a weed control program plan that uses a balance of pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides.
Because the weather is always unpredictable, make sure your center pivot or linear is ready to go!

Remember that center pivots and linears are great tools to activate herbicides and help with germination.

World Water Week 2010

2010-03-25T09:12:00.002-05:00

World Water Day logo. www.unwater.org.

March 21-27, 2010, is World Water Week. This week is dedicated to recognizing the worldwide water shortage and explaining/suggesting what we as global citizens can do to help our planet in terms of resource conservation.

World Water Week is a fairly new event. It came to be after a United Nations conference in 1992. The planet is in what is referred to as the Water for Life Decade - 2005-2015. During this span of time especially, it is crucial that we take a very close look at how we use our water supply and how we can conserve our usable water in every sense. Please click here to read more about the Water for Life Decade (United Nations, 2005).

How is the Circles for Rice Project Recognizing This Event?
The 2010 World Water Week mission statement is "Clean Water for a Healthy World." The Valmont Irrigation Circles for Rice project is helping to complete this mission by not only conserving water, but also by helping to maintain, or better, water quality. By producing rice under center pivots and linears, versus traditional flood irrigation methods, producers can manage and control where the water moves and situates through precise management practices. Flooding fields creates the opposite effect - runoff puts crop nutrient and protection products into viable water sources, thereby further contaminating the source.

For more information on World Water Week 2010, please visit http://www.worldwaterday.org/ .

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. "World Water Day." World Water Day. Web. 2004-2010. 25 March 2010. http://www.worldwaterday.org.

United Nations. Water for Life Decade: 2005-2015. United Nations, 2005. Print.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-03-19T08:27:00.005-05:00

Brazil

Due to the rain Brazil saw this growing season, growers applied about half of the amount of water through their center pivots than the veteran grower in Uruguaiana typically applied in past seasons.

Tentative yield reports are as follows:

Average yield (upland rice): 3.6 mt/ha to 6.6 mt/ha
Average yield (lowland rice): 4.0 mt/ha to 8.1 mt/ha
Amount of irrigation water applied with center pivots: 240 mm to 450 mm

The 450 mm average appeared in areas that pre-germinated the rice due to very dry early season conditions

Initial quality reports:

Good results under the center pivots
Milling scores of 59

The above data is unpublished and is subject to change.

Weed control is critical! A combination of rapid crop emergence, early season tillering, and a good herbicide program is essential to maximize rice yields!

National Ag Week

2010-03-18T12:38:00.000-05:00

photo courtesy of www.agday.org

March 14-20, 2010, is National Ag Week in the United States. This event encourages citizens throughout the country to celebrate agriculture in different ways, such as visiting farmer's markets, reading about how agriculture touches each and every one of our lives, and thanking growers for a job well done!

For ideas on how you can celebrate agriculture this week, visit www.agday.org.

Top 10 Maintenance Tips | Series 1

2010-03-15T10:33:00.005-05:00

Valmont Irrigation has recently put together a list of 10 maintenance tips to help advise growers on how to make the most of their center pivot or linear machine investment.

Throughout the next several weeks, I will be publishing these tips in 5 series. Each series will not only include 2 of the 10 preventative tips, but will also explain what each mentioned part of the machine is.

1. Drive Train - The drive train of a center pivot or linear includes 3 main components: the center drive motor, wheel gearbox, and tire/flotation options. Please visit www.ValleyIrrigation.com to learn more about a center pivot or linear machine drive train.

TIP: To maximize the life of your drive train and keep it operating trouble-free, drain water from the wheel gearbox and center drive, and make sure the gear lubricant is at the appropriate level.

2. Wheel Tracks - Wheel tracks, or ruts, are created by the tires of the center pivot or linear. Large, deep wheel tracks are undesirable because they create wear and tear to the machine and may also damage the field. Valmont Irrigation offers several machine options to help ensure shallow wheel tracks, and thus help ensure a longer life for the machine. In rice production under center pivots and linears, Valmont Irrigation may advise larger tires, Valley Tracks, Raaft tracks, boom backs, or other solutions that fit your field's needs. Best management practices are also critical to minimize wheel tracks. Please visit the success story in Crawfordsville, Arkansas, USA, to see how Valley options and management helped minimize wheel tracks in 2009.

