California Wild Rice Production and Fuel Prices Drop Again
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**It’s been 50 years since wild rice was first cultivated in California and today, the state produces half of the world’s supply.
California farmers once grew as much as 20,000 acres of wild rice, but that’s down now to 9-to-10,000 acres.
Water shortages are forcing many farmers to grow more higher-priced white rice, but with reduced plantings, wild rice prices are up.
Unprocessed wild rice is averaging 92.5 cents per pound, up
from 75 cents last year.
**Fuel prices fell for the 14th consecutive week, down 3.9 cents to $3.64 per gallon, but the near-term future could be murky.
According to GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan, with the transition to winter gas in the Plains and Great Lakes states, we have the potential to see the weekly trend of falling prices snapped.
West Coast states also continue to see increases as refinery issues continue to percolate, preventing a downward move.
De Haan adds, “diesel prices should continue to ease after a much-needed jump in inventories.”
**Legislation introduced recently would remove burdensome government regulations from the trucking industry.
That’s according to South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds, who introduced the Trucking Regulations Unduly Constricting Known Service-providers, or TRUCKS Act.
The bill would allow states to issue a new “Small Business Restricted CDL” so Entry-Level Driver Training requirements would not affect small businesses.
