Date:
November 30, 2015
To:
Ms. Thompson
From:
Josseline Barrientos
Subject: Riceland Information
In response to your request, I have researched Riceland to provide you with an explanation
of what they do, their history, their products, and their employees’ information.
What is Riceland?
Riceland Food, Inc. is the world’s largest rice marketer and the world’s largest rice miller.
They provide rice, soybeans and wheat as their marketing service. In the United States,
Riceland is the largest supplier of rice, the nation’s largest company of grain storage, the
mid-south’s largest soybean processors, and one of the major rice exporters to foreign
countries. It has 31 locations in Arkansas and Missouri combined. (Riceland Foods)
History
Riceland Food, Inc. was founded in 1921 and headquartered in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
Louisiana was where most of the rice was grown in America in the late nineteenth century.
William H. Fuller went to Louisiana for a hunting trip around 1900. When Fuller was there,
he realized that the conditions for growing rice were very similar to the southern part of
Arkansas. After experimenting, Fuller was able to produce rice crops in 1904.
The rice farmers lacked storage for their crop, so they decided to build the first Arkansas
rice mill in 1907. The rice mill was located in Stuttgart and was known as Stuttgart Rice Mill
Co. In 1910, the rice farmers built a second mill adjacent to the first one.
During WWI, the crop prices changed drastically, dropping significantly in 1920. A farmers’
cooperative was created on September 23, 1921, calling themselves the Arkansas Rice
Growers Cooperative Association. In 1926 they began steady growth.
The cooperative started to advertise and package their products in 1946 under the Riceland
label. A second cooperative was formed in 1958, the Arkansas Grain Cooperative, who
provided storage and drying facilities for soybeans. Both of the organizations were joined in
1970, and the name Riceland Foods was adopted. (Encyclopedia of Arkansas)
Barrientos
Page 2
December 1, 2015
Products
Their line of products includes rice, rice feed, rice flours, rice oil, bran and hulls, soybean
meal, soybean oil, soft red winter wheat, and edible oils (corm, canola, peanut, and
cottonseed).
Riceland products are a supplier for many companies (Gerber, General Mills, Kellogg’s, etc.)
and exports to 75 foreign locations (Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, etc.).
About three quarters of their products are sold in the U.S. and the Riceland Research and
Technical Center is located in Stuttgart as well. (Encyclopedia of Arkansas)
Employees
Riceland has about 9,000 farmers who work in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri,
and Texas. 5,500 of the 9,000 farmers are in Arkansas and Missouri. Every 1,500 employees
process and markets more than 125 million bushels of grain yearly. (Riceland Foods)
Conclusion
Arkansas may not be recognized as much as other states, but plays a big role in the United
States and foreign countries by providing a source of food. Riceland mission is to “enhance
member value through returns and service”, and their goal is to “produce the finest quality
rice in the world.” (Riceland Foods)
Sincerely
Josseline Barrientos
