Today News Headline

1. Floods inflict Rs 240 billion loss on frail agriculture

economy: Country likely to miss Kharif targets
2. Special Advisor on rice production slams
3. Customs seizes P50-M worth of illegal rice imports
4. KCR asks PM to retain rice levy
5. Customs bares fangs on rice millers over smuggling
6. Odisha HC issues notices to govt, rice millers over paddy
procurement scam in Kalahandi
7. Odisha rice millers oppose revised moisture norms
8. Is California's Rice Crop in Danger?
9. UPDATE 1-India's monsoon to retreat from
10. Nigeria: JAI to Invest U.S.$150 Million On Rice Production
in Anambra State
11. New rice helps Mekong farmers battle worsening floods, salt
intrusion
12. Tires made from rice? Goodyear finds new source of key tire
ingredient
13. Dry year means smooth sailing for rice growers, if they had
water
14. Bulk Bag Filler Speeds Packaging at Rice Mill
15. News Shared by USA RICE Federation
16. News shared by Rice Grower Association of Australia
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25
th
September, 2014
News Detail.
Floods inflict Rs 240 billion loss
on frail agriculture economy:
Country likely to miss Kharif
targets
September 25, 2014
ABDUL RASHEED AZAD
The country is likely to miss main Kharif
crops production targets, including paddy,
sugarcane and cotton, due to devastating
floods, which have affected an estimated 2.5
million of cropped area, a senior official of
the Ministry of National Food Security and
Research said. The official revealed the
floods have affected standing paddy crops
on 300,000 acres, cotton on 320,000 acres,
sugarcane on 70,000 acres, fodders on
30,000 acres, vegetables on 25,000 acres
and other crops on 100,000 acres of land.
"An estimated 15,000 cattle-heads perished
and 250 poultry farms were destroyed.
If we are translating these damages into
monetary terms the flooding caused an
estimated Rs 240 billion loss to agriculture
economy," he added. The official said the
country was likely to produce 6.2 million
tons of paddy against the set target of 6.5
million tons, cotton production will remain
at 13 million bales against a set target of 15
million bales and sugarcane production will
likely to remain at 65 million tons. The
official said in past Kharif season the
country produced 6.5 million tons of rice in
all varieties, of which 3.4 million tons was
exported. He added that exports of rice
would not be affected as a result of flooding
but Pakistani rice exporters were facing
other challenges in the international market
and the government needed to facilitate
exporters as well as the farmers.
"Our government has never worked to
access African rice market, which has great
potential for Pakistani rice. If the
government promotes Pakistani rice in
Africa we can export up to $500 million rice
to African market," he stated. Pakistan in the
fiscal year 2013-14 earned $1.9 billion
against $1.84 billion in the preceding year
from the export of basmati and non-basmati
rice varieties. Out of the total rice exports of
$1.9 billion in FY14, the share of non-
basmati variety was over $1 billion. The
country exported 3.37 million tons of rice in
FY14, including 2.6 million tons of non-
basmati and 750,000 tons of basmati rice.
The 3.37 million tons of exports fell from
the 3.5 million tons in FY13.
According to an official of Rice Exporters
Association of Pakistan, in terms of
quantity, there was an increase of 16 percent
in basmati rice, while there was a 35 percent
value increase in comparison to FY13. He
said that the non-basmati rice decreased by 8
percent in quantity. He said that last year
"the price of non-basmati rice in the
international market is $450 to $500 per ton.
There is great scope in enhancing exports of
the variety, which could take our rice
exports to $2.5 billion".

