In 2024, Horizon Ag added new rice varieties to its portfolio in the Clearfield and Provisia systems that performed well across the Midsouth and Gulf Coast. These varieties will be available in the coming season – along with a new medium grain and a high-amylose long grain.  

During the recent USA Rice Outlook Conference, Horizon Ag CEO Tim Walker took a moment to discuss the company’s portfolio. Walker also talked about the Horizon Ag Grower Advisory Board, which is comprised of 18 Midsouth and Coastal farmers who are open to sharing their concerns and finding solutions for the rice industry.  

A look back at the 2024 season 

In 2024, the new releases in the Horizon Ag portfolio were Clearfield varieties CLL18 and CLL19, along with a limited launch of Provisia variety PVL04. Walker was pleased to report that each of these yielded very well. 

CLL18, a conventional statured rice plant, was mostly planted in the upper Delta, while CLL19, a semi-dwarf and early maturing variety, was a great fit in the coastal regions of Texas and Louisiana. 

Walker said PVL04 was primarily placed in the upper Delta from Mississippi through Arkansas and into Missouri. The variety’s performance was a positive surprise. 

“When we released PVL04, we felt like it was a bit better than PVL03 in the Upper Delta region. It ended up being substantially better and quite competitive from a yield standpoint with our varieties CLL16, CLL18, and CLL19,” he said. 

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The Provisia Rice System utilizes Provisia herbicide, an ACCase herbicide that is highly effective on weedy rice and ALS-resistant grasses. Walker said the technology is clearly needed, not just for weedy rice control, but also for difficult-to-control grasses, and Horizon Ag looks forward to the second year of PVL04. 

While yields were good, milling quality was considerably lower across the board in 2024 – much worse than the isolated pockets farmers experienced in 2023. Walker explained that milling quality hinges on many interactions. 

“We have been trending this way for at least 10 to 15 years, and the environment has exposed us. You obviously have genetics, which I believe is the basis. With the right genetics, you have more stability. In near-perfect environments, bad genetics work out just fine. It is when you have a poor environment that poor genetics show themselves,” he said. 

Environmental factors also extend beyond weather. Data suggests that rice yields are higher in an earlier planted crop, and the efficiency of today’s technology, like high-speed precision planters, allows for a fast-paced planting season. 

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However, harvesting equipment is comparatively much slower. Since the speed of these two timeframes does not align, it creates a bottleneck effect at harvest. Ultimately, milling quality suffers.   

Walker said with current rice genetics, the crop is ideally harvested at 18 to 20% moisture. Yet, decisions made at harvest often leave much of the crop waiting in the field so machines can catch up. As a result, a large portion of the crop is harvested at 15% moisture or less, and quality takes a hit. 

“Our decisions and our programs are driving us to plant the highest-yielding crop that we possibly can, but something has to give and unfortunately, right now, milling quality is one of those things being given up,” he said. 

Preparing for #Plant25 

Looking ahead at the 2025 planting season, Horizon Ag is excited to launch two new varieties – CLM05 and CLHA03. 

CLM05 is a medium grain variety, developed by the University of Arkansas. Walker said it is the first medium grain to see a step-change in yield potential compared to Jupiter. 

“We are finally breaking away from that yield potential of Jupiter that hung on for years in Arkansas and Louisiana. CLM05 is a 10% jump in yield potential. You do not see that very often when releasing new varieties, but this one certainly seems like it is going to give us that,” he said. 

He also cautioned that CLM05 is not yet approved by Kellogg’s, the consumer-packaged goods company. However, this is expected with a new rice variety. “Typically, with Kellogg’s, a variety must be released for a few years before they decide whether or not it will work for them,” he said. 

Demand for medium-grain rice in 2025 is still to be determined, but southern rice farmers will undoubtedly plant medium-grain acres. Both CLM04 and CLM05 will be available, and CLM04 is Kellogg’s approved.  

On the long-grain front, Horizon introduces its third Clearfield high-amylose variety, CLHA03. It is semi-dwarf in stature and is resistant to blast and lodging. CLHA03 yields similar to CLL19, with very good milling and a unique high-amylose chemistry. 

The cooking profile of CLHA03 appeals to the Central American market, one that Walker explained was primarily dominated by the U.S. 15 years ago. However, that market has since degraded. 

“The competition comes from Brazil, Uruguay, and to a certain extent, Argentina. The varieties they export into Central America, and to some extent Mexico, have high amylose. So, we are trying to get products in the United States that more closely resemble that cook type.” 

The goal is to preserve the identity of high-amylose rice to entice customers back to the U.S. market, and Walker underscored efforts to understand the entire rice market, beyond domestic demand. He said, “I think that is extremely important for sustaining rice acreage and having a viable rice industry that can stay out front of the competition.”  

Grower advisory board 

Another step toward understanding the industry is Horizon Ag’s Grower Advisory Board of farmers representing Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri.  

These farmers grow other crops in addition to rice, and all of them are not necessarily Horizon Ag customers. Walker said the company anticipates carrying this endeavor into the future, with members serving two to three-year terms. 

Each advisory board member communicated routinely with their respective Horizon Ag district field representative throughout the growing season. Then, this past November, all members came together in an inaugural in-person meeting facilitated by Horizon Ag. Walker said growers were open and honest, and the conversation was productive. They voiced their concerns about improving return on investment and reestablishing relationships within export markets. 

“How do they maximize their opportunity to stay profitable? There was a lot of conversation around that piece. The group is concerned about market dynamics and what the future looks like,” Walker said. “They understand that based on where the U.S. is priced, if we lose a market, we cannot just go and pick up another one. So, we need to try and maintain those.” 

Growing rice for specific markets likely requires a change in genetics. This comes with risk, because a change in genetics usually results in a lower-yielding crop initially. Walker explained that for 50 years, breeding efforts have focused on intermediate amylose and intermediate gel temperature.  

New cereal chemistries of the high-amylose nature are not at the elite level of the most advanced germplasm. So, to supply these markets and maintain a sustainable U.S. rice industry, farmers would have to take a yield loss in the early years. 

Walker foresees high-amylose rice materializing into a sector of its own, and he said farmers who plant these new chemistries will need strong negotiations to ensure compensation for the value they add to the market.  

This could also call for reevaluating USDA standards of U.S. No. 2 long grain rice, Walker said, “The free trade agreement is based on a U.S. No. 2 long grain, which worked quite well 20 to 30 years ago when we only grew five varieties. Now we grow 40 to 50 varieties. They all still fit into U.S. No. 2 long grain, but there is more variation within samples, and it is a challenge we have run into.” 

This grower advisory board, in combination with industry stakeholders, will hopefully be able to address concerns and find solutions. Walker said, “We are all in this industry together, so how can we make it better?” 

From Horizon Ag’s perspective, Walker said this goes beyond seed sales. “Since the U.S. does not eat everything that we grow, our bias at Horizon Ag is to maintain a healthy industry by giving the consumer what they want, so we can maintain the opportunity to grow or at least stabilize rice acres.”