It's been a few weeks since our last Recipe Card posting!  In light of this autumnal time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, this week's Recipe Card features Wild Rice and Turkey Stew, originally posted by Nif on food.com.

photo by wicked cook 46

Yield: 6-8 servings
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild rice
• 3 lbs skinless, boneless turkey breasts
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery heart, chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

In a slow cooker, combine rice, turkey, onion, and celery. In a separate bowl whisk together broth, flour, garlic, Italian seasoning, and pepper; add to slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or until turkey is cooked through and the rice is open.  Serve with fresh parsley. 

Harvest Time | by Kelly Downing

It is finally here—harvest season, when all our hard work begins to pay off. A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Dean Schieffer’s field. The precise reason for my visit was to remove our soil water sensing equipment from the field, so he can harvest when he is ready. It was a good thing I got there—he cut the rice on Thursday, September 6!

Dean experienced a lot of very challenging conditions and situations this year. His yield was not excellent, but it was a little better than it could have been, considering all the tribulations. Here is a photo of the field from my visit on August 27:

 
You can see some major cracks in the soil, indicating extremely dry conditions. Dean experienced some equipment problems very late in the season, which caused his center pivot to get stuck. This means he was unable to water properly during the critical grain-fill period, which really affected his yield. I believe he has finally got the field, pivot, and management system set up to be more successful next year, if he chooses to try again.

Our cooperators in the Delta are in the midst of harvest, as well. Dennis Robison and Chad Price in Missouri harvested their rice last week, with good results. Again, circumstances caused some problems. The remnants of Hurricane Isaac swept through the region the weekend prior to harvest, so they had to deal with lots of lodging problems. They were very happy with their results, especially considering the storm damage. I have yet to see “official” results, but the two primary concerns seem good. First, the yield seems reasonably good. Second, the pivot yields should be very close to the yields in adjacent flooded fields. Jeremy Baltz in Arkansas has stopped irrigation, and should be able to harvest in the next few days.

The other good news is that we were able to demonstrate significant water savings. For these cooperators, we installed flow meters on each pivot and also on the adjacent flooded fields. Comparing pivot rice to its flooded companion, Jeremy saved 65% and Chad saved more than 40%. Dennis also saved more than 40% compared to flood. In addition, he had a field of furrow-irrigated rice (“row rice”), which used more water than either of the other two treatments (almost 40% more water than the flooded field). So, in his case, the pivot actually saved nearly 60% of the water required for furrow irrigation.

I am going to be out for a couple of weeks—a long-awaited vacation with my lovely bride. When I return I hope to have some final data for you, to wrap up this rice season in the Northern Hemisphere. 

I wish you a bountiful crop and safe operations. We will talk again when I get back!

Road Trip | by Kelly Downing

It has been a few weeks since I checked in, so I guess I owe you all a little update. When last we “spoke,” I was planning a visit from two rice researchers from Brazil. The Embrapa researchers arrived in Memphis, TN, on Sunday, August 19. We began our “rice road trip” (after the obligatory pilgrimage to Graceland) at the University of Arkansas’ Rice Research & Extension Center at Stuttgart. There were excellent conversations with both University of Arkansas and USDA (Dale Bumpers Rice Research facility) professionals.

I really enjoyed the entire trip, and this stop was a great example of why. I almost always learn a lot whenever I can manage, and it was a great opportunity to catch some morsels of knowledge as they flew by.

Of course, there were a lot of discussions about traditional rice production methods and problems common to all areas - especially weed control and resistance issues. Of course, with my particular interest, I was very interested in the discussions with the Brazilian researchers regarding the effects of pivot-irrigated rice. Early research indicates that rice grown in unsaturated conditions contains significantly lower amounts of arsenic than flooded rice. I was also fascinated by the research being done by Embrapa on the production of greenhouse gases under the two systems. It seems to me that pivot-grown rice should show a significant advantage in this area, so we will watch these studies in the future.

From there we moved on to the RiceTec facility at Harrisburg, AR, and spent some time with Greg Simpson. Greg is a great person and a very knowledgeable rice guy. Our guests really enjoyed getting to know him (and his wonderful family) and see the operation. Greg is also able, due to his breadth of experience, to discuss common practices and problems in a wide range of conditions and situations.

We visited the rice field of Jeremy Baltz, near Pocahontas, AR. Jeremy had some good-looking rice - almost ready to harvest! This is a shot of the Embrapa visitors at the field:

Of course, we spent some time with our cooperator Dennis Robison (since he was available), who was still irrigating. Most of his field looks pretty mature, but he is trying to finish up some spots that were not quite ready. One little advantage of pivot rice is he can do this right up to harvest in order to maximize yield and still maintain decent field conditions for harvest. Here is a photo of them with Dennis:

We also got the chance to visit a couple of family rice farms and managed to attend the University of Missouri Rice Field Day at the rice research facility near Glennonville. They really do a great job supporting rice producers there, both with this facility and at the Delta Center in Portageville. The presentations were excellent and, unfortunately for my diet, so was the lunch!

We saved the Delta Center for our last professional stop, and had a great meeting with the staff there, including Agronomist Gene Stevens, Engineers Earl Vories and Joe Henggler, and David Dunn, director of the soil analysis lab. The Brazilians gave a brief presentation on the work they are doing, and the Delta Center staff reciprocated. Again, it was a good opportunity for me to learn. 

After this intense week, our friends were scheduled to leave from St. Louis, MO, on Sunday, August 26. We were able to spend a good day there Saturday, visiting “The Arch” and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. It was a real thrill for them to get to the top of the Arch, and it capped off what they classified as an extremely productive, valuable week.