Special Advisor on rice
production slams
Rice Importation
Mr Frederick Kyei, Special Advisor for Local
Rice Production, has slammed the decision of
Ministry of Trade and Industry to ban inland
importation of rice, saying it is costing the
country GH? 6.4 million a month.He said
averagely Ghana losses one million Ghana cedis
every week, since the small scale rice importers
pay revenue to the state at the inland entry
points, based on the bring in as you pay
basis.Mr Kyei told Ghana News Agency in an
interview on Tuesday that the foreign large scale
rice importers however brings in the commodity
through Tema and Takoradi ports and store the
rice into customs bonded ware houses and only
pay duty to the State when the goods are sold.
He denied the accusation of Small Scale Rice
Dealers Association (SSRIDA) that he has
connived with officials at the Trade Ministry as
well as Ministry of Food and Agriculture to
enforce the ban on inland rice importation
asking: Within the 18 months the policy was
introduced do you know how much we are
losing as a country?
Mr Kyei who also described himself as a rice
expert said there is no way he would support
foreign importers of rice at the expense of
Ghanaians since the indigenous traders are bread
winners as well supporting the national
economy.Frustrating the business of SSRIDA
is not helping the economy and rather giving
monopoly to foreign importers of rice leading to
price hikes.
He said as local rice producers they are only
looking forward to the day when Ghana would
be self sufficient to emulate the example of
Nigeria by banning all imports of the
commodity.He said until that is done
government must lift the ban to support the local
traders to be in business.Mr Kyei debunked
claims by the foreign importers that they are into
large scale production of rice in Ghana and
challenged them to point out where such farms
exist.
Customs seizes P50-M
worth of illegal rice imports
ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 09/24/2014 3:36 PM | Updated as of
09/24/2014 5:29 PM
MANILA -- The Bureau of Customs seized
an estimated 1,250 metric tons of white rice
that arrived in the country without the
required import permits from the National
Food Authority (NFA).The rice, stocked in
25,000 50-kilogram bags, was contained in
50 20-foot container vans. It has an
estimated market value of about P50
million.The shipment arrived at the Manila
International Container Port from Bangkok,
Thailand last June 2, 2014. It was consigned
to Tres Mujeres Agri Venture. It was subject
to derogatory information received by the
Bureau's Enforcement Group.
Upon further verification with the NFA, it
was found that the shipment has not been
issued any import permit. Moreover, as it
has remained unclaimed beyond 30 days
upon arrival in the country, the shipment
should be considered abandoned by the
consignee, as per the Tariff and Customs
Code of the Philippines."Regardless of
circumstances, it is very clear in the law that
import permits are a requirement before the
Bureau can clear regulated shipments like
rice and all illegally imported items are
subject to seizure.
We will no longer tolerate nor allow
situations where importers can clear
shipments without valid permits as this puts
our people in compromising situations and
breeds corruption. Its strictly no permit, no
entry,'" stressed Customs Commissioner
John P. Sevilla.Presidential Decree 4 and
Republic Act 7178 or the Agricultural
Tariffication Act mandates that only the
NFA can import rice and private entities
who wish to do the same must secure a
permit from the agency.In addition, the
World Trade Organization (WTO)
Committee on Trade and Goods has allowed
the Philippines to extend Quantitative
Restrictions (QR) on rice imports until 2017.
The ruling, which would be endorsed to the
WTO General Council, allows the
Philippines to import 350,000 MT of rice
under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV)
with a 40% tariff. Imports made outside of
the MAV would be levied a 50% tariff.The
extended QR will give more time for local
farmers to improve efficiency and the local
rice industry to build production capability
and reduce costs to cope with increased
competition in Southeast Asia.
KCR asks PM to retain rice
levy
K V KURMANATH
HYDERABAD, SEPT. 24:
The Telangana Government has appealed to
the Union Government not to reduce the rice
mill levy from 75 per cent to 25. Chief
Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has written
a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
asking him to take up the issue with the
Department of Food and Public Distribution
to address the issue.The levy mandates the
rice millers to sell a fixed quantity of the
rice they process to the Food Corporation of
India (FCI) or to State agencies at the
minimum support price (MSP). They can
sell the remaining commodity in the open
market. The idea is to protect the farmers
from the market vagaries.
We have been told that the Department has
decided to reduce the levy from the 2014-14
kharif marketing season itself. If it is not to
retain the earlier levels, please ensure that
the levy is put at 50 per cent, the Chief
Minister pointed out.We have already
written to the Secretary in the department
and to the Union Ministry for Consumer
Affairs, Food and Public distribution asking
them not to reduce the levy, he said.
(This article was published on September 24,
2014)
Customs bares fangs on rice
millers over smuggling
Wednesday, 24 September 2014 19:13
Written by Moses Ebosele

Category: Business News

Impounds 10,000 bags of contraband,
deploys APC for operations

THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)
has accused some rice millers in the country
of allegedly aiding the activities and
operations of smugglers.Speaking during a
raid on some smuggling route in Igbesa,
Ogun State on Tuesday, the Controller,
Federal Operations Units (FOU), zone A,
Ikeja, Usman Turaki alleged that some local
rice millers are the brains behind smuggling
of the commondities. Turaki, who led the
operations comprising of the Army,
Nigerian Navy (NN) and use of about 48
pick-up, two newly acquired Armoured
Personal Carrier ( APC) said he was in
possession of document linking some local
rice millers to the illegal business.

He said: As soon as the seizures are
made, rice millers come forward
immediately claiming ownership of the
smuggled products. What they do is import
small quantity of a particular products
through the port. After getting the small
quantity to their warehouse, they use
smuggler as carrier to bring in large
quantities through unapproved routes
thereby depriaving the Federal Government
of revenue. Our investigation revealed
that the smuggled rice bags are taken to their
warehouses and immediately mixed with the
small quantity imported through the ports.
As I speak, we are in possession of appeal
letters from rice millers claiming ownership
of smuggled rice. They will do everything
possible to get smugglers out of the hook.
They smugglers are working for them.The
rice are smuggled from cotonou, Benin
Republic, through a mother ship and smaller
boats.

Conducting journalists round a mini
terminal, creek and eight seized boats with
engines, Turaki said some Customs
personnel were shot by the smugglers.
Look at the impact of the bullets on our
vehicles. No life was lost. The officers
subsequently called for reinforcement. We
are grateful to the Army and Nigerian Navy
for the support. He explained that the
seized rice from Tuesdays raid were over
10,000bags, adding that the value of the
commodity and the Duty Paid Value (DPV)
were being worked out as at press time. As
at the time of filing this report, 16
trucks had been positioned to aid the
evacuation of the seized commodities to the
warehouse of the NCS in Ikeja,
Lagos. Turaki said the operation was based
on several weeks of intelligence gathering
and on the spot assessment. Explaining in
details the operations of the rice smugglers,
Turaki alleged that the products are pushed
into the Nigerian market through some local
millers, From Igbesa in Ogun State, the
bags of the smuggled commodity are
moved by boat to Alaba and later by trucks
to Daleko and other parts of the country.

Turaki, who spoke on sundry issues, said
no arrest has been made while investigation
has commenced to unravel those behind the
illegal transaction. He said under his
leadership, smuggling would be tackled
from all fronts in the interest of the local
industries and the larger economy. The
command had recently impounded not less
than 50 new vehicles from different
locations over alleged under-declaration by
firms and individuals. He explained that
some of the new vehicles were allegedly
declared as either sweet or used vehicles
by importers thereby defrauding the Federal
Government of revenue. He
said:Smuggling, just like scavenging is a
global phenomenon. The Unit has all it takes
to tackle this hydra-headed monster. I am
therefore advising smugglers in the South
West to relocate or else would face the full
wrath of the law.

