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The Rice Stuff: Daily Summaries Delivered
by USA Rice
During each episode, your hosts Michael and Lesley will explore the world of U.S.-grown rice through the eyes of the people who know it best – farmers, millers, researchers, marketers, exporters and end-users. Whether it's amazing achievements in sustainability and conservation, exciting promotional strategies, or innovative technology, we'll get deep into the weeds to tell the story of U.S. rice. Whether you're a seasoned ag industry professional or just looking to learn more about the rice in your pantry, The Rice Stuff has something for everyone.
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- 2 weeks ago43 min
#133 The 2026 National Restaurant Association Show
Join hosts Michael Klein and Morgan Crafton as they recount their trip to the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. They share interviews with Pei Wu of Mochi Foods who is using all California Rice, the passionate team from Riceland Foods, Steve Hilsdon of Della Rice who is all about unique partnerships, and Michael talks trends and strategy with industry expert Kevin Gross of Kinetic12. All that, plus interesting Coke flavors, flying pretzels, and more. With special guests: Pei Wu, CEO & Founder, Mochi Foods Kevin Gross, Senior Partner, Kinetic12 Hayley Pittman Smith, National Sales Director, Riceland Foods Lynsey Russell, Director of Food Service Sales, Riceland Foods Stephen Hilsdon, Owner, Della Rice Hosted by: Michael Klein and Morgan Crafton
- May 12, 202629 min
#132 Making the Market: The Story of Rice Futures
The rough rice futures contract is a little understood device intended to provide price discovery and risk management. From humble beginnings in New Orleans, the rough rice contract grew into a vitally important tool that has helped the U.S. rice industry compete in the global market. Michael Klein went back to the very beginning to talk with Jerry Morris who was at the table when the contract was just a concept and still trades today. Brian King explains how the contract is used, Fred Seamon talks the basics of futures, and Randy McNeil shares how the rice merchants fit in. With special guests: Jerry Morris Randy McNeil, President, Poinsett Rice & Grain Brian King, Owner, K & T Agri Fred Seamon, Executive Director, Agricultural Markets, CME Group Hosted by: Michael Klein
- Apr 14, 202623 min
#131 Promoting U.S. Jasmine Rice
USA Rice's Cameron Jacobs joins Michael Klein to talk about last year's U.S. jasmine rice promotion campaign. They discuss the reasoning behind the outreach, target development, creative creation, tactics, methodology, and results. Plus Cameron shares some breaking news and offers a peek at future promotions. And given the timing, they take a look back at the 2026 NCAA March Madness campaign, that for Michael was much less successful than the jasmine campaign. With special guest: Cameron Jacobs, VP Domestic Promotion & March Madness Pool Commissioner, USA Rice Hosted by: Michael Klein
- Mar 24, 202648 min
#130 The 45th Natural Products Expo West
Michael went to Anaheim, California for one of the largest and most influential food shows in the country. He stalked the aisles finding new products and old friends, caught up with several USA Rice members who were there to rep U.S.-grown rice, and walked more than 45,000 steps for the pod. Listen in to learn about new rice uses, new companies, rice innovation, and more. www.batchfoods.co www.kevinsnaturalfoods.com www.dainty.ca www.dellarice.com www.nextgenfoods.com www.exceedientfoods.com www.lundberg.com www.chefbobo.com www.oliviascroutons.com www.raisedglutenfree.com With special guests: Bryce Lundberg, VP of Agriculture, Lundberg Family Farms Brita Lundberg, Communications Manager, Lundberg Family Farms Meryl Kennedy, CEO, 4Sisters Rice Steve Choi, Director of R&D, Chef Bobo Brand Michael Bosworth, CEO, Next Generation Foods Rick Rhody, CEO, Expedient Foods and Farmers' Rice Cooperative Charley Mathews, Jr., Chair, Farmers' Rice Cooperative Aidan Anvaripour, Founder, Batch Foods Chiedu Okeke, Director of Procurement, Kevin's Natural Foods Eric Martindale, Founder, Elite Commerce Group Jeff Clarke, VP of Sales, Specialty Rice, Inc. James Maitland, CEO, Dainty Foods and Dainty Foods US Hosted by: Michael Klein