Sometimes, especially in busy times, we tend to think of projects like this as a bother or a distraction. However, seeing how much they valued the opportunity to interact with their U.S. peers and other rice professionals, I was reminded of how valuable this type of exchange can be. It was impossible not to see how much these guests gained personally from the relationships they formed with U.S. researchers, growers, and industry professionals. I assume that there were also some benefits to their hosts—I know I benefitted immensely.

As we enter the heart of the harvest season, I wish you a bountiful crop and safe operations. Let’s talk again soon.

Recipe Card | by Kelly Cackin

photo by Marg (CaymanDesigns)

I've been craving the sweets, as of late (strict wedding diet and all that), and I came across this very tasty-looking recipe that's a twist on the traditional rice cereal treat!  This week's Recipe Card features Latte  Rice Cereal Treats, originally posted by Marg (CaymanDesigns) on food.com.

Yield: 26 bars
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (10 ounce) package marshmallows
• 6 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips or 1/4 cup candy coating, melted

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan on low heat. Add the instant coffee and vanilla, stirring well.  Add the marshmallows; cook until they are completely melted and the mixture is well blended, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add the cereal; mix well.  Press firmly into greased 13x9 inch pan.  Cool completely.  Cut into bars.  Melt white chocolate chips and drizzle over the bars.  Allow the chocolate to cool and harden.

Circles for Rice Update | by Kelly Downing

What a great day! This could be read a couple of different ways. I could be talking about the Canadian air mass came our way last week, which will finally brought a significant respite to our long, hot summer here in Nebraska. Even more welcome are the increased opportunities for a little rainfall in this parched area.

No, the “great day” to which I refer is the center pivot rice field day we held at Dennis Robison’s farm near Neelyville, Missouri last week. We had a really good turnout— participants including rice professionals, farmers and some international rice growers interested in seeing for themselves how this stuff works. In addition, the weather cooperated; for an August day in southern Missouri, it was remarkably…well, I wouldn’t say “comfortable,” but “not miserable” would certainly apply! It was cool enough in the morning that the presentations (in the shade) were not too hot, and by the time it started to really heat up, we were eating a delicious lunch and getting back into air-conditioned vehicles.

We had a few presentations on various topics, including fertility issues, irrigation scheduling, weed control, and how this fits into the rotation Dennis uses on this field. We also tried to address some common myths that keep people from considering this technology, and answered questions. Two years ago, on this field, Dennis grew 186 bu/ac rice, and the rice this year looks every bit as good as that crop did. We will see how it turns out. Dennis has done another great job this year, and the rice looked wonderful. He estimated three or four weeks to harvest, and he certainly has a lot of rice in his field.

Some of you probably know that there are two Kellys here; the grumpy old man (me) and the bright, talented young woman (Kelly Cackin). The talented one was there, taking photos, so I will leave it to her to supply some photos, video, or other links in a separate post, so you can see a little bit of what went on.

I am back in that neighborhood this week, hosting some rice researchers from the Brazilian research organization Embrapa. We will visit with rice researchers and farmers in Arkansas and Missouri, including another visit to our cooperators’ fields in this area, so I will try to give you another update then. We will visit both flood and pivot fields, so we should get some good information on conditions for both. The Embrapa researchers are active in both flood and pivot rice research, and hope to forge some relationships with their peers here. These professional collaborations can benefit growers in both countries, so it will be good to see how things develop.

As we get closer to harvest, I hope this turns out to be a great year for you; stay cool and be safe. I look forward to talking with you again soon.

Circles for Rice Field Day Recap | by Kelly Cackin

John Robison, Valley Irrigation

The Valley Irrigation Circles for Rice team hosted the 4th Annual Circles for Rice Field Day on August 7, 2012, in Neelyville, Missouri, USA.  Rice farmer Dennis Robison hosted a group of 50 people at his rice under center pivot field Tuesday morning.  2012 marks the second year Dennis participated in the Circles for Rice program, 2010 being the first.

Speakers included John Robison (Valley Irrigation, Crop Specialist), Kelly Downing (Valley Irrigation, Ag Specialist), Jerry Gerdes (Valley Irrigation, Water Application Product Manager), Matthew Rhine (University of Missouri Delta Research Center, Research Associate), Marc Cummings (consultant), and Dennis Robison (rice farmer).  Ellot Raffety from Mid-Valley Irrigation also said a few words to open the Field Day.

Presentation topics included:

• Overview of center pivots and linears
• History of the Circles for Rice project
• Pivot Irrigation vs. Flood Irrigation
• Pivot-Irrigated Rice Myths
• Machine Requirements
• Weed Control
• Irrigation Scheduling
• Fertility Management
• Grower's Experience

We at Valley Irrigation would like to thank all of the 2012 Circles for Rice Field Day participants for joining us in Missouri last week!

To register for a license-free copy of the exclusive Valley Irrigation Rice Production Guide, please visit  www.CirclesForRice.com.

Recipe Card | by Kelly Cackin

photo by diner524

This week's Recipe Card features Brown Rice Casserole, originally posted by SusanRW on food.com.

Yield: 6 servings
Preparation Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 16 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup rice
• 1 (12 ounce) can beef consomme soup
• 1 (12 ounce) can French onion soup

Directions:  

Melt butter in microwavable casserole dish.  Add rice, consomme beef, and French onion soups. Cook in microwave for 8 minutes.  Stir and cook for another 8 minutes, or until tender.