We have spread our drag nets to all the
nooks and crannies of our areas of
jurisdiction and will stop at nothing in
dealing with this menace. We want to
alternatively advise them to channel their
resources to more meaningful ventures
instead of smuggling because I will deal
decisively with the issue of smuggling in all
its ramifications. We also call on members
of the public to avail the service with
necessary information that will complement
our efforts. Genuine and compliant
importers or their representatives will
always enjoy the support of the Service as
we are totally committed to facilitation of
legitimate trade in line with global
expectations.

According to Turaki,
the command recorded a total of 336
different seizures of assorted offending
goods/items valued at N107.5 million with a
payable duty of N42.9 million, with a duty
paid value of N150.5 million between July
13 to August 9, this year. Within same
period, he said the command apprehended a
total of 19 suspects in connection with these
Seizures. Turaki added: Comparatively
speaking, this report shows over 65 per cent
positive difference when compared with the
report of corresponding period in 2013.

On 9th July 2014, a patrol team led
by Ejibunu Kehinde, comprising other
officers/men from the unit intercepted one
articulated truck suspected to be carrying
over 2,000 (two thousand) cartons of
smuggled foreign frozen poultry products
along the Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway
Valued at N9,000,000.00 (nine million naira
only) with a Payable Duty of N1,800,000.00
(one million, eight hundred thousand naira
only), and a Duty Paid Value of
N10,800,000.00 (ten million, eight hundred
thousand naira only). This interception was
based on a tip off

Odisha HC issues notices to
govt, rice millers over paddy
procurement scam in Kalahandi

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhawanipatna, Sept 24:
The Odisha High Court has issued notices to
Kalahandi district administration, Odisha
State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSCSC),
District Cooperative Society, District Civil
Supplies department and the rice millers of
the district to submit a reply on the rampant
irregularities in the purchase of paddy to
tune of crores at Temara mandi under
Kokasara block during 2012-13.


The directive of the court has come in
response to a PIL filed by 537 farmers who
had alleged that while they have not sold
any paddy at the mandi, the concerned
authorities have misappropriated huge
money by fraudulently mentioning their
names in the procurement list.Of the 537
farmers, 118 belong to BPL category.We
are a poor family. We have two sons who
work as daily wage labourers. Our staple
food is ragi as we have no money to buy rice
for our family.

We have never cultivated paddy and not
seen the mandi. But they (the officials) have
taken lakhs of rupees towards purchase of
paddy in our name, said Masta Bag, a 60-
year-old man and his wife Chaiti of
Kulerguda village to Sambad
today.Meanwhile, the Vigilance department
has begun a probe into the incident
following a complaint lodged by these
farmers.
Odisha rice millers oppose
revised moisture norms

Bhubaneswar, Sep 25 :
A rice millers association in Odisha
Thursday opposed the central governments
newly announced moisture norms for rice
procurement.Members of the All Odisha
Rice Millers Association (AORMA) said
that the new norms will hit rice millers in
states like Odisha which produce large
quantity of boiled rice. The central
government, in a notification earlier this
month, has kept the maximum limit of
moisture content in fair average quality
(FAQ) rice unchanged at 14 percent for
procurement, AORMA secretary Santosh
Agrawal told IANS Thursday.
But the rice procurement with moisture
content up to a maximum limit of 15 percent
with value cut which was prevailing in
earlier years was found missing in the
notification, Santosh Agrawal said.Agrawal
said: This implies that in the khariff
marketing season 2014-15 which starts from
Oct 1, 2014, rice with moisture content
beyond 14 percent will not be accepted and
the consignment will be rejected and have to
be taken back by the millers.In order to
limit the moisture content exactly at 14
percent the millers have to maintain average
moisture of 13-13.5 percent during milling
of paddy to accommodate climatic
variations.
The main problem is that by keeping low
moisture in the paddy before milling, the
paddy will lose its elasticity, which is
essential to withstand the pressure of rice
polishing and the percentage of broken rice
will increase resulting in loss of overall full
grain rice recovery.It will also adversely
affect the rice out-turn ratio (paddy to
rice).This is an all India problem but states
like Odisha, which produce higher quantity
of boiled rice, will be the most
affected.Millers are already suffering from
high handedness of the labourers and depot
in-charge.
This will further aggravate the situation, as
loaded trucks may be returned on the pretext
of even slightest variation beyond 14
percent.Our association demands
immediate restoration of the procedure of
accepting rice with moisture beyond 14
percent against a rebate up to maximum 15
percent as was prevailing during earlier
years, for the ensuing Kharif marketing
season to ensure smooth procurement
operation.
The association has written a letter to the
secretary of the food and civil supply
department of the Odisha government
Thursday and has sought its
recommendation to the central government
in this regard.Two delegates representing
state rice millers will be meeting the union
food minister at New Delhi Sep 29 along
with delegates from other states through
federation of All India Rice Millers
Association.On an average Odisha
produces seven million tonnes of paddy
every year and procures 4.5 million tonnes
from farmers for custom milling to produce
three million tonnes of rice, Agrawal said.

Is California's Rice Crop in
Danger?