- Mar 10, 202650 min
#129 Understanding Rice Grain Quality
Steve Linscombe has assembled rice breeding experts to talk about U.S. grain quality and what they are doing to improve it. From fissuring and milling yields to farm gate value and consumer preferences, join us for this important discussion. With special guests: Dr. Maria Montiel, Rice Breeder, HorizonAg, Dr. Tim Walker, CEO, HorizonAg, and Dr. Adam Famoso, Professor, LSU AgCenter Hosted by: Steve Linscombe and Michael Klein
- Feb 17, 202648 min
#128 The 2026 Farm Policy Fly-in & Nathan Childs
Michael Klein reports from a packed USA Rice Farm Policy Fly-In in D.C., where growers discussed rising input costs, trade pressures, emergency assistance, world rice stocks, planting intentions, and more. USA Rice members Paul T. Combs and Fred Zaunbrecher talked planting strategy and rice's reception on Capitol Hill. USDA senior leaders shared their thoughts on the ag economy, and then recently retired USDA ag economist Nathan Childs was honored and sat down to share his uncensored thoughts on applied economics, agriculture, the PIK years, market instability and how to counteract it, and learning from history. With special guests: Nathan Childs, USDA-ERS (Retired) Paul T. Combs, Sunrise Land Company Fred Zaunbrecher, Chair, USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors Richard Fordyce, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, USDA Stephen Vaden, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, USDA Hosted by: Michael Klein
- Jan 27, 202659 min
#127 Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina with Rice Leadership Alumni
Join Steve Linscombe and the members of 2025 Rice Leadership Development Alumni Program's trip to South America as they share the insights they gained on this valuable trip. Louisiana's Christian Richard and Eric Unkel, Arkansas' Brad Doyle, and Missouri's David Martin, along with Tim Walker and Peter Bachmann talk about the focus on quality, technology, and collaboration among farmers in this important rice producing region. The trip, sponsored by American Commodity Company, John Deere, RiceTec, and Supreme Rice, offered valuable lessons for the entire U.S. rice industry. With special guests: Peter Bachmann, President & CEO, USA Rice Brad Doyle David Martin Christian Richard Eric Unkel Tim Walker Hosted by: Steve Linscombe and Michael Klein
- Dec 16, 202535 min
#126 Live from Outlook 2025: Rice Innovation in Food and Drink
The 2025 USA Rice Outlook Conference was a record-setting success. One widely-attended session on the FMC Stage was "Brewing and Beyond." Michael Klein was joined by food scientist Dr. Scott Lafontaine, Exceedient Foods' Derek Alarcon, and from J.T. Meleck Distillers Emily Meyers. From rice varieties and gel temps to flavor profiles and being a whiskey taster, the panel unpacked a lot of innovation. Learn more at: www.exceedientfoods.com www.food-science.uark.edu www.jtmeleck.com @jtmeleck2.0 With special guests: Dr. Scott Lafontaine, University of Arkansas Center for Beverage Innovation and Derek Alarcon, Exceedient Foods, Farmers' Rice Cooperative, and Emily Meyers, J.T. Meleck Distillers Hosted by: Michael Klein
About The Rice Stuff
During each episode, your hosts Michael and Lesley will explore the world of U.S.-grown rice through the eyes of the people who know it best – farmers, millers, researchers, marketers, exporters and end-users. Whether it's amazing achievements in sustainability and conservation, exciting promotional strategies, or innovative technology, we'll get deep into the weeds to tell the story of U.S. rice. Whether you're a seasoned ag industry professional or just looking to learn more about the rice in your pantry, The Rice Stuff has something for everyone.
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