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The U.S. rice industry has made impressive gains in sustainability over the past 40 years. However, further gains are at risk due to climatic disturbances and human activities that have led to a decline in the availability and quality of natural resources vital to rice production, such as land, water, and air.
Drought and high nighttime temperature are two major threats affecting both yield and quality of rice. And dwindling freshwater resources call for a new approach to reduce the water requirements of rice crops.
Percentage of rice consumed in the U.S. that comes from family farms in Louisiana and 5 other major rice-producing states
- U.S. Rice Sustainability Report
Pounds of rice grown on 2.8 million acres of sustainably managed farmland in Louisiana and 5 other major rice-producing states
- U.S. Rice Sustainability Report
Climate Resilient Innovations for Sustainable Production of Rice (CRISP Rice) is a multi-state, multi-institutional, and multi-disciplinary project funded by the USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems grant program. The overall goal of CRISP Rice is to enhance the profitability and sustainability of rice production.
Scientists are developing new rice cultivars — varieties produced by selective breeding — to withstand rising temperatures, erratic weather, and pests. By using advanced tools like genetics, genomics, and AI, researchers aim to create rice that thrives in harsh environments, ensuring stable yields and food security for the future.
The development of science and technology-based management practices is key to realizing the maximum potential of climate-smart cultivars. The application of some of these technologies and practices will help producers by better forecasting stressors, improving soil health, reducing chemicals and fertilizer use, and minimizing the environmental footprint.
The project will equip rice farmers, consultants, and researchers with skills to adopt climate-smart agriculture tools to combat the impact of climate disturbances on rice farming. By enhancing extension programs across states and using online and field-based tools, the initiative aims to speed up the adoption of sustainable practices and technologies for a resilient farming future.
This project will assess the economic and environmental impacts of climate-smart farming on rice production. By using computer models, interviews, and surveys, researchers will explore how changes in climate affect farm profitability, sustainability, and rice yields. The study aims to provide farmers with sustainable choices to improve both profits and the environment.
In Louisiana, rice is a dominant crop largely grown for export with over 450,000 acres and contributing $460 million to the state economy. The United States is the fifth-largest exporting country, and rice plays an important role in providing global food security.
Rice breeding programs have focused on boosting yields, but new challenges call for a paradigm shift in our approach and innovations. To ensure sustainable rice farming, it's crucial to introduce climate-resilient traits from diverse genetic sources into high-yielding rice varieties suited for southern states.
Under the CRISP Rice program, the LSU AgCenter is leading a multidisciplinary research effort that includes seven institutions from five rice-growing southern states. The project's long-term vision is to develop and implement a climate-smart approach that will minimize the use of natural resources, maximize production efficiency, increase land-use efficiency and reduce environmental footprints through climate-resilient cultivars and climate-smart production practices.
With 15 researchers at LSU and nine more across five states, the CRISP Rice project relies on the LSU AgCenter’s longstanding expertise in research and extension service to support farmers and the Louisiana rice industry. LSU AgCenter Professor Prasanta Subudhi leads the effort.
From creating a new market for jasmine rice, to producing varieties of rice that are better for diabetics and more sustainable and resilient to changes in the environment, LSU has been critical to the Louisiana rice industry for more than 100 years.
The value of LSU’s rice breeding program? Invaluable. You can’t put a price tag on it. Without LSU’s breeding program, our industry as a whole would wither and die. It would be hard to survive without LSU.
- Bobby Hanks, CEO of Supreme Rice in Crowley, the state’s largest rice mill
Having to watch your blood sugar is the No. 1 reason people shy away from rice. But we’re rice people, with our gumbo and our étouffée and all of those things. As a farmer, growing rice that allows people to eat their favorite meals makes me smile.
- Michael Frugé, Eunice area farmer
We have the power to change the future of rice farming through the development of high-yielding rice cultivars with increased climate resilience, high nutrient-use efficiency, water-use efficiency, and implementation of precision agriculture and improved crop and pest-management strategies.
In addition, digital agricultural technologies such as remote sensing, drone technology and crop modeling will be used for forecasting disease and pest outbreaks and timing of irrigation and fertilizer applications, which will reduce production costs.
The CRISP Rice project will use the latest online and field-based tools to disseminate new climate-smart agriculture technologies, resources and production practices to the current and next generation of rice farmers, consultants and researchers.
LSU’s successes are shaping our state and the world in remarkable ways. As we build teams that win for Louisiana, the nation, and the world, we put our state and its citizens on firmer footing for a brighter tomorrow. Your journey starts here.
