Riceland Foods reports revenues of more than $1.3 billion

Stuttgart-based Riceland Foods reported $1.3 billion in annual revenue at its yearly member meeting held Nov. 9 in Jonesboro.

“To make our cooperative better serve the needs of its farmers, the board of directors has directed management to concentrate their efforts for improvement in five primary areas: pool settlements, member and customer relations, employee relations, grain procurement, and working capital,” said Riceland’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Roger Pohlner.

He also welcomed member input.

“We are all One Riceland, working together to accomplish the goals and objectives necessary for us to succeed,” Pohlner added.

Riceland President and CEO Jason Brancel said that Riceland is the connective tissue between the farmers who own the cooperative and customers in diverse domestic and export market channels.

“We owe it to our members to challenge the status quo and to create a culture of continuous improvement at Riceland…being better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today.”

Chief Financial Officer Craig Parr gave the financial results from fiscal year ending July 31, 2023, reporting revenue of $1.3 billion and distribution to members of $788 million.

Parr reported the long grain seasonal pool paid $7.33 per bushel. The soybean seasonal pool paid $15.93 per bushel, a $1.73 premium to the United States Department of Agriculture’s season average price.

Parr reported that Riceland’s working capital improved 22% compared to the prior year, and income before taxes was $11.1 million compared to $9 million the prior year.

Arkansas is the top rice growing state, typically growing about half of the nation’s crop annually. An estimated 1.3 million acres were planted this season, and uptick of about 200,000 acres from 2022.

Jackson County is the top rice growing county in the state this year with a little more than 112,000 acres dedicated to the crop, according to the Farm Service Agency. Poinsett County ranks second with 107,000 acres while Lawrence County is third with 104,000 acres.

Rice is a $1.373 billion industry in the Natural State.