Posted Wednesday, September 24th 2014 @
11am by KFBK News - Kaitlin Lewis
California's ongoing drought could soon
claim another victim: the state's rice
crop.With surface water sources drying, the
problem for rice producers are facing is
having enough water available to fill rice
paddies."We anticipate the crops spans
about 420,000 acres, and that's down 25
percent from last year's crop. That's strictly
because of the drought," said Jim Morris,
communications manager for the California
Rice Commission.Morris says don't be
fooled -- the loss is not a crisis.
And actually, according to Rick Schuil with
Schuil & Associates, an agriculture real
estate firm, the value of farmland is up."A
lot of it is our exports. California has done a
great job of exporting farm goods. The
dollar has been really balanced in global
trade, so therefore farmers are making a
better return," Schuil said. California exports
about half of its crop, mostly to Asia.Morris
adds the Commission supports Prop 1,
which looks to improve water storage.And
while harvest has just begun, he anticipates
there will be enough for both foreign and
domestic customers.

UPDATE 1-India's
monsoon to retreat from
grain areas next week
Thu Sep 25, 2014 8:04pm IST
* Monsoon gradually dries up in final days
* Stage set to plant early winter crops (Recasts
intro, expert's comments)
By Ratnajyoti Dutta
NEW DELHI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Monsoon
rains will retreat next week from India's
grain bowl in the northwest, although
possible rainfall in its central and southern
regions could still help summer crops.Grain
output from the harvest of summer crops in
one of the world's leading consumers and
producers is forecast to be lower than last
year's due to a weak start of the June-
September rainy season.But the harvest will
be adequate to allow the government to
continue a policy of unrestricted rice exports
and to rein in food prices in the world's
second most populous country.
Monsoon rains are vital because the farm
sector accounts for around 14 percent of the
national economy and half of India's
farmland lacks irrigation.The monsoon is the
main determinant of rural spending on
consumer goods ranging from lipstick to
cars as two-thirds of India's 1.2 billion
people live in villages as well as affecting
food prices.The monsoon started retreating
from western India last week, reflecting a
fortnight's delay in the withdrawal of this
year's annual summer rains."No monsoon
activities are expected in plain areas of north
India in the next couple of days," said B.P.
Yadav, head of the National Weather
Forecasting Centre at the India
Meteorological Department (IMD).
The delayed withdrawal is expected to aid
sowing prospects next month for winter
crops such as wheat and rapeseed by
improving soil moisture content.Summer
crops such as rice, corn, sugarcane,
soybeans and cotton no longer need
downpours, though sporadic rains can aid
their growth.The rains were 9 percent below
average in the week to Sept. 24, compared
with 25 percent below average rainfall in the
previous week, the weather office said on
Thursday.Weather officials said there still
could be rain in the sugarcane, rubber and
tea-growing areas of south India over the
next couple of days and that rain is also
likely over soybean-growing areas of central
India and rice areas of its eastern region.
Rains at the end of the summer are seen as
boosting 2014/15 rice yields after patchy
rains during the first half and flash floods in
the second half led India's farm ministry to
forecast a 4 percent year-on-year drop in
output to 88 million tonnes.Floods in the
northeastern states of Assam and Meghalaya
have killed at least 71 people in the
retreating monsoon phase.Rains have been
11 percent below average overall since the
start of the monsoon season on June 1,
reflecting a sharp improvement from June,
when the level was down 43 percent, the
weakest start in five years. (editing by Jane
Baird)
Nigeria: JAI to Invest
U.S.$150 Million On Rice
Production in Anambra
State

By Eromosele Abiodun
Joseph Agro Industries Limited (JAI) has
signed a backward integration memorandum
of understanding (MoU) with the Anambra
State Government to invest an initial $150
million (N25 billion) for the rehabilitation
and expansion of the Omor Rice Mill under
a public-private partnership (PPP)
arrangement. Executive Director JAI, Ken
Irhiogbe, in a statement, said that China
Machinery Equipment Corporation
(CMEC), has been appointed technical
partners to support in up-scaling the mill's
current capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes to
an initial 100,000 metric tonnes,
development of 14000 hectares of land into
irrigated paddy fields and construction of a
green energy bio mass power plant in Omor
using rice husk as feedstock.
"As part of its long-term strategic objective
to ensure sustainability through technology
transfer, the company will collaborate with
the Confucius Institute, Nnamdi Azikiwe
University, Awka to produce Chinese
speaking Nigerian students to understudy
best rice technology practice," he said.He
added that JAI's objective is to produce
167,000 metric tonnes of rice paddies using
two cropping seasons while another 15,000
hectares is under negotiation, for
development into highly irrigated rice paddy
fields
In his address, the Governor of Anambra
State, Chief Willie Obiano commended JAI
for its support for the state government's
cardinal points and objectives for agriculture
and also in the process providing job
opportunities for over 10,000 indigenes by
using the out growers scheme. This
development, according to the governor will
greatly enhance the economic development
of the State and Nigeria.He emphasized that
with the progress already made by the State
in rice production, the project will almost
eliminate the state's supply deficit.Obiano
observed that the completion of the project
will translate to accelerated development of
human and technical capacity which will in
turn enhance rice production in the State.
He also noted that with the project coming
on-stream, it will have direct impact on the
growth of internally generated revenue for
the State. In a bid to realise the goal of
ensuring self-sufficiency in rice production
by 2015, the federal government has said it
is targeting the production of 1.6million
metric tonnes of paddy rice during this dry
season farming.Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina,
announced this in Abuja at a meeting with a
delegation of farmers from Zamfara State.
Adesina, who explained that about 1.1
million metric tonnes of paddy rice were
produced in 10 selected Northern States,
assured that in 2013, the federal government
would support farmers to produce 1.6million
metric tonnes of rice. He expressed
optimism that Nigeria would be self-
sufficient in rice production by 2015, noting
that the present administration was deeply
committed to ensuring that Nigeria becomes
a power-house in food production
New rice helps Mekong
farmers battle worsening
floods, salt intrusion
Source: CIAT (International Center
for Tropical Agriculture) - Thu, 25
Sep 2014 11:00 GMT

