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USA Rice Daily
Up-to-the-Minute News on Issues and Activities
Monday, March 16, 2015

In Memory:  Richard Bell  

 
Richard E. "Dick" Bell  
The U.S. rice industry is deeply saddened by the passing of Richard E. "Dick" Bell, 81, in Stuttgart, Arkansas on March 13.  Bell was president and CEO of Riceland Foods for more than 23 years.  In 2005, he was named Arkansas's first Secretary of Agriculture, a post he held until he retired in 2012. 

 

Bell joined Riceland in 1977 as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and was elevated to the chief executive position in 1981.  He retired from Riceland in 2004.

 

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, in a statement following Bell's death, said, "His vast knowledge of the entire agricultural landscape, and the respect he earned from everyone in the agri-world, made him the best choice to launch our state's Agriculture Department when it was created."

 

Bell, a native of Illinois, earned graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois-Urbana, and joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agriculture Service in 1959 as an agricultural economist.  Bell served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Agriculture and then as Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity Programs from 1973-1977.  Bell also served as president of the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation and Chairman of the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. In recognition of his accomplishments in the international trade arena, Bell was awarded the USDA's Distinguished Service Award in 1975.

 

"Dick Bell greatly expanded the economic importance of the rice industry in Arkansas and the United States," said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward. "He combined a deep expertise in agriculture with a keen understanding of farm and food policy that made him an effective advocate." 

 

Information on services is not yet available.

USA Rice Talking Trade Again in Havana 

 
Marvin Lehrer meets with Yudith Viera Gallardo North American division, ministry foreign trade (l),
and Aniurka Ortiz Marquetti
HAVANA, CUBA -- USA Rice's Marvin Lehrer was here last week for meetings with the Cuban food buying agency, ALIMPORT, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade.  Lehrer also visited several hard currency supermarkets, ration card stores, and public markets to see how rice is currently being sold in Cuba.

 

"I was here to re-establish the long-standing close relationships with the government entities charged with rice imports that we've developed over the years, and to take the pulse of trade in general," Lehrer said.  "There have been many personnel changes throughout the Cuban government, especially at ALIMPORT, and we wanted to exchange ideas with these new people, jump start a close relationship."

 

Lehrer also wanted to check in with people here to learn what they really think about the changing dynamic between the United States and Cuba.

 

"We certainly achieved our goals and established a warm dialogue with new people," he said.  "It will form an excellent foundation moving forward."

 

"We thank USA Rice for their visit," said Aniurka Ortiz Marquetti, General Vice President of ALIMPORT and in charge of U.S. purchases.  "We are well aware of their long history in working to open trade both here in Havana and in the U.S., and we know we can count on their guidance, support, and under new conditions, sales in the future.  We have had a lot of turnover the past couple of years at ALIMPORT, and re-establishing contact face-to-face is very important."

 

"Cuban rice imports are not as large as a few years ago as they report that local production has increased as a result of technical assistance from Cuba's Asian trading partners, but milled rice imports are still quite significant," Lehrer explained.  "Cubans know about our quality, and logistic advantage, but our ability to break into the market once again will depend upon significant changes to the embargo.  We need genuine two-way trade and some type of credit needs to be extended to the Cuban government."

 

Cuba currently receives credit from main rice supplier Vietnam, as well as credit terms from Spain, Brazil, and some others.

 

"My sense is that they want U.S. rice, but we cannot be competitive due to restrictive terms imposed by the embargo," said Lehrer.

 

Lehrer also met with several foreign press contacts and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana in order to get a better feel for their views on progress towards normalization with the U.S., as well as a sense of any changes in Cuba which might affect future sales of U.S. rice.

 

Contact:  Michael Klein (703) 236-1458

CME Group/Closing Rough Rice Futures   
CME Group (Prelim):  Closing Rough Rice Futures for March 16

Month
Price
Net Change
March 2015$10.525
- $0.055
May 2015$10.775
- $0.055
July 2015$10.895
- $0.050
September 2015$11.065
- $0.040
November 2015$11.210
- $0.040
January 2016$11.210
- $0.040
March 2016$11.210
- $0.040

In the News 

Around Washington

Will Washington Kick Rural America When It's Down? The Hill

Despite the shaky financial ground producers find themselves on, the administration last month unveiled a budget that proposes to shake it up even more with a plan that targets a key element of crop insurance, threatening the ability of many farmers to manage risk through forward contracting. And this month, congressional budget committees may put forward plans to further disorient producers and lenders already reeling from plunging markets and complex farm bill decisions.

 

 

Around the Country

Declining Aquifer an Economic Challenge for the Delta Delta Farm Press

Reversing the continuing decline of the Mississippi River Delta aquifer will require growers to adapt tools and techniques to use water more efficiently, and for many it will necessitate a different way of thinking,

 

 

Tariffs and Trade

Pacific Trade Deal Likely to Have Narrow Reach Wall Street Journal

A successful deal would also lower regular agricultural and food barriers in Japan and other countries, raising profits for American farmers, an increasingly small but influential part of the electorate.

 

Root and Branch Economist

In Japan, the agriculture lobby JA-Zenchu has stubbornly opposed lowering Japan's high tariffs on rice, beef and other foods. It has whipped up other industries in Japan, including the medical business, to oppose the agreement. Weakening the organization is one way for Mr. Abe to speed up TPP negotiations. If a deal is struck, deeper agricultural reform must follow if Japanese farmers are to compete.

 

 

Science and Technology

How Space and Sensory Technology can Boost Rice Production Cordis

EU-funded researchers are developing hi-tech methods for monitoring rice crops in order to increase yields and encourage sustainable farming.

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