Good Crop Conditions, Strong Variety Performance Fuel Optimism at Horizon Ag Field Day

Although there are still a few weeks to go in the season, it was hard to deny the optimistic mood of the speakers and over 100 attendees at the recent Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day held at Richard Farms in Kaplan.

The overall condition of the region’s crop has been good to excellent to this point in the season, with the performance of varieties like PVL03 and new CLL19 from Horizon Ag impressive, leading to high expectations at harvest. 

In addition, greater awareness and adoption of stewardship and management practices in Provisia rice are limiting the threat of weedy rice outcrossing, despite the increasing acreage of Provisia varieties like PVL03 and PVL04 in South Louisiana.  

And, finally, the rice breeding pipeline is full of promising Provisia and Clearfield rice candidates, and a recently announced cooperative program between the LSU AgCenter and Horizon Ag has the potential to eventually result in the development of additional top-performing varieties for the southern rice region.

“It was exciting to experience and share the upbeat attitudes at this year’s field day,” said Horizon Ag CEO Dr. Tim Walker. “We had a lot of great things to talk about, in terms of what is happening in the field with our varieties, as well as our ongoing efforts in of support growers and the U.S. rice industry. It’s been a big year for rice here, and you could feel it at this event in the heart of rice country.”

Demand for rice seed was extremely strong throughout the South last winter and, for various reasons, some seed suppliers didn’t have as much to sell as usual. The shortage forced many growers to turn to alternative rice seed suppliers. 

Dr. Walker said Horizon Ag was proud to rise to the challenge, supplying more rice growers with varieties offering excellent yield and milling quality potential. 

“We had a good seed production year and had about 25 percent more seed to sell than last year, which we were able to get to growers for planting,” he said. “Some growers haven't planted our newer varieties before and are happy with what they’ve experienced so far. We’re looking forward to seeing their results at the end of the season.”

Dr. Ronnie Levy, Louisiana rice specialist, told field day attendees that the rice acreage planted in the state should be in the range of 460,000 to 475,000 acres this year. 

“As of last week (mid- to late-June), they were still planting some in North Louisiana, and we’ve got farmers this year who haven’t planted rice before,” he said. “A lot of our rice got planted early, with probably 40 percent to 50 percent planted in late February and early March, before things slowed down. Overall, we have one of the best crops that I've seen. Hopefully, the weather will stay favorable for rice production, and we’ll have a bountiful harvest.”

Leading the way are varieties PVL03 and CLL19, both of which were planted on a big acreage in the state this season. Corey Conners, Horizon Ag District Field Representative for South Louisiana, said PVL03 has been the number one planted rice seed in Louisiana for the past three years, and CLL19 is a leader in its first year of commercial availability. 

“New CLL19 has been popular, and we are very excited about it,” he said. “It showed excellent vigor, and from all indications, it has the potential to be an excellent performer.”

Growers are also test-driving new PVL04, the latest Provisia variety from the University of Arkansas breeding program. “PVL04 has looked good, and we’re anxious for harvest and to see how the second crop performs,” said Conners. “In addition, CLL16 and CLL18 were popular varieties in single-crop and crawfish production areas.”

LSU rice breeder Dr. Adam Famoso said he isn’t surprised that CLL19 is getting a lot of attention.

“We've been testing this line since 2017 in a lot of different environments, and every year it’s yielded right up at the top,” he said. “It’s performed extremely well from Texas to Missouri and has proven to be a very stable variety. We had more seed production last year than we had hoped for, so it has been planted on a lot of acres. Everything I've seen and heard about CLL19 this season is promising.” 

Growers can also expect a new Clearfield line in 2025, CLHA03, the latest high-amylose variety from the LSU AgCenter breeding program. Dr. Famoso said CLHA03 will meet the unique cooking quality desired by Latin American customers while still providing good yield potential for growers. “CLHA03 has yielded on par with CL153, so we're not giving up potential with this new line,” he said.

The outlook for new varieties from the LSU AgCenter program is good, with the pipeline full of promising Clearfield and Provisia candidates, added Dr. Famoso. “We are evaluating several strong lines that could eventually be commercialized if they show a significant improvement over existing varieties. But there is no rush, however, considering the excitement and anticipation for CLL19.”

Dr. Famoso sees tremendous promise in the cooperative breeding agreement with Horizon Ag, who recently hired rice breeder Dr. María Guadalupe Montiel for the company’s independent lab located at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station at Crowley. “This is something we’re very excited about because it has the potential to be a win-win for both of us, and to benefit the industry,” said Dr. Famoso. 

“Horizon Ag is elated to have this new partnership with LSU,” added Dr. Walker. “We believe there is tremendous value in having more breeders working collaboratively to improve variety performance.”

Dr. Connor Webster, LSU AgCenter weed specialist, provided an update to field day attendees on the latest Provisia rice developments. He credited the efforts of the Provisia Working Group and growers with turning the tide against weedy rice outcrossing.

“Two years ago, we started seeing the outcrosses develop in Provisia and Max-Ace fields and documented around 15 or so confirmed instances,” he said. “We knew it was going to eventually happen, due to the lack of residual control with these herbicides, but it happened quicker than anticipated.”

Over the past two years, LSU, BASF and Horizon Ag have worked with ag retailers and growers to address the issue and have “hit the challenge head-on,” he said. 

“We came together as the Provisia Working Group and discussed the reasons this was happening and what we could do about it,” said Dr. Webster. “As a result, we have seen a plateau in confirmed outcrossing instances. Through stewardship efforts and good management practices, we put a stop to it. The threat is probably never going to go away, but the longer we can steward the Provisia technology, the longer we have to make it to some new technology, whatever that may be.”

Senior District Field Representative for Horizon Ag, Jason Satterfield, also provided an overview of crop conditions across the rest of the southern region, noting that despite some weather challenges in many areas, “the majority of the crop still looks relatively good.”

“CLL16, CLL18 and CLL19 were planted on a significant acreage in the North Delta, and we are seeing a transition to PVL03 and PVL04 in some areas,” said Satterfield. “Both CLL18 and CLL19 look extremely good at this point in the season. A lot of those who planted CLL19 say they are pleased with how quickly it is coming along. If we avoid any extreme weather issues or disease outbreaks, I think we will have a good crop and should get to harvest it early.”