Author: Georgina Smith, CIAT


Any views expressed in this article are
those of the author and not of Thomson
Reuters Foundation.
Flooding in the lower Mekong Delta is
becoming more intense, frequent and
complex to control due to climate change,
say researchers. The 17 million farmers
living on the Delta in Vietnams southern-
most tip - where 60 percent of the countrys
rice is produced need solutions.As the
government contemplates costs of up to $2.1
billion to protect crops and people from
weather extremes and salt water intrusion,
rice researchers are trying to equip farmers
with more robust rice varieties. Rice farmer
Ho Thai Benams crop was hit by disease
earlier in the year. I have children studying
in the city and with low rice productivity I
dont have enough money for their tuition,
she said.
She is looking for rice that is disease-
resistant, high-yielding and fetches a good
price, she said. After a workshop in her
community about improved rice varieties,
she selected new seeds that should help her
protect her crop from disease and flooding,
and boost yields.She is among hundreds of
farmers targeted by an Australian Centre for
International Agricultural Research-funded
project investigating challenges facing
farmers including lack of suitable rice
varieties resistant to flood and salt water
tolerance.
Climate Change Affecting Land Use in the
Mekong Delta: Adaptation of Rice-based
Cropping Systems (CLUES) is led by
researchers at the International Rice
Research Institute and part of global efforts
to tackle climate change in the region under
the international agricultural research group
CGIARs Research Program on Climate
Change, Agriculture and Food Security
(CCAFS).
Image: Prof. Nguyen Thi Lang, a Cuu Long
Delta Rice Research Institute breeder, holds
up a sample of a new rice variety being
developed in Vietnam. CIAT/Georgina
Smith
Tires made from rice?
Goodyear finds new source of
key tire ingredient

AKRON, Ohio -- About 20 years ago, in an
effort to improve fuel efficiency, Goodyear
started adding silica, the main component of
sand, to some tires. Now the company has
found a way to use silica in wasted ash from
rice mills to cut down on costs and energy.
The cheap source of silica is just one part of
a larger plan by Goodyear and its rivals to
cut down on the amount of oil and coal
consumed and used as ingredients in its
tires.
The silica reduces the frictional properties of
the rubber, which allows high efficiency and
high performance tires to glide along
pavement with less effort.Actually
extracting the silica, however, has
been neither easy nor fuel efficient. Sand
must be heated in blast furnaces up to 1500
degrees Celsius in order to separate the
silica from other impurities in the sand.Not
so with the rice husk ash, the leftovers from
rice mills that burn the husks to generate
green power. Once the husk is burned, the
ash is comprised mostly of silica. Silica can
be extracted from the ash at much lower
temperatures, around 200 degrees Celsius,
using much less energy.
The idea began at a U.S. Department of
Defense conference in 2010. There,
engineers from Goodyear discovered that
rice mills were burning the husks to generate
power."Our natural instinct was to see what
was in the rice industry, we ended up at rice
mills in different parts of the world," said
Surendra Chawla, senior director of external
science and technology for Goodyear. He is
basically an agent who
investigates technology of which Goodyear
could take advantage.Chawla found that rice
mills had been burning the husks, but the
leftover ash was discarded as a waste
product.
"It generates a lot of ash, about 25 percent
of that husk would be ash," Chawla said.
"This ash is very rich in silica
content."About 75 percent of the ash is
silica, which is readily available for use in
tires. Rice mills worldwide produce about
20 million metric tons of the stuff per
year as a waste product that the mills
currently pay to have disposed. With such a
cheap source of silica, Chawla said it could
eventually find its way into all of the
company's tires. "We are approaching
a situation where we could have an all-green
tire," Chawla said.
"We have a concept, the performance is
great, we are working on suppliers and once
that is over we will launch it for
commercialization."Both Goodyear and
rival Bridgestone have already produced
prototype tires that use no oil or coal.
Bridgestone wants to start marketing the
sustainable tires by 2020, Goodyear has not
yet established a firm date for production

Image:Bangladeshi women work at a rice
mill in Rangpur, 155 miles north of Dhaka,
Bangladesh Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009.
Goodyear is developing a technique to use
rice husk ash as a sustainable ingredient in
tires. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

Dry year means smooth
sailing for rice growers, if
they had water
By Heather Hacking
hhacking@chicoer.com @HeatherHacking
on Twitter
Rice fields are looking beautiful this time of
year. The tops of the spindly plants are
heavy with rice kernels and the straw has
turned a slightly chartreuse shade of green.
As far as yield and ease of growing, farmers
don't have many complaints.However, that's
only if there was enough water.If you drive
down any back road leading to Highway 162
this week, you'll see rice harvesters slowly
working their way across the mature fields.
Turn your head a notch and you'll spot an
equally large expanse of barren dirt.Jim
Morris, of the California Rice Commission,
said the estimate is that 25 percent of rice
land was left fallow this year, based on
figures linked to seed sales. For the Central
Valley, an estimated 420,000 acres has been
cultivated.
The harvest looks pretty good, he
noted.Some growers, including those who
receive water from Glenn-Colusa Irrigation
District, received 75 percent of their normal
water supply this year. Other water districts
received zero water, if they had junior water
rights. Water has been transferred and sold
throughout the valley, with most landowners
giving priority to trees that would die
without water. The same goes for well
water, when available.
Most rice farmers in California produce
medium grain, used for sushi and other rice
dishes.
READY TO ROLL
The harvest season began about 10 days ago,
and is less than quarter complete, said
farmer Stacy Gore, who works land in the
Nelson area.It's still a little early to know
how yield will turn out."I'm always afraid to
forecast the fields. It can look really good
and then you cut it "A warm summer meant
the rice grew fairly quickly, then the weather
turned fairly normal as the kernels began to
form, he said.