TIP: Be sure to fill deep wheel tracks during the off-season to reduce stress on irrigation, tillage, and harvest equipment. To help prevent future tracking, consider changing to a different type of tire, adding floatation, or modifying the sprinkler package to reduce water application to the wheel tracks.

Please visit www.ValleyIrrigation.com to view all Top 10 Preventative Maintenance Tips.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-03-11T08:54:00.008-06:00

Brazil

The rice fields in Brazil are harvested. I am continuously receiving the harvest data, which will be published to the website in the coming weeks (www.CirclesForRice.com). In general, it seems the rice produced with traditional flood methods yielded lower this year, compared with past years; this outcome was due to unusually wet weather. The center pivot rice fields also faced challenges this growing season due to the amount of rain.

We have so far observed that the rice fields under center pivots that managed and maintained good weed control had good yields; those fields that did not maintain weed control very well did not meet expectations.

Our experiences and observations from both this growing season in Brazil and last year's growing season in the U.S. further stress a key benefit to producing rice under center pivots and linears: the ability to apply fertilizer through the machine. Both field experience in the U.S. and research data from the University of Missouri Delta Research Center illustrate that fertigation through a center pivot or linear is not only a good production practice for nutrient management, but is also an economical application solution.

United States

Plans for the 2010 growing season in the United States are currently being finalized.

5 Facts about Rice Worldwide

2010-03-02T12:45:00.005-06:00

1. Rice is produced on 6 continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

2. Burma consumes (per capita) the most rice per year - about 500 lbs.

3. 20% of the rice consumed in the United States is used in beer production.

4. More than 40,000 varieties of rice are grown worldwide.

5. Researchers believe rice may have been native to India.

Information found at:
"Facts About Rice." Lotus Foods. Web. 2002-2009. http://www.worldpantry.com.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-02-22T10:50:00.006-06:00

The Circles for Rice project is gaining more interest across the globe.

United States

Last week, I discussed the project with two interested growers - one in Texas and one in Arkansas. Additionally, one of our dealers in Missouri has received several inquiries about rice production under center pivots and linears.

Brazil

DR. GERMANI CONCENCO | field day

A field day was held on February 19 in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Participation was good with around 80 attendees. Many speakers presented on the project, including Dr. Germani Concenco of Valmont, Dr. Herbert Arns (agronomist of Werner Arns, the veteran center pivot rice grower in Rio Grande do Sul), Mr. Parfitt from Embrapa, and Mr. Fernando Santiago of FMC. Various other speakers also presented.

Participants had the opportunity to listen about and see the technological and conservational advancements of the rice fields since irrigating with center pivots. Project results and published data were also shown to illustrate to the attendees how the Circles for Rice project is saving water, gaining acceptable yields, and working closely with growers.

Dr. Germani Concenco also initiated a Rice Tour on February 20. The group visited the Brazilian Circles for Rice fields and spoke with some of the growers.

5 Facts about Rice Production in the United States

2010-02-19T13:05:00.006-06:00

1. Rice is grown in 6 states - California, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

2. More than 2.7 million acres (1.1 million hectares) are planted with rice.

3. All rice is grown with controlled irrigation.

4. Approximately half of the annual yield is exported.

5. The average American will consume about 24 lbs of rice per year.

For more facts on rice production in the United States, visit www.usarice.com .

USA Rice Federation. "Facts About USA Rice." USA Rice. USA Rice Federation, 2010. Web. http://www.usarice.com.

Circles for Rice | Weekly Update

2010-02-15T08:55:00.002-06:00

Brazil

Rice harvest in Brazil has begun and preliminary yield reports look very promising (dry yield averages are not yet confirmed):

Rio Grande do Sul | veteran grower ~ 8.2 mt/ha (170 bu/ac)
Rio Grande do Sul | first year grower ~ 7.2 mt/ha (144 bu/ha)

We hope that once the harvest is complete, the yield for the overall field is higher than what we are already observing. The fields that were planted later in 2009 should begin harvest later this week. Final average dry yields will be reported in the weeks to come.

