Legendary!

BATON ROUGE, LA -- Louisiana Public Broadcasting's Louisiana Legends series profiles outstanding Louisianans who have distinguished themselves in a variety of disciplines and have brought honor to the state.  Recently, our own Elton Kennedy was a subject.

William Elton Kennedy was raised in West Carroll Parish, LA and began rice farming with his father after finishing high school in 1963.  Today, Kennedy's family, tenants, and employees directly farm over 25,000 acres of rice.

In addition to production, Kennedy is actively involved in rice research and the innovation of the rice business.  For years, he has provided acreage for the LSU Rice Research Variety Development program and was one of the first in the industry to implement new varieties, precision GPS land leveling, and fertility management.

Kennedy is known throughout the industry for engineering creative water management systems to achieve higher field yields and increase efficiency by transforming marginal land into productive rice fields.  He was also actively involved, and held a seat on, the first exchange for trading rice in New Orleans, which later moved to Chicago and is now used by many as a marketing tool at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Last December Kennedy was recognized for his many contributions to the U.S. rice industry when he received a Rice Lifetime Achievement Award at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in St. Louis.   

The Louisiana Legends Gala took place on May 8 and the series episode featuring Kennedy can be viewed online.

Contact:  Randy Jemison, (337) 738-7009

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