Rice that grows too fast can run out of
nitrogen and have weak stems, later
developing less yield. Yet, that doesn't
appear to have been the case.In the Richvale
area, growers received 100 percent of their
water allocation due to secure water rights,
but farmers didn't know that until close to
planting time.Mike Denny, vice president of
farm operations for Lundberg Family Farms
said he was "preparing to plant not knowing
if we would have water."The drought
stresses the need for more water storage in
the state, Denny said. "In my opinion, we all
need to get behind this," by passing the
water bond and moving toward construction
of Sites Reservoir, he continued.As far as
the growing season, dry weather will
provide an excellent growing season.
Disease is diminished, yield can be high,
etc., he said.Denny said the next concern is
water this winter, when farmers typically
flood their fields.
Most likely, winter water supply will be cut
back. Farmers will set up their fields to
capture as much water as they can, but
dealing with winter rice straw, which
normally decomposes in flooded fields, will
be another management issue, he
noted.Fewer flooded fields means less water
for bird habitat. Lundberg Family Farms
will pump water to provide winter bird
habitat, he said.The Gorrill Ranch near
Durham began harvesting rice last Friday,
starting with the short-grains. Medium grain
will follow.Ranch president Daniel
Robinson said the prediction is for an early
autumn rain this week, which could slow
what has been a good start. If the amount of
rain is significant, the fields may need to dry
out for a few days before the harvest
continues.
The forecast is that harvest will continue
until mid to end October.Farmers who grow
walnuts may begin harvest as early as next
week, Robinson said. Meanwhile, some
almond growers are also still finishing up
with the end of almond harvest.This makes
for many slow-moving farm vehicles on
country roads. Motorists should be patient,
or plan to take a main highway.
Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 896-
7758.
Bulk Bag Filler Speeds
Packaging at Rice Mill
September 24, 2014
According to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), the total 2012 U.S.
rice harvest is estimated at 196.3 million
hundredweight (8.9 million metric tons).
The vast majority of this crop comes from
six states Arkansas, California, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas an
estimated 47.3 million hundredweight (2.1
million metric tons), or about 24 percent,
from Louisiana alone.
Because the Louisiana harvest takes place
primarily over two months, it places a huge
demand on the areas processing capacity.
Any delay in moving the processed rice to
market can result in severe cash flow
problems for growers. To deal with this peak
demand, Kennedy Rice, one of the largest
growers in Louisiana, has constructed a new
rice processing facility to convert freshly
harvested and dried grain, known as rough
rice, into polished white rice ready for sale
to customers. Opened in September,
2012 with the capacity to process up to 3
million hundredweight (136,000 metric
tons) of rough rice per year, the facility took
about two years to build, and cost more than
$10 million.
The Kennedy rice mill fills orders as they
are received rather than stockpiling polished
white rice in a warehouse. Ninety-five
percent of the finished product is shipped in
bulk by rail or barge, but a growing amount
of it is packaged in 2000-lb bulk bags that
the company fills using a Twin-Centerpost
bulk bag filler from Flexicon Corp.
Bulk Bags Filled in Response to Orders
We usually try to complete bulk bag orders
two to three days in advance. The bulk bag
filler is located in the warehouse, so filled
bags do not need to be moved until they are
ready to be shipped, says Marley Oldham,
plant manager. Since we only recently
began offering polished white rice in bulk
bags, they account for a small percentage of
our total production. We expect demand to
increase significantly, however, and our
bulk bag filler is designed to meet our future
requirements.

The polished white rice to be packaged in
bulk bags is aspirated to remove dust
particles before being fed into an 80-in.-
high, 82-cu-ft-capacity hopper mounted
above the bulk bag filler. The rice flows
from the hopper through a dome valve and
10-in.-diam flexible downspouting into the
bulk bag suspended above the deck of the
Model BFL-CFHW-X Twin-Centerpost
bulk bag filler.
Bulk Bag Filler Designed for Automatic
Operation
Plant air inflates the 50-in.-high bag for
filling while an inflatable collar on the fill
head holds and seals the bag spout. A
filtered air vent at the fill head assures dust-
free delivery of material to the bulk bag
while providing a simple way to allow
displaced air to exit the bag.Except for
manually connecting the bag spout to the
inflatable collar, the process is automated by
a programmable logic controller (PLC).
Load cells beneath the pallet deck send
signals to the PLC, which automatically
stops the flow of rice by closing the dome
valve when the bag reaches its target weight.