One Brazilian grower has reported disappointment with the depth of his wheel tracks, which I believe stems from significant over irrigation. However, the grower has already indicated that he would like to plant rice again next growing season.

United States

During the past two weeks, I visited with growers in California; after speaking with several of them, I developed an appreciation for the challenges facing rice production in the state. One rice producer near Colusa has shown interest in participating in a demonstration trial totaling approximately 5 acres.

A Valley center pivot owner in Texas has also expressed interest in a field-scale trial under part of his machine; I will be meeting with him this week.

I will also meet with interested growers in Arkansas this week.

Rice Events | Brazil

2010-02-12T09:43:00.000-06:00

What: Brazilian Rice Tour
When: February 20, 2010
Time: TBD

On February 20, 2010, personnel from Valley Uberaba, including Dr. Germani Concenco, will tour around several of the Circles for Rice fields throughout Brazil with growers interested in the project. The Rice Tour is open to any grower interested in producing rice under center pivots and linears.

What: Rice Harvest Opening
When: February 25-27, 2010
Where: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Valmont Irrigation will attend the Rice Harvest Opening from February 25-27, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 2010 marks the annual event's 20th year. Various speakers and exhibitors will b present to mark the opening of the rice harvest. This is the first year Valmont Irrigation will attend the event.

For more information, please visit the Rice Harvest Opening website.

Rice Field Day | Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

2010-02-10T13:26:00.002-06:00

When: February 19, 2010

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Open to the public.

On February 19, a rice field day will be hosted by Valmont Irrigation, Embrapa, and the field's grower Werner Arns; supporters include RiceTec, FMC, and Ihara. The event will take place on a Circles for Rice field in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Activities will begin at 9:00 AM and will run through 12:30 PM. Lunch will be served, provided by Valmont Irrigation, RiceTec, and FMC. Presenters will include Dr. Germani Concenco of Valmont Irrigation, Marcus Schmidt of Valmont Irrigation, and various personnel from Embrapa, FMC, and RiceTec. Werner Arns and Dr. Herbert Arns will also speak.

Rice | A Growing Industry

2010-02-08T16:07:00.005-06:00

Rice Growth Industry - Weisemeyer

found on www.deltafarmpress.com

This article by Bruce Schultz reveals both the good and bad of the agriculture industry as it stands today, but I'd like to just focus on the good.

CIRCLES FOR RICE FIELD Brazil

Rice is clearly a growing industry and is being acknowledged as so globally. The growth of this industry will help remedy the global food crisis by providing one of the most staple foods to all nations. The U.S. recently sent over 28,000 tons of rice to Haiti in order to feed the people of a nation who experienced a great loss.

We on the Circles for Rice team would like to see this growth continue, and for that to happen, water and other resources need to be conserved. By growing rice under center pivots and linears, not only will water and energy be conserved, but also more land will be put into production for rice. With more land in rice production comes more crop, and therefore the ability to feed more people around the globe.

Rice Update for Valley Center Pivots and Linears

2010-01-25T06:46:00.013-06:00

ANTHESIS courtesy of Agroecosystems Research Group

Brazil - early planted fields are in anthesis and in general weed control looks good. In the production fields, Dr. Concenco reports no disease pressure, but there is some blast impacting different varieties in the plots. The last planted field is in V4. No fields are reporting any concerns with the wheel tracks under the center pivots. The rains slowed toward the end of the week and three fields received between 8 to 9mm of irrigation late in the week. Soil moisture content remains very high with dificients of less than 20% in all areas. If there are no rains, all fields will be irrigating this week.

Last, but certainly not least, let me introduce the Circles for Rice team members helping with sales efforts. While all Valmont Irrigation Territory Managers are helping with sales, we have a a group that help specifically as part of the Rice Team.

Olivier Andre based out of Spain and travels western Africa as the Territory Manager. Olivier has many years of experience with irrigation and developing irrigation projects. A number of countries in which he travels have interest in irrigating rice with center pivots and/or linears due to water shortages or infrastructure challenges.

Ray Batten, based out of Texas, is the Territory Manager for California and key accounts in the U.S. Currently, Ray is spending time studying rice production in California to see how center pivots and/or linears can fit into that market, which has some serious water challenges. Ray owned an irrigation dealership before joining Valmont.

