Robb Dedman, Park Eldridge, and Chad Duckworth get up close with Thai Jasmine rice.
Nov 13, 2015
BANGKOK, THAILAND – In early November, the 2015 International Rice Leadership Class toured Thailand to get an overview of the Thai rice market. The group met with a diverse group of industry representatives including Thai exporters/traders, farmers, millers, rice research stations, and U.S. government officials working in Thailand.
Members of this year’s International Rice Leadership Class are alumni from previous Rice Leadership Development classes and include: Rance Daniels, Hornersville, MO; Robb Dedman, Rison, AR; Chad Duckworth, Jonesboro, AR; Park Eldridge, Gillette, AR; and Timothy Gertson, Lissie, TX.
In Bangkok, the country’s capital city, the class met first with U.S. Agricultural Counselor Bobby Richey, who gave an overview of the Thai rice industry, before visiting the Thailand Rice Department (School of Rice) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Next stop was the Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA) project where people who live in apartments are being taught how to grow food items on their rooftops. Rice merchant Park Eldridge commented on the idea, “I can see how this could be done in our large cities and how it would help reduce food costs for city dwellers.”
The highlight at the Prachinburi Rice Research Center was the In-Situ Conservation site for wild rice and deep water rice ecosystem. “It was amazing to see wild rice growing in water as deep as seven feet, and they don’t fertilize it or anything,” said Texas producer Timothy Gertson.
After visiting a rice seed production facility, the class boarded a plane and flew to northeast Thailand to see first-hand the harvest of Thai Jasmine. “Everyone in the rice industry knows about Thai Jasmine and to see it being harvested and hearing how it is grown in a rain-fed ecosystem was very interesting,” said rice consultant Robb Dedman.
“It was fascinating to see the way the Thai processors purchased rice from the farmers and then dumped it on a concrete slab to be sun dried before being milled,” said Missouri producer Rance Daniels.
Chad Duckworth, with Armor Seed, summed up the week-long trip, saying, “Having an opportunity to sit down with a group of Thai rice farmers and visit with them about how they grow rice and then talk about how we grow it, was amazing. I understand now how beneficial this program is and how much exposure to every aspect of rice production, both in the U.S. and abroad, can help all of us here give thoughtful, educated input when it comes to making decisions about how we do things at home.”
The Rice Leadership Development Program is sponsored by John Deere Company, American Commodity Company, and RiceTec, Inc. through a grant to The Rice Foundation and is managed by the USA Rice Federation.