The operator only needs to pull the bag
spout off the inflatable collar and tie it
closed. The filled bag and pallet are
removed by forklift. Connecting, filling,
and disconnecting a bag takes only about
three minutes altogether, says Oldham.
Flexicons representative, Robert K.
Wilson & Associates of Houston, TX,
worked with Flexicons engineering
department to evaluate our needs and
determine equipment specifications, and
then helped supervise installation and
startup.
This new facility has created over 20
permanent local jobs, says Elton Kennedy,
who along with his daughter, Meryl,
oversaw design and construction of the mill.
It also gives regional producers another
outlet for their rice crops with lower
transportation costs and a faster return on
their investment."
For more information on Flexicon Corp.
(Bethlehem, PA), call 888-353-9426 or visit
www.flexicon.com.
Image: A bulk bag of polished white rice is
ready for shipment

News Shared by
USA RICE
Federation
USDA Today Announced Key
Farm Bill Details for PLC and
ARC Programs
Using a scientific process known as marker
assisted back-crossing, researchers identified
favorable traits in well-adapted rice
varieties, such as high yield, and combined
them with other favorable traits to create
hardier rice varieties.In total, 36 single and
multiple crosses have been made to combine
ability to withstand being submerged and
salinity tolerance with high grain quality. So
far 2,768 kilograms of the new seed have
been released to farmers.Professor Nguyen
Thi Lang, at the Deltas Cuu Long Rice
Research Institute, explains: We release the
improved rice varieties to local breeding and
agricultural extension centres, which
multiply and provide them to farmers in
their areas.
According to Ngo Dang Phong, a
coordinator of CLUES, flooding and sea
water intrusion are two of the biggest threats
to rice producers in the lower Mekong
Delta.It is projected that by 2030, salt water
could contaminate 41 percent of the
Delta.Such changes threaten farming and
social systems now more than ever, he
added.CLUES researchers have mapped hot
spots of flooding and salinity intrusion, and
assessed the impact of infrastructure
development on the lower Mekong River
since 2011.They have advised farmers to
intercrop rice with crops like cucumber,
which cope well with different soil types,
have low water requirements and grow
quickly, to provide income between crops.
Experiments on different management
techniques also revealed that alternatively
flooding and draining fields can slash water
use by about 20 percent and save irrigation-
associated fuel and labor costs of about $120
per hectare. The changes also can cut
methane emissions from continuous
flooding rice production in half.Such
climate-smart practices are more realistic
than just switching crops, which is not an
option for many farmers like Ho Thai
Benam. Rice has been grown for generations
and is a central food security crop and
export earner in Vietnam, fetching around
$2.9 billion in earnings in 2013.
2014 USA Rice Outlook
Conference Registration
Now Open
ARLINGTON
, VA --
The USA
Rice Outlook
Conference
and Trade
Show will be
held Decembe
r 7-9 at the
Statehouse
Convention
Center in
Little Rock, AR. Register by November 10 to
take advantage of an "early bird" registration
discount. The educational program will cover
farm bill implementation, trade issues, state-by-
state rice production outlooks, state and national
rice research, and more. News on rice-related
equipment, technology, products and services
also will be featured in a special
session. Information on conference exhibitor and
sponsorship opportunities is available online or
call(703) 236-1447. Watch the USA Rice
Daily for conference news and updates.

Contact: Jeanette Davis (703) 236-1447

Special Hotel Rates Offered
for USA Rice Outlook
Conference
ARLINGTON,
VA -- The USA
Rice Outlook
Conference hotel
block at the Little
Rock Marriott is
now open with
rates of $129,
single/double, for
reservations made by November 5 or until the
room block fills. This special rate also is
available three days prior and three days after
the official conference dates, subject to hotel
availability.To make your reservations, call the
hotel at (877) 759-6290 and ask for the USA
Rice rate, or click here tomake reservations
online.

Contact: Jeanette Davis (703) 236-1447
USA Rice Helps High School
Sports Fans Think Rice!
FALLS
CHURCH,
VA -- In
conjunctio
n with National Rice Month and back to
school, the USA Rice Federation has
partnered with a high school here to get
healthy rice bowls on the menu at high
school sporting events, and the initial
reaction is extremely positive.USA Rice
supplied JEB Stuart High School with a 40-
cup commercial rice cooker, several rice
bowl recipes, nutritional information, and
rice signage. The Raider Boosters, the
volunteers in charge of concessions at the
games, chose to kick the year off with a
Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl with Broccoli
that they call "The Raider Rice Bowl," after

One Raider Rice Bowl coming up!
the school mascot.

"We liked the idea of offering the rice bowl
to our students and guests because it's an
easy-to-make, complete meal," explained
Rich Bacherman, concessions manager for
the school. "A lot of the athletes and kids
don't have time to go home before games;
they look to us to feed them. We wanted to
go beyond hot dogs, candy bars, and soda,
and give them something filling, nutritious,
and affordable."Bacherman said the Raider
Rice Bowl sold out at the first two home
volleyball games and made quite an
impression on visitors to the school.

"I can't
believe
they're
actually
cooking all
this stuff right here," said an athlete from a
visiting team who purchased two
bowls. "We just serve hot dogs and greasy
pizza. This is great!""This Raider Rice
Bowl is the best thing I've eaten from a
concession stand at any sporting event at
any level," said one school official."We
appreciate the support of the USA Rice
Federation for our school and our athletes,
and we're happy to help get the message out
that rice is part of a healthy diet and that it's
grown here in the U.S.," Bacherman said.


Rice wins every time
Contact: Michael Klein (703) 236-1458






Weekly Rice Sales, Exports
Reported

WASHINGTON, DC -- Net rice sales of 46,400
MT for 2014/2015 were up 51 percent from the
previous week and 5 percent from the prior four-
week average, according to today's Export Sales
Highlights report. Increases were reported for
El Salvador (12,000 MT), Japan (12,000 MT),
Honduras (9,400 MT, including 8,400 MT
switched from unknown destinations), Saudi
Arabia (8,600 MT), and South Korea (6,100
MT).
Decreases were reported for unknown
destinations (8,400 MT), Haiti (600 MT), and
Guatemala (100 MT). Exports of 68,800 MT
were up noticeably from the previous week and
from the prior four-week average. The primary
destinations were to Venezuela (32,700 MT),
Honduras (9,300 MT), Haiti (8,300 MT), Ghana
(7,000 MT), and Mexico (4,100 MT).