Sid Cameron, based out of Georgia,USA, is the Territory Manager for the southeast United States; these states produce the most rice in the country. Sid has a wealth of experience, including working for a Valley dealership for many years before joing Valmont. Some areas of his territory are having areas where water is becoming limited.

Philipp Schmidt-Holzmann is the Territory Manager for a group of countries in the Middle East and is based out of the United Arab Emirates. Philipp has worked with irrigation on three continents and has many years of experience developing irrigation projects. All of the countries he works with are facing great concern about water supplies and maintaining current levels of crop production.

We welcome comments and questions.

Valley Team Rice Update

2010-01-11T06:05:00.013-06:00

In Brazil, it has continued to be a growing season with much higher than average rainfall. Rainfall across the rice under pivots has ranged between 586mm to 801mm since the crop was planted. The most irrigation any pivot has applied is 100mm, mostly applied early in the season to germinate the crop. Other fields have had between 36mm to 57mm applied so far this growing cycle. All fields but one, which was planted late, are in the reproductive stage. As reported a few weeks ago, fungicide was applied for blast and that is the only application to date. With the heavy rains, it will be interesting to see how the crop finishes. Several of the fields have experienced flooding in various parts.

To continue with the introductions to the Valley Circles for Rice Team, this week I would like to highlight the marketing team, which is all based out of Nebraska. I will illustrate the sales personnel next week.

Sara Sims, Marketing Communications Manager, is responsible for coordinating not only the marketing efforts for rice in the United States and Canada but also the Valley product line. Included in her work are press releases, marketing bulletins, brochures, and advertising, among other duties. She also actively participates in many of the farm shows in the U.S. In addition, Sara works to collect pictures of center pivots and linears irrigating a variety of crops.

Michelle Stolte, International Irrigation Marketing Materials Manager, leads the Go-to-Market team for rice and in many ways has responsibilities similar to Sara's, with the focus being on the international side of Valmont Irrigation. Michelle supports the regional offices and dealers with press releases, marketing bulletins and brochures. Michelle is active on the farm show circuit and some of you may have met her at the USA Rice Conference in December.

Kelly Cackin, International Marketing Coordinator, is focused on creating, updating, and maintaining much of the web material, along with helping to create and update marketing bulletins and brochures. Kelly has started and developed most of the online tools being used. In addition, among other items, Kelly proofs the rice blog and reviews most presentations for grammatical and design errors. She also is responsible for the 2010 rice calendar and regional office online training. Kelly will also assist in writing weekly blog posts, beginning in 2010.

Have a great week; my next post will be up next week! We welcome all questions and comments!

Welcome to the 2010 rice production season

2010-01-04T06:17:00.009-06:00

I hope you have enjoyed the holiday season and have had a chance to relax and spend time with family and friends. Now it is time to get back to work!

In Brazil, the rice under the center pivots continues to develop well. The rains have continued and little irrigation with the center pivots has been required since early in the season to help germinate the crop. Those using traditional flood irrigation must keep pumping water to maintain the flood over the field, while the growers using center pivots do not have to continue to pump and can take the benefit from the rainfall to maximize overall water use efficiency. One goal we are looking at is to produce 1mt/ha of rice for each 100mm of total available water - effective rain and irrigation.

The Valley Rice Team continues to review potential rice projects and provide recommendations on irrigation equipment and production.

Who is the Valley Rice Team?

Let me take a minute to introduce the technical part of the team to you. Next week, I will introduce the members in sales and marketing.

Dr. Germani Concenco, Brazil-based Agronomist, has a number of years of experience in rice field and plot trials and manages the Valmont Irrigation plot and field trials in Brazil. He also advises a group of farmers with commercial rice fields under center pivots. In addition to this, Dr. Concenco reviews project data from around the world and offers suggestions primarily related to variety selection, weed and disease control, and general production information.

Kelly Downing, Nebraska-based Irrigation Specialist, spent ten years with a university working on research projects for a variety of crops focused on irrigation management prior to joining Valmont Industries where he has worked in the fields of Service, Product Management, and Sales. Kelly focuses on developing projects in irrigation field management and helping to develop recommendations on flowrates for the rice projects. Kelly has spent time in several countries setting up soil moisture monitoring equipment and training in irrigation management techniques.

