Rice prices have declined for several years because of competition from huge rice producers like Vietnam and Thailand as well as increases in agricultural productivity that have boosted supplies. Over the past few decades, hundreds of rice farmers in Southeast Texas have given up the crop entirely but that could soon change.
While spring floods left many rice farmers with fewer acres of rice than they originally planned, they’re hopeful a rising market can offset at least some of the lost acreage.
Think of it as photosynthesis on steroids. Photosynthesis is how plants convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into food. But it’s a very inefficient process, using less than one percent of the energy available, scientists said.
The NDSU scientists are focusing on using oilseed from agricultural crops, cellulose, lignin and sucrose to generate building blocks of molecules that are made into polymers to create plastics.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday that the 43,000 pound shipment of rice from Pakistan was infested with Khapra beetle larvae. Authorities say only dead larvae were found.