This summary is based on reports from exporters
from the period September 12-18.






News shared by Rice Grower Association of Australia

Tracking Bunyip Birds
Rice farmers across the Riverina and bird lovers
throughout Australia are being urged to get behind a
crowdfunding project set
to uncover the secrets of Australia's Bunyip Bird by
using satellite transmitters.The globally endangered
Australasian Bittern is one of the country's most poorly
known birds, but recently a breeding population using
rice crops has been found to occur in very significant
numbers, yet nobody knows where they go after the rice
has been harvested.
The Bitterns in Rice Project is a collaboration
between Birdlife Australia, the Ricegrowers
Association of Australia (RGA), the Riverina Local
Land Services, Murrumbidgee Landcare and range of
other organisations. It is aiming to raise $50 000 to
satellite track at least seven bitterns, providing valuable
ecological data and enabling people to follow the birds'
movements online.
Click here to view full media release.
The project needs your help to raise the funds
required.Click here to read more about the project
and pledge your support.


Upcoming Waterfowl Identification Test for Landholders
Landholders who have been issued a Native Game Bird Management Licence to
manage native game birds on their land and hunters wishing to participate in the
program are able to register for two upcoming Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT)
assessments.
Deniliquin - Wednesday, 1 October 2014, 12 noon to 2 pm.
Wakool - Thursday, 2 October 2014, 4 pm to 6 pm.
The assessments will be conducted by the Victorian Game Management Authority
in conjunction with the DPI Game Licensing Unit. Landholders and hunters who
have submitted an expression of interest will be contacted by the Native Game Bird
Support Officer with information about the assessment.
Landholders and hunters wishing to attend either WIT session must submit Form
GB-W - Expression of Interest: Waterfowl Identification Test (WIT) as soon as
possible.
NSW DPI Trials Field Day
NSW DPI is holding a Trials Field Day on Tuesday 30th September 2014. Meeting
at Yanco Agricultural Institute - Start at 9.00am with a 12 noon finish
Topics covered:
Managed environment facility, what it is and the research taking place
Canola and cereal variety x canopy management trial
Double cropping trial, evaluating different irrigated crop rotations
Click here to view the field day flyer
World first app for Australian farmers and beekeepers to
assist protect pollinators (FED)
Australian farmers and beekeepers now have access to a world-first smart-phone
application to help ensure the safety of bees during normal farming practices.
CropLife Australia, the peak national organisation for the plant science sector, today
launched BeeConnected, a first of its kind geomap based, user-driven
communication and coordination tool to help protect Australias honey bee
population. BeeConnected allows farmers to easily log the location of their
properties through a Google Maps-based platform with GPS capability.
Beekeepers can use the same functions to log the present or future locations of their
beehives. When a beehive is logged nearby to a farmer's property, both users are
sent automated notifications and are able to chat further about their activities via a
secure internal messaging service. Farmers and agricultural service contractors can
also use BeeConnected to log the time and location of a specific crop protection
product application activity. They are then connected with beekeepers in the specific
geographical area by the same alert and messaging system. Click here to read more.
BeeConnected can be downloaded for free as an iPhone or Android App, or
accessed on a desktop computer via a web browser. For more information, and to
download, visit www.croplife.org.au/beeconnected
Closing 3rd October - 2015 Science and Innovation Awards
Applications are closing Friday 3rd October for the 2015 Science Awards. If youre
18-35, this is your chance to apply for a grant of up to $22,000 to fund your project
on an innovative or emerging scientific issue that will benefit Australias primary
industries.
For more information about 2015 Science and Innovation Awards click here.
Australian Water Association National Water Policy Summit
Australian Water Association National Water Policy Summit will be held 14-15
October 2014
Join some of Australias most influential and engaging industry leaders from the
water, resources and agribusiness sectors and focus on setting the priorities to shape
an industry-led water strategy, to reposition water as a major economic driver for
Australias future.
Speakers include SunRices Chairman Gerry Lawson; Rio Tintos water policy
advisor Mike Harold and Thibaut de Crisnay, Managing Director Veolia Water
Technologies Australia. Amongst the topics being considered are the challenges
and preferred solutions to reforming how the water sector is regulated and
structured to increase public and private investment.
Be part of the conversation. Register now at www.awa.asn.au/waterpolicysummit
Essential tips and tools for small businesses
Free interactive government webinar
Essential tips and tools for small businesses: four government regulators tell you
the key things you should know
Date: Wednesday 22 October 2014
Time: 6.00pm7.00pm AEDT
Do you run a small business or are you thinking about starting one? Do you advise
small businesses or work in a business or industry association with small business
members?
If this describes you, then register for this webinar to find out about some of the key
rights and responsibilities small businesses have under Australian law when:
registering a company or business name
hiring or managing employees
selling goods and services to customers
setting up invoicing, payments and records systems.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Australian Securities and
Investments Commission, Australian Taxation Office and the Fair Work
Ombudsman are Australian government regulators who play an important role
throughout the life-cycle of any small business.
Expert presenters from these four regulators are taking part in this free and
interactive webinar where they will answer your questions, give tips and talk about
some government tools that can help small businesses save effort, time and money.
Business Enterprise Centres Australia is facilitating this webinar and Small Biz
Connect (University of Western Sydney) is also participating in the interactive
question-and-answer panel with the four government regulators.
You can register to attend this webinar by clicking here.



For Advertising SPECS & RATES
Contact: Advertising Department
Mujahid Ali
mujahid.riceplus@gmail.com
+92 321 369 2874