Jerry Gerdes, Nebraska-based Water Application Product Manager contributes years of experience from his time working sprinkler manufacturer prior to joining Valmont Industries. Currently working with different sprinkler manufacturers, Jerry develops the recommendations for the optimum water application package for a grower's operation.

I am Jake LaRue, Nebraska-based Director of Product and Project Support, and I have spent time in a number of different countries designing, installing, and managing startup of irrigation projects for a variety of different crop production systems. My focus for the rice project is on coordinating the activities of the Valley Rice Team, and research projects with different universities, field research trials, and commercial production projects.

Comments and questions are welcome!

Rice Update for Brazil Center Pivots

2009-12-28T06:33:00.001-06:00

I hope you all are having a joyous holiday season!

Dr. Concenco returned to Brazil from his trip to India and the United Arab Emirates; he got around to most of the center pivot sites last week.

The early fields are just starting panicle initiation and are looking very good with excellent stand. One primary concern is the potential for blast, and one grower has already applied the first application of fungicide. This specific field may require three applications of fungicide. Two other center pivots are slightly behind and not quite as strong; the farmer is not set up to apply fertilizer through the center pivot and got behind applying nitrogen due to the wet conditions.

Another grower, who already had one pivot with rice, has added a second pivot of rice since they were not able to get their original crop choice (soybeans) planted. Currently, Valmont is monitoring and working with four growers and six center pivots of rice.

Have a great week!

Rice Update for Center Pivots and Linears

2009-12-21T05:12:00.003-06:00

The continuous wet conditions in Brazil have slowed field application of fertilizer, as not all farmers with center pivots are setup to use the pivot to apply their nitrogen. Using the center pivot or linear for fertigation is a very cost effective and environmentally friendly method of applying the rice's nitrogen needs.

Planning continues in the United States for the 2010 rice crop and the Valley Rice Team is excited about the prospects!

I have not received an update on the rice project under linears in Africa, but I hope to have new information next week.

The next week will be busy as the holiday season is upon us.

Rice Roundup Around the World

2009-12-11T06:33:00.001-06:00

Performance results are in for the center pivot in Pakistan. This field was planted with Basmati which in general does not have as high of yields as other rice. Under the center pivot the field average for the transplanted area was 2.5 mt/ha while the adjacent flooded fields ranged from 3.0 to 4.1 mt/ha. There is no question that the blast seriously limited yields. The water use though was 60% less than estimated for the adjacent flood fields. This center pivot attracted much local interest and has several asking about the possibilities for 2010. We own much thanks to Mr. Farid Noon and the team from Valley Irrigation Pakistan for making this possible.

In the US, we have completed a series of webinars for the Valley dealers to update them on producing rice under center pivots and linears detailing results from 2008 and 2009 and plans for 2010.

Michelle Stolte was at the USA Rice Conference in New Orleans, LA, USA, and enjoyed visiting with a number of producers, rice industry suppliers, and university personnel. Much interest was expressed in the idea of reducing water use for rice but then there are those who are skeptical about using center pivots and linears.

Dr. Concenco presented an update report on the Valley Rice Project in New Delhi, India, at the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) meeting. He also visited a rice producing area of India and discussed production techniques.

The crop in Brazil continues to develop. Soil moisture monitoring indicates the fields are staying in the range of 10 to 20% depleted.

The Valley Rice Team looks forward to hearing your comments and ideas!

Valley Circles for Rice Update

2009-12-04T06:12:00.001-06:00

Not much new this week from the production side - crop developing well under all of the pivots in Brazil. Soil moisture sensors indicate 15% or less soil moisture depletion. Harvest is underway in Pakistan.

Dr. Concenco is traveling to India to present an update on Valmont's rice project at the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage meeting.

Jake traveled to east Texas and met with some rice farmers about the water situation with the Lower Colorado River Authority and then presented a paper on Rice Production under Mechanized Irrigation at the Irrigation Association Innovations in Irrigation conference.

Michelle Stolte is looking forward to meeting some of you at the USA Rice Conference next week in New Orleans.