The Rice Stuff

Lesley shares details of her recent trip to the 2024 California Rice Field Day at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, including exploring different rice varieties and her surprise at the current research being done into Alternate Wetting and Drying - a practice associated mostly with the mid-South. She and Michael discuss her interviews with researcher Telha Rehman and farmer Matt Dedmond, and then talk about their colleague Karah Janevicius who also attended field day and met with representatives from the International Trade Commission while there. All that, plus barnyard grass and In-N-Out Burger.

With special guests:

Dr. Telha Rehman, University of California - Davis and Matt Dedmond, California Rice Farmer

Hosted by:

Lesley Dixon and Michael Klein

Cooking classes, popular for many years, have seen a renaissance of late, likely a result of the pandemic lockdowns making people realize a) how much they enjoy cooking, and b) how much they don’t know about cooking. USA Rice’s celebrated celebrity chef and consultant Hari Cameron, fresh off his appearance on “Beat Bobby Flay,” hosted a Rice Cooking Class at his demonstration kitchen in Rehoboth Beach, DE. He sat down with Michael after the class to talk about it all. That plus Michael and Lesley on gourmet hot dogs, rice wine vinegar, and nachos.

@Hari_Cameron on X @HariCam on Instagram www.thechefstablede.com

With special guest:

Hari Cameron, Chef, The Chef's Table

Hosted by:

Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

USA Rice's Asiha Grigsby is just back from three weeks on the road for the industry, home for a few days, and then off again to talk U.S.-grown rice. We were able to snag a few minutes between trips with Rice's Western Hemisphere Road Warrior to hear about her work promoting U.S. rice and how she fosters vital relationships with importers.

With special guest:

Ashia "Rice Lord" Grigsby, Senior Director of International Promotion, USA Rice

Hosted by:

Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

The U.S. rice industry keeps leadership fresh with regular rotations. At the 2024 USA Rice summer business meetings, Chair and Mississippi rice farmer Kirk Satterfield passed the gavel to Arkansas miller Keith Glover. And on the milling side of the house, Louisiana's Meryl Kennedy passed the Rice Millers' Association leadership to California's Rick Rhody. We did exit interviews with Meryl and Kirk as they put their two-year terms behind them.

With special guests:

Meryl Kennedy Farr, Kennedy Rice Mill and Kirk Satterfield, Mississippi rice farmer

Hosted by:

Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

Summer means field days and food shows. Lesley talks briefly about the Eagle Lake, TX Field Day, while Michael brought back interviews and samples from the Specialty Food Association’s 68th Annual Fancy Food Show that featured lots of U.S.-grown rice. He talked rice with people from Fancypants Baking Company, Olivia’s Croutons, Hillside Lane Farms, the Dutch Waffle Company, and some innovators whose products only fault is that they weren’t using U.S.-grown rice. Michael also shares information from education sessions he attended. All this, plus Bloody Marys, a new game, and ASMR! You’re going to get hungry.

https://fancypantsbakery.com https://dutchwafflecompany.us https://oliviascroutons.com https://hillsidelanefarm.com www.captaindanny.com/en

With special guests:

Maura Duggan, Founder & CEO, FancyPants Baking Company, Francie Caccovo, Founder & Owner, Olivia's Croutons, Bianca Letens, Dutch Waffle Company, Cathy Bacon, Hillside Lane Farms, Christine Chang, Captain Danny

Hosted by:

Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

Dr. Steve Linscombe reports on the 2024 International Temperate Rice Conference he organized that brought researchers from around the world to New Orleans. Then Michael and Lesley talk with Jamison Cruce about the status of the 2024 Farm Bill, and round out the show with an exit interview of USA Rice intern Caroline Hardy, heading back to LSU to finish law school. Plus Michael unveils the new pod studio complete with a sound board that is going to be trouble and Lesley invites the ire of Louisianans with a possible southernism or a word her father made up.

With special guests:

Dr. Steve Linscombe, Director, The Rice Foundation, Jamison Cruce, VP of Government Affairs, USA Rice, and Caroline Hardy, USA Rice Intern

Hosted by:

Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

Michael and Lesley explore some non-table uses of rice from pet food to panko and from snacks to sake. They are joined by Rick Rhody and Rodrigo Batista from Farmers' Rice Cooperative and Exceedient Foods; farmer and marketing expert Ali Cox of Noble West; and Dallas Anthony and Robert Smith from Stabil Nutrition. They talk about the bright future for rice, the dark secret of what's in the trunk of Michael's car, Lesley's upcycling, robotic dogs, and Olympic rowing. That's right.

www.stabilnutrition.com www.exceedientfoods.com www.farmersrice.com www.planetricefoods.com www.wearenoblewest.com

With special guests:

Dallas Anthony, CEO, Stabil Nutrition, Robert Smith, VP R&D, Stabil Nutrition, Rick Rhody, President & CEO, Farmers' Rice Cooperative, Rodrigo Batista, Director of R&D, Farmers' Rice Cooperative, and Ali Cox, Founder, Noble West

Hosted by:

Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

USDA's MyPlate program is a vital public health program designed to help Americans eat healthy, balanced diets. Strategic Partners, like USA Rice, amplify important nutrition messages. USDA's Dr. Caree Cartwright and Yetunde Akingbemi join Michael, Lesley, and Cameron to talk new nutrition education. Also, does anyone remember Time for Timer?

With special guests:

Dr. Caree Cotwright, Director of Nutrition Security & Health Equity, USDA-Food & Nutrition Service and Yetunde Akingbemi, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, USDA-Food & Nutrition Service, Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion

Hosted by:

Michael Klein, Lesley Dixon, and Cameron Jacobs, USA Rice

In this episode, hosts Michael Klein, Lesley Dixon, and Dr. Steve Linscombe delve into rice farming in South Carolina, from the 1700s to today. They cover rice's role in shaping the character of the American South, the unique requirements of farming rice in an east coast tidal region, and the recent resurgence of Carolina Gold. Guests from White House Farms, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina provide insights into both historical and modern-day farming techniques in the Low Country.

With special guests:

Brian Ward, President, Carolina Gold Rice Foundation; Assistant Professor, Clemson University, David Shields, Chairman, Carolina Gold Rice Foundation; Professor, University of South Carolina; Author, and Don Quattlebaum, South Carolina rice farmer and owner of White House Farms

Hosted by:

Michael Klein, Lesley Dixon, and Dr. Steve Linscombe

High performing people & organizations often don’t celebrate their victories before tackling the next project. We take a breath for this episode to focus on important successes in the industry that benefit us all. First, Adam Shea of Riceland Foods is back, and he’s brought Austin Brown to talk about their Carbon Ready Program that is saving water, reducing GHGs, and putting money in farmers’ pockets. Then Louisiana farmer Fred Zaunbrecher stops by to talk about his shift from diesel power to electricity for water pumping on his family farm. Yay us!

With special guests:

Adam Shea, Riceland Foods, Austin Brown, Riceland Foods, and Fred Zaunbrecher

Hosted by:

Michael Klein, Lesley Dixon, and Steve Linscombe